Sunday, January 17, 10 - Second Sunday after Epiphany

The readings for Jan. 17 are:
Isaiah 62:1-5 • Psalm 36:5-10 • 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 • John 2:1-11.
and they can be found in full here.

Isaiah 62 - This passage is found at the end of the second part of the Book of Isaiah, sometimes referred to as Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah, and speaks of the coming end of the Babylonian Captivity. Isaiah speaks of a time in which the captives held in Babylon were ridiculed (cf Psalm 137) by their captors. The common view would have been that Israel's God had abandoned her, failing to protect her and that the god(s) of Babylon had prevailed. The foreseen return of the captives to their homeland is envisioned as the vindication of the faith of the captives in the power of their God. The imagery moves beyond vindication by speaking of the coronation of Israel and the relationship between God and Israel as husband and wife -- speaking powerfully to the esteem God holds for Israel and the intimacy of their relationship.
In our own lives and relationship with God can we see times when we felt abandoned and desolate only to realize how deeply God cares for us and values our relationship?

Psalm 36: 5-10
This Psalm picks up on the constant, loving faithfulness (heb.=hesed) of God and God's righteousness. The Lectionary drops the verses of the Psalm which describe the wicked and evil ones to whom God's steadfastness is contrasted.

1 Cor. 12: 1-11 - Paul's classic honoring of the diversity of spiritual gifts and their common source. He is trying to shift our focus from competing over who has the best gift to a recognition that all spiritual gifts are important because they come from the same source. Later he will argue that some are more beneficial because they serve more than the individual.

Recognizing the source of gifts is essential as well if we are to appreciate the giver rather than feed our own hubris.


John 2: 1-11 - Wedding at Cana. John Spong, who usually insists on a metaphorical interpretation of biblical stories, makes an interesting case for this passage being a description of Jesus' own wedding. I prefer to stick with metaphor. Reflecting on this story a while back I realized that our bodies are mostly water -- about 98% if I remember right. If God's extravagant gift of the Spirit turns our bodies into wine that is quite an amazing metaphor for complete transformation! I'll have to let this soak in a bit more and see where it leads. Suggestions???

The water Jesus uses is ritual water representing ritual cleanliness. It is transformed into the wine of relationship -- feasting and conviviality. It is consumed rather than used externally like the water so we are not just washing off impurity but being changed from within, perhaps becoming more relational than ritual.