Second Sunday after the Epiphany: Creation, Marriage, Justice and New Life

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 62:1-5 (NRSV)

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,

and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,

until her vindication shines out like the dawn,

and her salvation like a burning torch.

The nations shall see your vindication,

and all the kings your glory;

and you shall be called by a new name

that the mouth of the LORD will give.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,

and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;

but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,

and your land Married;

for the LORD delights in you,

and your land shall be married.

For as a young man marries a young woman,

so shall your builder marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

so shall your God rejoice over you.

Psalm 36 (BCP., p.632)


1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (NRSV)

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

John 2:1-11 (NRSV)

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Blog Reflection

Oh to hear those words from Isaiah that God delights in us.   At Compline every night we pray the words from Psalm 17:8.  "Keep us, O Lord as the apple of your eye.  Hide us under the shadow of your wings" (BCP. 132).   The Prophet is so convinced that there are great things coming, that he just cannot keep quiet about them.  God is doing an awesome thing, but it means changing what already exists, and re-creating it into a precious jewel.   

America indeed began as a great nation.  Our founders had amazing plans as they created the new world.  Yet, not everything they brought here was totally good. 

The white Christian settlers did take land that was not theirs to take from the Native Americans, and oppressed them.  In addition, they also brought with them the second class citizenship of black people, whom they kept enslaved.  The negative attitude towards African Americans and individuals of many different skin tones, cultures and religions continues up to this very day.

In to the middle of our continued ignorance and prejudice, came a man with a vision of a different future for America.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr came on the scene as did Mrs. Rosa Parks who refused to sit at the back of the bus because of her skin color.   African Americans through the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. found renewed inspiration to keep calling for civil rights, and believed it was possible.  Forty-five years  after his assassination the work towards a just and equal society for all people remains far from finished.  Yet, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr continues to inspire us all to keep working and believing in better things yet to come.  Racism is still a big issue in our country.  The racial overtones towards President Barack Obama are a living testimony to the prejudice towards people of different races, cultures, religions, genders, sexual orientations and many more where that came from are heard in all parts of our coutry.

The Prophet Isaiah is so excited about what God is going to do.  What can we do to get people excited about doing more to bring about the establishment of God's reign of justice, equality and peace today?   How do we speak up and act so that America and the Church can be a place that God and all of us delight in?

The Apostle Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that every one has different gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Not everyone is called to do the same thing.  Yet, by taking our place and making use of what God has given each of us, we can use them for the building up of the Body of Christ.   The gifts each of us has are not given to us for our own use, nor are they for abusing others.  They are given to us to continue the work of Jesus Christ in the ministry of radical hospitality and reconciliation. 

The narrative of the Wedding at Cana in the Gospel attributed to St. John the Evangelist and Apostle, is one of creation.   The figures of Jesus, Mary and the people gathered for the wedding, the water and the wine are a New Testament telling of Creation.   The account of creation in Genesis starts with the words: "In the beginning God created."  In St. John's Gospel it begins with "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God...."   As we venture into the Wedding at Cana we are presented with the prominent figure of Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, representing the new Adam.  We also see Mary who is believed to be the new Eve.    Just as creation is not complete without two people coming together to celebrate God's love in both body and mind, so too, we  have a wedding in John's Gospel.   As the waters of the earth flowed to create new life, so does the water at the wedding feast become the new wine, representing the restoration of the life of humankind through God's perfect revelation in Jesus Christ.  

All of this is meaningless and just an abstraction, unless we are willing to allow God to recreate what is within each of us, not only today, but every day.  Each of us have learned some thing in our past about God, ourselves and others that needs a renewal by God's random act of grace.   The events of the wedding at Cana are part of God's manifesting God's glory through the humanity of Christ.   The work of redemption that began with Jesus, continues through to this very day, as the "Spirit of Truth, will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13 Common English Bible).   The tasteless and stale water of our lives cannot become the wine of new life, justice and compassion, unless we allow God to change us from within, and reflect the Goodness of God in the world around us.   

This past election season, we saw three States elect to allow marriage equality for LGBT citizens.   Minnesota rejected a constitutional amendment to limit the freedom to marry to straight couples.  Now, we hear of bills being introduced by legislatures in Illinois and Rhode Island that will grant the freedom to marry for LGBT couples.   The debate on either side of the issue is hot.  There are the usual individuals in the Catholic church and other Christianist organizations who want to continue to suppress LGBT individuals and couples by limiting the freedom to marry.  Thanks be to God, that we have the amazing witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ seeking to transform the Church and society, through letters by Episcopal Bishop Lee in Chicago and Bishop Knisley in Rhode Island. 

Over the last week, President Obama made the announcement of plans he has to work on the issue of out of control gun violence in our nation.  The tragedy of Newton, Connecticut and the courageous people there are bringing people together to take seriously the responsibility to children, families and neighborhoods when it comes to gun violence.  Though the rhetoric of the National Rifle Association (NRA) remains violent and hateful, individuals from various parts of the Country are speaking up and writing about the need to do something about the enormous number of people killed by a gun.  As individuals use the Christian Faith in erroneous ways to defend the use of armed violence towards other people, others who remind us that Jesus was about peaceful solutions to life's difficult moments are speaking up.     

These are just some examples of how ordinary people are taking seriously the work of Jesus Christ, to change the dry waters of injustice, inequality and oppression, into the delicious new wine of justice, equality and freedom for the marginalized of society and the Church.  

It is true that the Wedding at Cana points us to both the Eucharist and the Cross.  For it is in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ that all of us can and do come into the Presence of Christ and share in his suffering and death on the Cross.  However, in the Eucharist we also receive the nourishment of not only God's Goodness, but also the healing presence of being in community with others to share in the Lord's Supper.   In the Eucharist, strangers are made friends, the outcasts are included and brokenness has the opportunity to be made whole.  

May God continue to make us all into the precious gems of God's goodness, by continuing to renew the life of Jesus Christ within all of us.   As the Spirit of Truth continues to guide us in to all truth, may we with God's gifts in each of us, use them for the building up of the Body of Christ, and bring about the transformation of the world around us.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light
of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word
and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's
glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the
ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with
you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and
for ever. Amen.  (Collect for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, Book of Common Prayer, p. 215).

Almighty God, who by the hand of Moses your servant
you led your people out of slavery and made them free at last:
Grant that your Church, following the example of your 
prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name 
of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed 
liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you 
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p. 307).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).