Second Sunday After Epiphany – Year C

Sermon Notes from the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People

RCL Readings –  Isaiah 62:1-5,  Psalm 36:5-10,  1 Corinthians 12:1-11,  John 2:1-11

ACNA Readings –  Isaiah 62:1-5, Psalm 96,  1 Corinthians 12:1-11,  John 2:1-11

Seasonal Introduction.  Following the Christmas season, Christians around the world celebrate Epiphany. While the story of a Jewish baby born in his ancestral home may be interesting it would hardly be remarkable, let alone world-changing. But Christmas isn’t only about a human baby boy, it is about God coming to dwell among men as a man. During the season of Epiphany, we look at how God revealed Himself, starting with the pagan magi and ending with Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. This week, God shows His love and justice through His covenantal relationships as He partners with those He created.

Common Theme.  The common theme of these passages is partnership. Partnership takes multiple things, ideas, or people who are different and unites them. In Isaiah 62:1-5, Israel—desolate and forsaken as a widow or a divorcee—will become a crown of beauty in the hand of God and He will rejoice over her. Isaiah and John connect joy to the partnership of marriage and the wedding. Although John 2 also points out a partnership between Jesus and His mother, to whom He showed honor and deference. Psalm 36 partners two things we would not generally put together, love and judgment. Together they bring salvation and abundant life. In I Corinthians 12, Paul urges the Corinthians to embrace their differences and work together, unified by the Spirit who empowers them all.

Hebraic Context. When God created the world, everything was good—everything but one thing, that is. In Genesis 2:18, God says, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” God saw something that was not good, even before the fall. God exists as Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from everlasting to everlasting and is never alone—being in a partnership is good. 

God gave man dominion over the fish, birds, livestock, and everything that creeps on the land–but none of these would be good for Adam. Instead, it was someone man did not have dominion over (someone made in the image of God even as he was) that would be good for Adam. Where Adam was male, Eve would be female. But the Hebrew is even more interesting and nuanced. The phrase is עזר כנגדו ezer k’negdo, which is “a helper that is opposite him”. The word נגד neged means in front of or opposite—it is even used for someone in opposition.

Disagreement and opposition regarding a matter is not always a bad thing. It should often lead us closer to the kingdom of heaven, not further from it. Hebrews 10:24 states that we are to “stir up one another to love and good works…” This sounds like a great thing to do, however, the word “to stir up” is παροξυσμὸν (what we get the medical term paroxysm from). The only other time that is used in the Scripture is in Acts 15:39, “And there arose a sharp disagreement.” In Hebrews 10, provoking one another leads to love and good works. In Genesis 2, a woman who is a helper opposite her husband is not to harm or to tear down, but also to build up to love and good works. 

However, this partnership wasn’t universal between all peoples. This absolute partnership was to be between the two people; Adam and Eve were to become one flesh. This is done through marriage. The marriage ceremony is where a new identity is given—where once there were two, now there is one. 

Jewish marriage in the 1st century was to be about all that was good and joyful. We read in John 2 “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana”. Why on the third day? While God said there was one thing that was not good in the creation story, that man would be alone, Genesis 1 also states “And God saw that it was good” twice on the same day only once—on the third day. And so surely this day that was so good was the most opportune time to fix that which was not good.

Weddings aren’t just about joy; although they were festive occasions filled with communal joy and blessing, they also represented a covenantal relationship. With such an important idea, a Jewish tradition arose about the first wedding, the marriage of Adam and Eve. Who would marry the couple? Who would be the witnesses of the covenant? Bereshit Rabbah 8.15 states “The Holy One, blessed be He, took the cup of blessing and gave a blessing to them.” He made a beautiful canopy, or huppah, of precious stones for Adam and Eve. It also states that Michael and Gabriel served as the groomsmen to witness the marriage. This sets a precedent for the sanctity of marriage and divine involvement in marriage.

In fact, the reason joy and delight are central to weddings in Jewish tradition is because it reflects God’s presence and blessing over the union. In Isaiah 62, God gives Jerusalem a new name, Hephzibah (My delight is in her). God’s presence and covenantal relationship in weddings is found from Genesis to Revelation and is particularly noted in the prophets. And this isn’t just for the Jewish people. This covenantal element is considered to predate the law as does the sacrament of marriage.

Isaiah 62:1-5. This prophetic portion speaks of a redemptive transformation for Zion. There is some question as to who is speaking when they say, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent”. Isaiah 61, for instance, seems to begin with the Messiah speaking, as shown in Luke 4:18-21, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me…” While Isaiah 61:8 specifically states that God is speaking. Finally, Isaiah 61:10 seems to have an Israelite speaker, perhaps Isaiah, the Messiah, or even Israel. Regardless, the message is clear: Zion’s righteousness and salvation must shine forth. Not only within its own borders but revealing God’s righteousness and glory to all nations.

Isaiah 62 is about God returning something to beauty that wasn’t beautiful before. Jerusalem was of very little importance in the ancient world. Ezekiel 16 shares the story of Jerusalem: First, it was like a child abandoned to nature while still in their mother’s birth-blood. God came and gave Jerusalem life and beauty, but they soon trusted in their own beauty and became a whore. But one day God will restore that which became forsaken and desolate to life.

The idea of God taking people who were shamed and bringing them into His own life, His own light, resonates throughout the prophets. But God doesn’t simply restore things to how they once were, there is restoration but it’s not just a return—it’s transformation. We see God’s transformation in the first and last stories of Scripture. God created a beautiful garden in a world that was exceedingly good. But Adam and Eve were forced to leave it after their disobedience—bringing death, sorrow, pain, and grotesque ugliness to this world. When God restores the world, however, He won’t recreate the Garden of Eden, although it was wonderful, He brings something new, a new Jerusalem.

When God is the bridegroom, He gives His people a new identity, whether it’s Israel or the church. This identity is rooted in His divine love and faithfulness. Marriage becomes a beautiful symbol of both partnership and covenant. That God will rejoice over Jerusalem as a bridegroom not only shows how much He delights in her but also His intention to hold true to His covenants. That is truly something that should bring joy.

Psalm 36:5-10.  Psalm 36:5-6   starts with a traditional Hebraic poetry schema of writing the same thing twice with slightly different wording. In this case, “Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” While steadfast love and faithfulness are slightly different, they are easily understood to partner with each other to create something amazing. However, they are also paired with righteousness and judgment. 

Very few of us would pair love with judgment and yet it is this partnership that David highlights when he breaks from the traditional poetry to declare, “man and beast you save, O LORD.” Psalm 36:5-10 largely focuses on God’s love and faithfulness but Psalm 36:1-4, 11-12 does expand on the idea of judgment, which is also part of God’s salvation. Just like I Corinthians 12, which shows unity through diverse gifts, Psalm 36 shows how seemingly different attributes work together for a greater purpose.

Interestingly, John 1 uses a similar theme to Psalm 36 regarding light and life. This use of Psalm 36 in John continues in the abundant life displayed in a great feast, such as at a wedding. Psalm 36 states, “they feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights.” Within Judaism, wine is often used as the symbol of joy. For instance, Nehemiah told Israel to “drink sweet wine” in the joy of the LORD rather than grieve. Wine is used to celebrate Shabbat and, as shown so beautifully in John 2, wine is used to celebrate weddings. When God saves His people, He doesn’t do it half-heartedly but with full abundance—with joy, light, and life.

I Corinthians 12:1-11.  Before Paul starts to speak on the gifts of the Spirit and our unity in Christ, he first speaks of the mute idols that the Corinthians had previously followed. He doesn’t start with the gifts themselves but our relationship with God. The opening verse of the Greek text actually says, “Now concerning the spiritual, (πνευματικῶν, pneumatikon) brothers” while the word “gifts” is added to some translations. Paul is clear that the main focus should not be on the gifts but on the gift-giver and the unity of the Church as the body of the Messiah. In Isaiah 62:2, it is the mouth of the LORD who gives a new name, a new identity, to Jerusalem. So it is here in Corinthians, that the church isn’t simply a diverse group of people thrown together, it is the bride of Jesus. “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” 

Unfortunately, way too often we have returned to I Corinthians 12 to argue about the gifts of the Spirit, not to urge each other towards love and good deeds, but to tear each other down. Arguing theological points isn’t a bad thing to do. But the purpose of our theological arguments is important. Pirkei Avot states, “Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; but one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure. Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai. And which is the controversy that is not for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his congregation.” (Pirkei Avot 5.17) 

Any boasting we might have isn’t in our own gifts or abilities but is surely in the head of the Church. Each gift is different but they are all provided by God. We don’t get to choose what our gifts are, they are given as He wills. Paul doesn’t only speak of the spiritual gifts (χαρισματων) but also of service (διακονιων). The spiritual gifts that Paul speaks of are diverse but they all come from the same Spirit and they are used for service even as our Lord, Jesus the Messiah, declared that He came not to be served but to serve. Diversity should not be competitive or divisive but should bring unity. 

The gifts are not given for the glorification of any one earthly individual but for the benefit of everyone. This is an encouragement for us all to seek the fellowship of other believers. We need each other and the different gifts that the Spirit has provided. There is a dynamic partnership of the spiritual gifts which the Spirit of God gives, and we receive and exercise that which is given for the good of the body of Messiah.

John 2:1-11.  John 2 continues from John 1, but not in a heady theological and philosophical discourse. John 1 states that the Word, who was God, came to dwell among men and that men were able to see His glory, His grace, and His truth. When Jesus came to earth, He didn’t abandon it when He saw that the world was full of darkness, Jesus lived, worked, and worshipped in the midst of Israel. And we see in John 2 that Jesus joined His mother in the celebration and joy of life at a wedding, even bringing His disciples. This sets the tone for Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was not going to separate Himself from the world but live in it.

There was a contemporary movement to completely separate from the world in the Qumran community at the Dead Sea. But there was also a strong movement to separate from Hellenistic culture and the world without going to such extremes, as seen in writings such as I Maccabees. Luke notes in his Gospel, “The Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at His disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’”

The wedding in Cana likely involved someone familiar to both Mary and Jesus, as Mary was already present and Jesus was invited separately (along with His disciples). It would have been a time of great joy and blessing and during these times, culturally and even biblically, there was wine to symbolize that joy and blessing. Not having enough wine would have brought shame on the family and so Mary turned to Jesus to fix the problem.

There is an interesting partnership between Jesus and Mary that emerges in this story evident when Jesus turned to Mary and said, “My hour has not yet come.” Despite this, Jesus ends up saving the day. Many years earlier, when Jesus was 12, He appeared to have been ready to start the mission that He had come to earth to do. But Luke tells us that Jesus went with His parents back to Nazareth and “was submissive to them” at that time. Jesus, of course, would have been a devout follower of the Torah and Deuteronomy 5:16 is clear, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you.” Having postponed the start of His ministry at an earlier age, Jesus seems to have looked to His mother, trusting in her guidance as to when to start His ministry. Mary, in turn, had faith that Jesus would act once she asked Him to, turning to the servants and saying, “Do whatever He tells you.”

This miracle that Jesus did in Cana not only showed His humanity but also His divinity. Even as John 1 returned to Genesis 1 in declaring that Jesus was the creator God, John 2 goes back to Genesis 2 and a divinely blessed wedding. If the Messiah is going to manifest Himself, what better place than at a celebration of covenant and joy, which reflects God’s relationship with His people? 

The miracle of the wine wasn’t necessarily just about solving a problem, it revealed His glory to those who saw His actions. As seen in Psalm 36, God provides life abundantly and it is God who gives drink. There was already a traditional blessing for wine in the 1st century and certainly that same blessing would have been pronounced at this wedding, “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.” As Jesus took the six stone jars, a traditional vessel that very religious Jews used to keep ritually pure, and turned water into wine there was only one with the power to create the fruit of the vine—God.

Hebraic Perspective. So often in this world, when we are asked to partner with people we give up on working with them very quickly—they have different goals, perspectives, and cultures, and they are simply too difficult to work with. The divorce rate is incredibly high, in both secular and Christian circles. Just as bad, Christians and the Church have seen a great separation in recent years as individuals leave the church because people in the church are sinful—which is true—or simply because others in the church have a slightly different opinion or mission.

The theme of partnership is woven throughout Scripture. Not only has God constantly desired to dwell with His people, but He has also constantly partnered with His people. However, God also calls for His people to partner with one another and work together. Philo, in Special Laws 4.187, states that God summoned “...identity out of things which were different, and intercommunion and harmony out of things which had previously no communication nor agreement.”

Paul, in I Corinthians 12, makes it clear that God has created a church out of many individuals. Each person is different, with different gifts, abilities, and cultures. With our different capabilities, we go about our work differently. But we do not work individually—we mustn’t and we can’t. We are called to work together for we “are the body of Christ”.

And, if we think that working together is only appropriate when working with others as perfect as we are, our passages give an example that we mustn’t ignore. Isaiah 62 shows clearly that Jerusalem was thought to be forsaken and desolate and yet God delighted in her as a bridegroom delights in his beloved. Even Jesus did not minister alone, whether He was working with Mary, His mother, or the disciples Jesus partnered with flawed individuals. He did not abandon them the moment they failed.

Too often we see vast differences when God sees things that should work naturally together. Psalm 36 is an example of God partnering love and faithfulness with righteousness and judgment. We might see judgment and love as being almost opposed to each other, but in God they work together to bring life and salvation even while the wicked plot evil and harm. Where we find disagreements, confrontations, or even opposition, it may be that God has formed a new identity that works together to bolster one another in love and faithfulness or bring us back to God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) as our Lord.

ACNA Readings

Psalm 96. During this season of Epiphany, Psalm 96 reminds us, as with Isaiah 62, that the salvation and great works of God aren’t only for Israel but to be displayed among all nations. This might seem odd in its context, as this Psalm was written for Temple worship and It was almost certainly sung in a centralized location by Levites. Very few in the nations would have known who God was—every nation had their own gods. But their gods, as Paul would later point out in I Corinthians 12, were mute. The idols of the nations were worthless.

We so often see God speak, God creating, God saving. Both Paul, in Romans 1, and the author of the Book of Wisdom remind us that God’s creation itself speaks to His power even as Psalm 96 shows nature itself rejoicing in God. But here, David says that we too should partner with God to declare His glory, not only in the Temple but in all the earth. Israel was to declare God’s works to everyone even as the heavens themselves rejoiced before God. The very fact that few would have known who God was is an excellent reason for David to declare that, out of God’s sanctuary, His deeds should be declared to all people.

There is a very important reason to declare who our God is to all nations. It is because God is king over all nations, He reigns and rules—not just in the heart of Jerusalem but over all that He has created. God will judge but He still invites all people to come, bearing an offering and trembling but still coming, and meet Him. 

Endnotes

1.  Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…’”
2.  Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 12.11-12
3.  Hebraic poetry loves to use ideas such as parallelism, as it does here in Psalm 36:5-6, while it does not use some of the poetic measures we might be more familiar with, such as rhyming. Often these parallels are used in immediate contexts, such as “heavens” and “clouds”, “steadfast love” and “faithfulness” but then in connecting contexts as well, “steadfast love” and “judgments”. The most beautiful poetry often create parallels throughout the entirety of the poem, connecting ideas along in a chiasm—named for the Greek letter Chi, χ—so that the entire poem repeats itself, generally in reverse order to form an X or a V. Sometimes this repetition states the same thing and sometimes the opposing force, such as the upright in heart and the wicked. In Psalm 36, these two groups will experience God’s faithfulness and judgment in very different ways.
4. Nehemiah 8:9-12
   
5.  I Corinthians 12:4-6 clearly indicates that Paul does also speak of the gifts of grace (χαρισματων) from the Spirit, the ministry (διακονιων) of the Lord, and all under the power (ενεργηματων) of God.
6. Revelation 19:6-10; Ephesians 5:23-32
7.  Psalm 127:1
   
8. Nehemiah 8:9-12, “This day is holy to the LORD your God… Eat the fat and drink sweet wine.” Wine also became associated with Purim, as sorrow was turned into gladness and mourning into a holiday, “that they should make them days of feasting and gladness.”
9. See Hebraic Context
10. The righteousness and salvation of Jerusalem, as seen in Isaiah 62:1-5, is supposed to show the kings of the world the glory of God. Regarding the church, Ephesians 3:10 states that “through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”
11. Philo of Alexandria was a contemporary of Jesus and the Apostles.
12. The Septuagint ascribes Psalm 96 to “When the house was built after the captivity, a song of David.” Psalm 96:6 and 8 certainly speak of temple worship while the universality of worship and salvation in the Psalm is reminiscent of several of David’s psalms.
13. Book of Wisdom 13:7-10, “For while they live among His works, they keep searching and trust in what they see because the things that are seen are beautiful. Yet again, not even they are to be excused, for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they not more quickly find the Lord of these things? But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are those who give the name ‘gods’ to the works of human hands…”