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. . . As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord . . . Joshua 25:15b
Epiphany 2 Yr C
“Marriage Feast”, woodcarving in choir area of Cathedral d’Amiens
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Published date 1/15/2025
Introduction
Introduction
Although the main focus of the scripture is that Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana, the lesson from Corinthians is very powerful as well:
7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to 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. (1 Corinthians 12:7-10)
Sometimes (in modesty or humbleness) we deny that we are "gifted" but we are. It's also the case that we are not able to "see" the gift in ourselves. For this week and to get your new year off to a great start, spend time discerning what your gift might be. Comments welcome.
John 2:1-11
John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. . . . When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” . . . 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.” . . . 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.
sermons4kids: “Because the servants did what Jesus told them to do, a good thing happened. Jesus wants good things to happen in our life too. If we do what Jesus tells us to do, good things will happen to us too.”
Scripture: January 19, 2025—Isaiah 62:1-5 (image); Psalm 36:5-10 (image); 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (image); and John 2:1-11 (image).
Collect: 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, worshipped, 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.
Reflection: The Holy Spirit enlivens each of us with unique gifts that nurture faith and serve the common good. To identify those gifts we can ask ourselves such questions as, When do I feel most alive? What do I love to do? What things, tasks, or actions fill me with a sense of purpose? What am I doing when time seems to stand still? These questions help us discern the Spirit’s movement in our lives. Created in the image of God, each of us is uniquely gifted to reveal divine likeness. When our deep joy is united with meaning and purpose, vocation is birthed. How or where is God calling you?
(excerpted from Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press)
The wedding at Cana by Jen Norton https://jen-norton.pixels.com/featured/the-wedding-at-cana-jen-norton.html
A video/audio journey through the scriptures.
Images enhancing
the scripture
wedding at Cana, Peter Koenig, https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/Portfolio/wedding-at-cana
The Wedding feast at Cana, The Keur Moussa abbey church fresco was designed and painted in 1963 by Dom Georges Saget.
Juan, de Flandes, approximately 1465-1519. Marriage at Cana, from Wikipedia Commons
"Wedding at Cana" (1696) by Nicolas de Correa
"Wedding at Cana" (1562-63) by Paolo Veronese
"Wedding at Cana" (1973) by Jesus Mafa
Music founded
in the scripture
“When Christ’s appearing was made known“, from the Red River Hymnal (almost medieval)
“Let there be light“, sung by Damon Eliot, from the movie “Let there be light”
“Let there be light“, sung by Lira, from “Lion King”
Other voices
about the scripture
“L’Chai-im—More wine!” by Peter Woods
“Wedding mishaps and the cross“, a reflection by Alyce McKenzie
If Jesus could transform
common water
into wedding wine
spit and dirt
into new sight
troubled sea
into a pathway
well water
into living water
Could Christ transform
the waters of my life
shallow
murky
polluted
stagnant
sour
into a shower
of blessing?
© Tom Lane
Could she do otherwise than be proud of him who made the simplest beautiful to her? Was not even the lofty, large-accustomed
night as if beside itself when he appeared? Did not also his once having lost himself incredibly redound to his glory? Had not the wisest exchanged ears for mouths? And was not the house as new at his voice? Ah, surely she had hundreds of times restrained herself from radiating her delight in him. She followed him amazed.
But there at that wedding feast,
when unexpectedly there was no wine, she looked across and begged him for a gesture and did not understand that he protested. And then he did it. She realized later
how she had pressed him into his way: for now he really was performing miracles, and the whole sacrifice was decreed, irresistibly. Yes, it was written. But was it already then prepared? She: she had brought it on in the blindness of her vanity.
At the table full of fruits and vegetables she rejoiced with the rest and did not understand that the water of her tear-glands
had turned to blood with this wine.
© Rainer Maria Rilke
Movies representing some part of the scripture
“Angela’s Ashes” (1999, R), “I wondered how my brother and I survived”, "soul-shattering effects of poverty", story of immigrants returning to Ireland following the death of their 7 year old daughter, Review
“Grand Canyon“, (1991, R), “A universal hunger pervades the world. It is the hunger to get more out of life, to give more back, to be more involved, and to find more meaning”, Review
"Down to the river to pray." Many of us were delighted to hear this hymn in the movie, "O brother, where art thou?" In the movie, the hymn is clearly a "baptism" hymn. In "The Good Old Way" (earliest version), it began as "Down to the valley to pray." Eventually, going "down in the river" replaced "down to the valley" and the hymn is often sung at baptisms. Let's sing along together with the newly popular version from "O brother."
If you'd like to read about one hymn in particular, let me know.
For families: Study guide and activities (another guide); group activities; snack; kid video
For children: See family guide/activities (another activity); bulletin; craft;
For middlers: See family guide/activities (another activity); bulletin; craft.
For youth: The lesson from Corinthians identifies the "gifts of the spirit", that is the outward appearance of our services to the Lord. Read it here. Where do you fit in? As a young person, it is sometimes difficult to "see" that you have a spiritual gift. Take some time to talk with others—priest, teachers, friends—to gain insight. Name your gift and work on its development. Comments welcome.
The feast of the Epiphany directed our attention to the ways in which Christ is manifest in the Gospels, and by extension, how he is manifest in our lives. The theme of showing forth is continued in the Sundays after the Epiphany. Today’s Gospel carries the third of the three classical themes of Epiphany: Jesus’ first miracle, changing water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee.
The Old Testament used the marriage relationship and the marriage feast as symbols or archetypes of God’s relationship to the chosen people and of the ultimate consummation of that relationship in the establishment of the Kingdom. Today’s passage from Isaiah is based on that image.
At the marriage feast, Jesus produced around 150 gallons of wine (God is lavish, even profligate, in giving grace) and it is much better wine than the host at the dinner had been serving (God’s grace far surpasses what we can do for ourselves).
God’s gifts of grace to us are also the focus of today’s reading from I Corinthians. This reading is the first in a series from this Epistle exploring the kinds of gifts we received when we were baptized by water and the Holy Spirit, and the results of God’s gifts in our lives.
We are a people transformed by our relationship to God and given the grace and illumination of the Holy Spirit. The marriage images in the first and third readings describe the intimate and total nature of God’s relationship to us which results of the gift of the Holy Spirit given us in baptism.
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.
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