Water into Wine – 17 January 2016 – Second Sunday after the Epiphany

The revelation of Jesus’ identity was last Sunday’s celebration at his baptism. This Sunday we are shown the beginnings of what that new identity means. Miracles abound! Water becomes wine – even better than the wine before!

Most significant is the sheer amount of the transformation. An overabundance of wine has emerged where there was none.

This is God’s way – huge, unbelievable gifts appearing just when all we can see is a lack. 

John 2:1-11

Jesus' transformation of water to wine is the first of seven signs in John. Jesus' mother in this episode is as the ideal disciple who trusts. Jesus' response is a Semitism suggesting that someone does not sense oneself concerned with the issue. John's Jesus is distinguishing between signs that would reveal his glory and his glorification, which John associates with the passion. That Jesus' mother remains confident in face of this correction is illustrative of her role as faithful disciple. She reappears during the hour to symbolize future believers Paul identifies as the body of Christ. – Regina Boisclair

While it may be appropriate to focus on what God's power and love enabled Jesus to do at the wedding at Cana and what it symbolized for the gathered community, it is equally beneficial for us to plunge into the rich symbol of wine and fully appreciate its power.

John Calvin . . . had this to say about wine: “Wine is God's special drink. The purpose of good wine is to inspire us to a livelier sense of gratitude to God” (The Spirituality of Wine [Kelowna, Canada: Northstone Pub., 2004] 6). – Carol J. Noren

Isaiah 62:1-5

The marital imagery in this prophetic text allows us to link the first and the Gospel reading through what God does to make community, connect the estranged, bring us all home. It calls to mind the crowning of the bridal couple in an Orthodox wedding rite. 

This selection is from the third of three songs of Zion (Isaiah 60—62) that are considered the heart of Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56—66). . . . Third Isaiah reflects the era of restoration, and full realization remains for the future. The passage is replete with parallelism: Zion/Jerusalem, silent/quiet, justice/salvation, dawn/burning torch, nations/kings, justice/glory, called/pronounced, glorious crown/royal diadem, Lord (Yahweh)/God (Elohim), “Forsaken”/“Desolate,” “My Delight”/“Espoused,” young man/bridegroom, young woman/bride, marry/rejoice, Builder/God.

The prophet claims that the restored city and surrounding lands will witness the light of salvation with such a shining justice that it will be respected by the nations and their kings and be given a new name by God. Zion, the city, is to be Yahweh's crown and diadem; and Zion with an affinity to Hosea 1–2, presently identified as “Forsaken” (Azubah, 1 Kings 22:42 and 1 Chronicles 2:18) is to be renamed “My Delight” (Hephziba, 2 Kings 21:2) while the land now “Desolate” will be called “Espoused” (be'ula). . . .  [T]he relationship between God and Israel is given marital imagery. Unlike much of Hosea and Ezekiel, here emphasis is on the bridegroom who rejoices for his bride rather than as a husband of an adulterous wife. . . . In this selection justice and salvation (v 1b) are also related to glory (v 2), a word used to designate God's presence. Those who first devised this collection likely sensed a connection between the “glory” predicated for Zion and the gospel passage in which the “glory” of Jesus as the true bridegroom of a new Israel is revealed by signs. – Regina Boisclair

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

In a teaching that extends from 1 Corinthians 12:1—14:40, Paul discusses the spiritual gifts that enriched the Christians in Corinth (I Corinthians 1:5–7). However, recognizing that this community was deeply divided, Paul stresses that it is only through the Holy Spirit that these former pagans (v 2) are able to affirm “Jesus is Lord” (v 3).

The people of God, once constituted by baptism, are yet continually in need of understanding ourselves as a communion, knit together to be together in peace. The many and diverse skills, talents, interests, ways of being that exist in us, are given for the good of the whole. It can be enormously useful to be reminded of that when we are danger (as is always true) of being pulled apart. Paul’s list includes everybody.

Each one has a gift to give. Our new identity as children of God, as beloved by God, insists that our gifts are to be cherished.

Regina Boisclair, a Roman Catholic theologian, is professor of religious studies, Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage.

John Fairless is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Florida.

Carol J. Noren, a United Methodist pastor, is the Wesley W. Nelson professor of homiletics at North Park Theological Seminary. She served chuches as pastor in Minnesota for twenty years.

Homily Service 40, no. 2 (2007): 35-45.

The True Temple – 8 March 2015 – Third Sunday in Lent

The question for preachers on this Sunday is how the Ten Commandments are connected with Jesus’ insistence that the house of God is denigrated when it becomes a place for bargaining and making payments.

Perhaps this is an opportunity to talk about the blessing of the law Moses received from God, how it protects us, nourishes us, gives us plumb lines and boundaries, and plants those boundaries, as well, for others.

At least, this is a Sunday for reflection on Jesus’ zeal, the deep seriousness of his mission, the openness with which he left us to understand our own responsibilities, and the “foolishness” of our proclamation.  

John 2:13-22

All four gospels recount Jesus’ confrontation with the moneychangers in the temple. However, John’s account is distinct from the Synoptics in several important ways. First, John places this encounter near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, as the start of continual antagonism between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, rather than at the very end of his life, after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem as in the Synoptics. . . .

Second, the synoptic parallels contain no references to sheep and cattle or to Jesus’ violent act of using a whip to drive out the moneychangers.

Third, the Synoptics have him citing scripture, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers” (Matthew 21:13), while John has him saying, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” 

. . . Some of the differences from the Synoptics may be minor, but the overall effect is to emphasize John’s concern for the demonstration of Jesus’ nature, his performance of signs, and his connection to other scriptural teachings. While the focus of this text is on the Temple, several of the other passages for today are loosely connected to this text in their emphasis on the law. – Jonathan D. Lawrence

I think we ought to take note . . . when Jesus gets angry. It is not recorded often in scripture. Many times he appears to be disappointed in his disciples for their inability to understand what he is about, but except for a weary complaint to his mother and a few sharp words to Peter, there are not many outbursts. This case is different and therefore important. What he witnessed in the temple was a direct contradiction of the message of grace for which he was prepared to give his life. He has no choice but to clear away the lie to make room for the truth. – Judith E. Simonson

Exodus 20:1-17

In previous weeks there have been readings on the covenants with Noah and Abraham. This week’s reading from Exodus contains the Ten Commandments, in one sense the core of the covenant with Moses given at Mount Sinai. There have been many attempts to define or explain the structure of the Ten Commandments, too many to outline in this space. Even so, it is important to note that most of these regulations are pronounced succinctly with little explanation or detail. Unlike some of the biblical legislation that goes into extensive detail and is case-specific, these laws are presented as absolute principles, leaving the exact implementation to later interpreters and readers. – Jonathan D. Lawrence

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Paul contrasts the message and power of the cross with the way it is perceived by the rest of the world. He suggests that even though the world might view the cross and faith as foolish, God’s way turns things around. . . . Paul sees wisdom not in the law, but in God’s “foolishness” in crucifying Christ . . . – Jonathan D. Lawrence

Jonathan D. Lawrence, an American Baptist Church ordained minister, teaches Religious Studies and Theology at Canisius College, Buffalo, New York.

Judith Simonson is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Homily Service 39, no. 4 (2006): 33-43.