John 2:1-11

John 2: 1-11

¹ On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." ⁴ And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." ⁵ His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." ⁶ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. ⁹ 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 ¹⁰ 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." ¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

            John 2:1-11 is the story of the first sign in Galilee, the visit of Jesus to a wedding, and the miracle of water turned into wine. This story provides me an opportunity to discuss the nature of signs in the gospel of John. Yet, I also take time to discuss the importance we can gather from John portraying Jesus as choosing a wedding celebration for the first of the signs in this gospel.

This story begins a series of stories ending at 4:54 that share various responses to Jesus. The story is part of the Book of Signs, running from 1:19-12:50. The first impression given by the narrative is that of a simple miracle-story. However, the mysterious words about the hour of Jesus, the lavish quantity of wine, the final remark of the writer and indeed the whole purport of the story make it clear that there is a deeper meaning behind the words of the narrative. This level of thought will push us to consider what John intended theologically and spiritually.

Before we get too far into this story, allow me to pause for a moment. This story encourages us to think of Jesus as accessible. We often think of Jesus as serious most of the time. Yet, in this story, Jesus is providing alcohol, wine, for a party. He is providing the best wine. He does this for the ordinary, if joyful, event of a wedding. Of course, I like the “laughing Jesus” drawing as well.

We will discuss three features of the story that reveal its deeper meaning.         

First there is the wedding banquet itself. The wedding celebration becomes central for most couples. Yet, the wedding is for one day. It will pass. Many couples have learned that you do not so much fall in love and get married as you do get married and learn to love the other over the years.[1] Some people will refer to marriage as a chain. Yet, chains cannot hold a marriage together. Rather, hundreds of tiny threads sew people together through the years.[2] Most weddings, as lovely as they are, are forgettable — except your own. Some weddings are unforgettable because of their unique location such as a bridge or dump, and so on. Unforgettable weddings usually have an unpredictable facet — like a fainting bride, or a cold-footed no-show groom, or a bridesmaid who fell in the mud on the way in the door, or a smiling minister who repeatedly and confidently calls the bride and groom by the wrong names. ¹ On the third day, referring to the previous scene of Nathaniel, giving time for travel. There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Today, Kefer Kenna, three and one half miles north of Nazareth, is where pilgrims go, but khirbet Qona, 9 miles north of Nazareth, is where this story occurs. Thus, the place will not make the wedding unforgettable. The wedding occurs in a typical small village. Further, the mother of Jesus was there. ² The hosts had also invited Jesus and his disciples to the wedding. Throughout the gospels, we are put on alert that something holy is about to happen whenever Jesus is around food. In the synoptics, Jesus uses the metaphor of the banquet to describe how the power of God drastically reverses the religious and social status quo, he enacts this reversal by sharing meals with religious and social outcasts, and he changes forever the meaning of bread and wine the night before his death. In every gospel, Jesus amazes thousands by feeding them all with only a few loaves of bread and fewer fish. The wedding banquet at Cana is no exception to this holiness alert. When all four gospel writers variously depict Jesus either teaching about banquets or attending them, they underscore his connection with the arrival of the Messiah and the accompanying transformation of the world according to God’s holy purposes. The decision to highlight the wedding banquet at Cana is John’s way of signaling us that from the very outset of his earthly ministry, Jesus is the Christ whose every activity one must understand in relation to the revelation of his glory and messianic mission. As far as John is concerned, it is not surprising that the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs takes place at a wedding banquet. Indeed, considering the messianic symbolism throughout the Bible connected to wedding banquets, it would perhaps be surprising if Jesus did not do something miraculous like change water into wine.

Second is the interaction between Mary and Jesus. John has already let us know that Mary is present. Jesus, his mother and his friends attended an unforgettable wedding in Cana. No one planned for this wedding to be unforgettable. ³ When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." The wedding was just your typical, traditional wedding celebration with an average and pleasant reception — until the wine gave out. Customarily, hosts served the better wine first at Galilean wedding receptions. This makes sense, when you think about it. You serve the good wine first, when the palate is fresh and expectant. After a few pints, who cares? Both the guests and their taste buds are dull, and one can bring the cheap stuff out for the final slide into inebriation. However, to run out of wine before it is time was an unforgettable hospitality indiscretion that would have caused minor humiliation for the host if he did not fix the problem quickly. In short — it could have been a social disaster. Most of us have been there. We are part of the planning for a social event, a mistake occurs, and we panic. Of course, such a mistake is not the end of the world. In the great scheme of things, such social mistakes are minor. Picture a stressed-out host trying to find more wine while quietly badgering his servants. Picture the fear of the servants. Yet, for whatever reason, Mary, Jesus’ mother, got involved in the wine problem. We do not know why. Maybe she was a happy person and simply wanted the feast and joy to continue. Maybe Mary thought that marriages were worth celebrating. We can almost hear Mary saying, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll talk to my son — he can fix anything.” Wine at a wedding will lead to joy most of us have seen it happen. As the wedding banquet progresses, people become increasingly animated and happy. Wine at weddings also can give a spirit of optimism about the future. In the Old Testament, writers often tied wine and wedding imagery to the hope of eternity. In fact, the Lord will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear (Isaiah 25:6). Wine at a wedding celebration can also help you recognize the blessings of the present. Seated around family and friends and enjoying the finer things in life stirs up a sense that the happy couple and all those who celebrate with them are lacking in nothing. Yet, the response of Jesus to this event that would make the wedding unforgettable is a little surprising. ⁴Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? The words of Jesus to his mother are rather jarring. They seem rude to most people who read them. He seems to brush her away. The Greek here literally reads, “What to me and to you, woman?” Perhaps it could be more colloquially translated, “Woman, what’s it to me and you?” or “Woman, why are you bothering me with this?” or more loosely still, “Woman, please.” In other words, “Cry me a river.” “Why don’t you tell that to someone who cares?” This demonstrates a central Johannine affirmation of Jesus' freedom and noncontingency.  Also typical of John's Gospel is the way this story presents Jesus as strange, enigmatic, not self-evident in who he is. We will say of some people that they are who they appear to be. What you see is what you get. Such was not true of Jesus. He was not what he appeared to be. When we turn to the matter of the interaction between Mary and Jesus, there is room to interpret an element of humor. A quick exchange of words is peculiarly reminiscent of that awkward dilemma a child faces when put on the spot by a parent. Why is Mary concerned? Does she want Jesus to do something?  The text is not clear that Mary is asking for a miracle from her son. Some interpreters make much out of the apparent rebuke Jesus delivers to Mary; particularly the way he addresses Mary as “woman” instead of “mother.” "Woman" is not negative.  The word “woman” is certainly not a disrespectful form of address, but when used towards one’s mother among Semitic peoples, it is unusual and astonishing. It is unique for a son to address the mother this way.  Does Mary embarrass or anger Jesus? Does her approach embarrass or anger him so much that he does not even acknowledge her as his mother? Does Jesus view Mary’s request being beneath his pursuit of higher purposes? Is John highlighting this exchange to illustrate a distance between Jesus and Mary that underscores how Jesus thinks in terms of the heavenly concerns of his Father, while Mary — like Nicodemus in 3:1-15 and the Samaritan woman in 4:1-15 — focuses on earthly concerns? In any case, even though it was Jesus who performed this first public miracle, Mary saved that wedding day. She led Jesus to his first miracle. My hour has not yet come." In spite of all the questions, we may have concerning the words of Jesus to his mother, at issue for Jesus is the fact that his hour had not yet come. Jesus’ “hour” is his passion, death and resurrection, which John takes up in chapters 13-20. "Hour" = passion, resurrection, ascension in John.  Even here, at the beginning of his gospel, we must consider that John might be alluding mysteriously to the full revelation of divine glory after the Cross and Resurrection. However, references to this hour throughout John’s gospel operate with an emergent understanding that even as Jesus’ hour has not yet come in full, it is already beginning to become evident in the course of his ministry prior to the Last Supper. ⁵ His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Mary becomes a symbol. This “already” aspect may be why Mary ignores Jesus’ rebuke and directly tells the servants at the banquet to do whatever Jesus tells them.  Mary believes Jesus will intervene.  The manner is unknown.  Mary has sensed that Jesus will act, even though his answer remains mysterious to her. Mary is more than a pushy mom with excessive pride in her boy. Mary is not bragging, but showing faith in her son who also happens to be the Son of God. In the context of the Gospel of John, we are not sure whether Mary yet knows for sure that Jesus is the Son of God. However, John and the intended audience for this gospel know. John portrays Mary knowing enough to rely on the value of whatever her son has to say — a portrayal in which Mary trusts the words of Jesus who is the Word. Mary demonstrates her firm belief that Jesus can save the situation. For those who already know “the rest of the story” of Jesus’ resurrection, Mary models the true disciple’s humble trust that whatever Jesus tells us will always reliably manifest the will of God ... that whatever Jesus tells us to do is always the right thing to do. One can compare this exchange to Jesus’ encounters with the Samaritan woman [4:1-26] as well as the Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman [Mark 7:24-30/Matthew 15:21-28].

Third is the replenishing of the wine. ⁶ Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. A measurer is about 8 gallons. Note that the servants draw out water changed into wine from jars reserved for ceremonial washing. Literally, these jars hold water for purity rituals. The hosts of the wedding intended the water for the crucial religious practice of external cleansing before eating. However, Jesus uses this water to create something crucial to our internal nourishment. ⁷ Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." They filled them up to the brim. This shows the greatness of the miracle, the lavishness of the gift of Jesus. ⁸ He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." Therefore, they took it. ⁹ When the steward tasted the 120 gallons of 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 ¹⁰ 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, giving deeper significance to the miracle, for this wine has come from Jesus, until now." This goes beyond symbolism. Such a setting summons up biblical images of the messianic era and messianic fullness, marked by wine and the abundance of fine foods. When Jesus changes water into wine, the transformation of the world according to God’s holy purpose is becoming a reality through the presence of Jesus — the Word, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ. Here, Jesus’ miracle echoes his teaching in the synoptics concerning the necessity of new wineskins for new wine (Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39). This miracle also echoes the new meaning Jesus gives to wine in the synoptic accounts of the Last Supper. Through Jesus, the new wine is superior to the old. Through Jesus, the new wine transforms us out of mannered external piousness and into mature internal piety. The story has a sacramental use of wine. We have already identified the imagery of the wedding banquet as symbolic of the arrival of the Messiah and the accompanying transformation of the world according to God’s holy purposes. The miracle enacts the messianic significance of the setting. The ebb and flow of the wine is pivotal to the witness of John’s gospel to the revelation of Jesus’ glory and messianic mission.

So what does all this mean? ¹¹ First, Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and, second, revealed his glory; and third, his disciples believed in him. John closely connects these three statements. This suggests that we are to take the miracles of Jesus as signs in the sense that they point to the identity of Jesus, to the hidden presence of the rule of God in his ministry that will unveil itself in the resurrection of Jesus. The glory of resurrection is a disclosure to the universal end of all time and the coming again of Jesus as the promised Messiah.^[3]  The new wine breaks in upon and transforms the religious status quo. Through the creation of new wine, Jesus first reveals his glory — and his disciples believe in him. Have we the mature internal piety to taste and see Jesus for the Messiah he is? Are we already prepared to take Jesus at his word, as the Word? As a sign, the primary focus is on Jesus as the one sent by God to bring salvation.  His glory shines, and the disciples respond with belief. Cana reveals the glory of Jesus through the Messianic replacement and abundance theme. Such “signs” are “acts of power” in the synoptics. What is astonishing about the miracle at Cana is that Jesus himself makes no use of it to develop his revelation, probably due to its introductory character. The sign allows only a preliminary view of the glory of Jesus. Later, symbolic meanings, such as bread of life, light of the world, and resurrection and life, will become major themes of the signs Jesus performs. These observations raise a question and illuminate a possible answer. Of the Seven signs in John, only this one has no parallel to Synoptics at all. Yet, Mark 2:18-22 has an interesting parallel in that Jesus, in response to a question regarding fasting, refers to the fact that people do not fast while the wedding is happening and he follows that with a saying regarding not putting new wine into old wineskins. Further, is it really so different from the multiplication of the loaves? Given that John does not relate the Last Supper, such a mention of the abundance of wine, followed by abundance of bread in Chapter 6, suggest a heightened sense of the importance of the sacrament. The story completes the call of the disciples, wrapping up the activity of Jesus in calling his first disciples in 1:19-51, ending with 2:11, “and his disciples believed in him.” The disciples provide an example of responding to Jesus with belief. At the same time, the story commences the public ministry of Jesus with his miraculous power. The story of this first sign by which Jesus reveals his glory is both the climax of the foregoing, which presses on towards a visible manifestation of the messiah acclaimed but not fully known by his first disciples and the starting-point for the whole self-revelation of Jesus that John sees occurring through signs.  One needs to keep these two points of view in mind. Then, the faith of the disciples brought to perfection by the self-revelation by Jesus in signs, and the beginning of the signs, by which the peculiar nature of the Johannine portrayal of the earthly work of Jesus is signaled, one can appreciate properly the situation and significance of the first miracle of Cana. Jesus' first miracle ushers in his active ministry with chords of celebration and faithfulness. Mary puts her trust in Jesus' abilities, and through her openness to faith, the miracle occurs. As a result, the wedding party becomes more joyful than ever expected.

In context, John shares various responses to Jesus in 2:1-4:54. In fact, the passage presents the first of two miracles performed by Jesus at Cana, the second being his healing of the official’s son found in 4:46-54. These two Cana stories frame a specific unit of material within The Book of Signs that includes the cleansing of the temple, Nicodemus’ visit with Jesus, John the Baptist’s final witness and Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman.

An important point is that this revelation of the glory of Jesus is not a timeless epiphany, but has a fixed place at the beginning of a whole series of signs that Jesus performs in historical succession. The sign reveals the glory of Jesus, but only to those who look at it with believing eyes. As a means of self-revelation by Jesus, it has the same force as his words. As appears from the great miracles to come later, the words of revelation by Jesus do no more than disclose the real meaning of the sign more fully. Such a discourse does not follow the first sign. We are to gather its Messianic and Christological meaning from the presentation itself, especially from the points stressed. We can see this in the close connection in the final remark John makes. The revelation given in the signs is a revelation to those who have the eyes of faith and respond to an act of God with believing in its truth. By noting that the miracle at Cana is the first sign, the writer calls attention to the beginning of the self-revelation by Jesus before the world, which is to be fully public. Nevertheless, the choice of “to see” to express the experience of faith is not without significance. There is no transfiguration, no temporary elevation of Jesus to a heavenly mode of being in John. Even the walking on the waters contains no such trait. This is no accident. John takes the Incarnation so seriously that he never removes the veil of the flesh, and he never displays the divine glory of Jesus except to the eyes of faith. One may ask whether the disciples of Jesus have already attained the full insight of faith at the miracle of Cana, since misunderstandings still beset them in the upper room. However, what the writer means is that their faith had received an essential impulse from the sign at Cana: their faith has grown stronger within them and richer in content. This is clear from the Christological formula “they believed in him.” The faith of the disciples that contains in principle the full Christological faith is also a headline to the readers of the Gospel. Yet, the miracle may have a deeper meaning for the writer. At the marriage, it is not the wine in itself, or the wine in contrast to the water, which constitute the pregnant signs. The significance of the wine is as a gift of Jesus, a sign that comes from him and points to him. As a gift of Jesus, the wine also is significant. Jesus gives it at the end of the wedding, and it is so precious and copious that it is one of the eschatological gifts of the Messiah.

So what does all this mean to us? In the wedding ritual, most clergy remind people that Jesus graced a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Do you find it at all thought provoking that Jesus chose a wedding in which to reveal his glory first?

We dare not make light of this commitment. Robust new literature shows marriage is good for both men and women, markedly better than being single, cohabiting or getting divorced. Married people have more satisfying sexual lives than do single people, both physically and emotionally. They live significantly longer, healthier, happier lives and recover more quickly from illness. They are much less likely to slap, hit and abuse each other than some have suggested. Marriage protects men and women from suicide and mental illness as well.[4]

In one sense, marriages are so common. The wedding is only one day of the marriage. Why would Jesus choose this common, if joyful, event?

It means that if Jesus can change water into wine, he can change us, too. Jesus can the ordinary, even if joyful, events of our lives and turn them into transforming events. This story is a miracle of transformation. As one wife put it after her alcoholic husband encountered the transforming power of the resurrected Christ, “Jesus changed beer into furniture.” That is, money that he had spent on beer he was now spending on the family. Jesus can turn the sour into the sweet. Jesus can turn bitterness into peace. Jesus can turn hatred into love. Jesus can turn anger into joy.

Marriage is an empty box. There is nothing in it. Marriage does not do anything for anybody. People need to do something for marriage. Love, romance, consideration, and generosity are not in marriage, they are in people and people put them into the marriage box.[5]

Yes, the wedding at Cana is a metaphor for new, transformational beginnings.

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[1] I always remind people that you don’t fall in love and get married. You get married and you learn to love over many years. —Dr. Laura Schlessinger, radio talk show host.

[2] Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads that sew people together through the years. —Simone Signoret.

[3] Barth, Church Dogmatics III.2 [47.1] 479.

[4]—Glenn T. Stanton, “The social experiment that failed,” Christianity Today, February 5, 2001, 73.

[5]               —J. Allan Peterson.

I Corinthians 12:1-11

I Corinthians 12:1-11

¹Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³Therefore 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. ⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Whereas the previous subjects concerned the status of married and unmarried believers, virgins and food sacrificed to idols and other related communal issues, Paul now begins a protracted section of his letter (chapters 12-14) that considers spiritual gifts, particularly how they are to function in the gathered community. The passage can be an aid as we reflect upon the general notion of balancing disciplined congregational prayer on the one hand and free, hearty, and spontaneous prayer on the other. Paul wrestles with order and spontaneity in these chapters. The solution is for the minister to prepare for “extemporary” prayer, with due attention to connecting to the congregation, the historical connection to tradition, and to the need for stability of form.^[1]

I Corinthians 12:1-13 have the theme of the gifts of the Spirit. The point here will be that Christian life is not so much a theory as a love affair.[2] Paul is connecting some quite practical matters that ought to lead us to a deeper appreciation of the love that binds us to each other and to Christ through the Spirit. 

¹Now concerning, suggesting he raises another issue mentioned by the Corinthians in their correspondence with him, spiritual gifts, the next topic, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed (ἀγνοεῖν, referring to ignorance or disregarding). ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. His concern is to wrench these believers out of their pagan religious culture. What is the risk to them now as believers? What Paul says about idols is consistent with similar Old Testament traditions. For example, Psalm 115:4-7 declares idols are nothing more than silver and gold shaped by human hands, with mouths, eyes, ears, noses, hands, and feet that do not function.[3] If Paul has this passage in mind, Psalm 115:8 expresses the concern that those who make idols and those who trust them become like them. For example, Christian speech and hearing are very relevant.  The letters suggest the Corinthian congregation used excessive speech, but it was less than helpful. The general concern, however, is that Paul desired Christians to become like Christ.[4] Thus, the first comment of Paul starkly reminds readers just how diverse and deeply pagan the environment in which the early Christians lived and learned. Until quite recently, the Corinthians had been participants in this pagan culture, worshiping human-made idols.

Yet, it may well be that part of the modern frustration is that we have relied upon gods rather than God. We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the technical ability to destroy ourselves, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate.  We have worshipped the god of pleasure only to discover that thrills play out and sensations are short-lived.  We have bowed before the god of money only to learn that there are such things as love and friendship that money cannot buy and that in a world of possible depressions, stock market crashes, and bad business investments, money is a rather uncertain deity.  These transitory gods are not able to save or bring happiness to the human heart.  Only God is able.  It may well be that even we modern people need to find a way to rediscover faith in that which is reliable.[5]

³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed (Αναθεμα)!"” Paul insists they are not truly in the Spirit. The Spirit does not tear up the historical roots of faith. The Spirit does not set out to undermine the foundations of the institution, the church, the Bride of Christ, which Jesus the Christ called into being. It may be hard to imagine just what circumstances could lead the Corinthians to query Paul about the spiritual pedigree of those who curse Jesus' name. Two suggestions are worth pondering. First, this statement could have been uttered in the pagan assemblies they formerly attended. Paul would then be setting up a stark contrast between the inspired speech of their former and present lives. Second, some in the Christian assembly, possibly as an expression of the complete freedom of the Spirit, could have been uttering this phrase. In this case, Paul is giving the Corinthians practical instructions to discern the spirits and test all forms of what appears to be inspired speech.[6]

Perhaps it is in part a reaction against these worthless idols, constructed by human hands and out of human ideals, that some group has arisen that "curses Jesus." If this is a Gnostic offshoot, emphasizing the spiritual nature of the all-powerful risen Lord, they may well have rejected any need for or recognition of the human side of the man Jesus. In this state of self-delusion, the pagan adherent is liable to say almost anything, even something that is blasphemous to a particular pagan deity. To Paul, this is unimaginable for a Christian. Christians might experience moments of spiritual power, and even speak in unintelligible tongues. However, these experiences never carry believers away from their confessional foundation or lead them astray from the community of the faithful. It would be impossible for the Spirit to lead a believer to utter a curse on Jesus. Further, no one can say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Those who have genuinely become a bonded part of the Spirit-bred, Spirit-led community of faith announce reverently "Jesus is Lord." We see Paul distinguishing members of the Trinity, writing of a distinction between the risen Lord and the Holy Spirit.^[7] In this case, the Spirit shows his deity by teaching us to recognize and confess the deity of another, that is, the Son.^[8] In context, one of the concerns is authentic spirituality, which Paul is identifying as the common confession of Jesus as Lord. On the contrary, a Christian ecstatic experience would ground believers in their faith, not set them off on a flighty path. Christians in the Spirit would receive the power to recognize and proclaim, "Jesus is Lord." Paul wants to make it clear that the Christian experience of the Holy Spirit is antithetical to the pagan understanding of episodic moments of ecstasy. Apparently, many new Christians still believed that they could participate in familiar but heathen religious rites without losing their connection to the newly established Christian community. Paul argues that these rites are so intensely personal that in effect they separate or disconnect the new believer from the church. They stressed the diversity of the private experience at the expense of the unity of the communal sharing of the spiritual gift. The apostle's constant refrain is that spiritual gifts are for mutual edification, something that cannot happen if everyone is doing his/her own thing without the direction of the Spirit. In verse 13, the power of the Spirit through baptism does away with the distinctions of race or social status by the power of the Holy Spirit through baptism. Paul's use of the metaphor of the body makes this plain (12:12-31), as does his insistence that love is the greatest gift of all (chapter 13). Furthermore, in chapter 14 Paul argues that the gifts of prophecy and tongues are only useful if the church, rather than the individual, benefits. Therefore, those who are still worshiping the pagan deities are allowing noisy, sensational self-delusion to entice them and carry them away. The pagan gods are powerless and voiceless (v.2). So, not only is the pagan experience an individual one, it is also nonsense, having nothing spiritual about it. By means of these antithetical declarations, Paul makes the following point: Whereas some speech is compatible with the Spirit, other speech is not. To paraphrase, since you Corinthians are no longer pagans, and idols are lifeless and cannot speak, when you speak by God’s Spirit — who is and gives life, and speaks — there are acceptable and nonacceptable forms of speech. 

If we were to discuss the ministry of the community, Paul makes emphatic use of the image of the body and its members. Throughout this passage, he will address gifts, services, and workings of the one Spirit. Paul affirms that the body is one, and that as such it has many members. The one body lives in the plurality of its members. In addition, the many members are one body. Therefore, the plurality has no right alone, but exist for all. Yet, this image is something real for Paul, for the vision he has before him is the body and members of the Head Jesus Christ. Paul is thinking of the one ministry and witness of the one Son. He thinks of the fellowship that the Father has in the Son with humanity.^[9]

Paul carefully addresses the still confusing fact that while there is only one genuine Spirit, it manifested its presence in a variety of ways. This diversity in unity is, in fact, the greatest strength, the unique gift, of the Holy Spirit. Instead of forcing an unvarying unity of experience on believers (as required by so many other first century cults), the Spirit of God allowed for, indeed helped develop, the flowering of uniquely individual expressions and experiences within the faith community. The freedom of individuality occurs within limits. Our vocation or calling is from God in a way that concerns the individual and is for the uniqueness that everyone represents. Such a calling is not strange to the individual. The balance here is between one Spirit and differences in the distribution of the gifts.^[10]

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts (χαρισμάτων), but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of services (or ministries, διακονιῶν), but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities (ἐνεργημάτων, workings), but it is the same God who activates (ἐνεργῶν) all of them in everyone. The Spirit does not force an unvarying unity of experience on believers. Rather, the Spirit develops the flowering of uniquely individual expressions and experiences. To use an analogy from the arts, the artist is nothing without the gift he or she has. Yet, the gift is nothing without the work of the artist.[11]

Unless the eye catch fire, The God will not be seen./ Unless the ear catch fire, The God will not be heard. / Unless the tongue catch fire, the God will not be named./ Unless the heart catch fire, the God will not be loved./ Unless the mind catch fire, the God will not be known.  --William Blake.

 

Paul expresses his concern for unity by using Trinitarian language with this reference to Lord, Spirit, and God. Such statements by Paul will become the basis for the orthodox teaching regarding the Trinity. One who prays to the Father, believes in the Son, and whom the Holy Spirit moves, is a person whom the one Lord meets and unites to the Lord. The presupposition and goal of the church in the development of the doctrine of the Trinity is the unity of God. Activities have varieties, but the same God energizes all of them in everyone.^[12] 7 To each God gives the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The gifts, services, and activities have the purpose of mutual edification. His point is that benefitting individually is not enough. The work of the Spirit is not simply for private use. The sign the Spirit is working is that it connects with others and benefits others. The diversity of genuine spiritual gifts works toward unity and harmony. The working of the Spirit will not disintegrate the bonds of faith that hold together the community. The work of the Spirit is that of a community in a specific place. The gifts of the grace granted to this community do have variety, but they all have one thing in common that guarantees their co-operation and the unity of the church. The real point is that they are all gifts of the same Spirit, who divides to every individual severally as the Spirit will.^[13]

⁸ To one God gives through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, perhaps practical exhortation. Wisdom was a topic of great concern in the letter’s opening chapters. The wisdom Paul is speaking about here is the wisdom of God embodied in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:21, 24, 30; 2:6-7, 13). To another the utterance of knowledge, perhaps exposition of Christian truth and an intelligent grasp of the principles of the gospels guided by reason and led by the Spirit. Knowledge in much of this letter is not an entirely positive thing. It can be used to destroy rather than to build up (1 Corinthians 8:1, 7, 10-11; 13:2). Yet Paul sees a place for it, particularly in the context of spiritual utterances (1 Corinthians 14:6). It is not a random choice that Paul begins his list of gifts with the gift of two different kinds of words. His argument in the last chapter on spiritual gifts shows a preference for understandable speech (1 Corinthians 14). Both gifts are according to the same Spirit. These two gifts seem important because Paul mentions them first. They serve the church in a practical manner. Preaching and teaching build up the community. ⁹ To another God gives faith by the same Spirit, suggesting the confidence in God to do great or extraordinary things, such as a faith to move mountains (13:2). It is given to an individual, just as are all the other gifts. Paul certainly wants the entire congregation to have faith (1 Corinthians 16:13), but at the same time, he envisions that the Spirit gives to some a particularly strong measure of faith so they might encourage the rest. To another God gives gifts of healing by the one Spirit, the power to help those with sickness of mind and body, which, as we now know, have a close interaction. ¹⁰ To another God gives the working of miracles, mighty deeds, such as exorcism, through the same Spirit. The Spirit gives to another prophecy, something like Old Testament prophets who spoke as messengers of God. God inspired them to utter the deep things of God for the conviction of sin, edification, comfort, and sometimes predicting the future. The Spirit gives to another the discernment of spirits, an intuitive discernment of whether the spirit of God inspires a person, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues, ecstatic utterance and its interpretation. ¹¹ The one and the same Spirit activates (ἐνεργεῖ) all these gifts, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Paul spells out some of the diverse expressions the Spirit can take in the lives of different believers. However, the tasks are always changing with changing situations. Paul does not claim the list fixes the number or types of gifts, but rather, stresses the unity of the gifts amid diversity. In fact, the intent of the diversity is to serve the one body, and therefore unity.^[14] Paul is making the multiplicity of expressions of the Spirit a theme of theological reflection in this entire passage. He did so in debate with some people in Corinth who lifted one experience of the Spirit up as authentic. Paul opted for no one form of authentic spirituality. He found justification for the multiple expressions of the Spirit working and the mutual need to embrace the way the Spirit was at work. He stresses that the variety means that the Spirit does not work equally in all. His concern was to see to it that the differences in gifts did not occasion conflicts and schisms. Instead, all should recognize that the same Spirit is at work in all these gifts, imparting the gifts as the Spirit will, and that the proper concern for all with their different gifts should be what contribution they could make to the upbuilding of the community. Thus, the individual gifts of the Spirit supplement each other in the life of the church. The only criterion of authentic spirituality is the relation to confession of Christ (verse 3), and the relation to the one Lord means commitment to the unity of Christians in the fellowship of the church by mutual participation and love in the unity of the body of Christ. These thoughts on the theme of multiplicity and unity point the way for the church in every age.^[15]

The church has always been a very human, and therefore weak, frail, and imperfect. One of the ways we demonstrate this reality is in our rebellion against affirming our oneness amid our diversity. The gift of Protestantism has been ever new diverse forms of expressing the Christian faith. The sadness I have is that the church could not figure out a way to experience that diversity while also affirming unity. 

We are individuals with unique capacities and gifts. We are part of a community of believers in whom the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same Father is at work. This mixture of our individuality and community brings tensions. We might find ourselves wondering if the community really needs certain types of individuals. We may view ourselves as in competition with others in terms of influence, power, or prestige. Some persons may seem more important than others are, stronger than others are, more “needed” than others are. Such thoughts are the source of much divisiveness in the church.

What impresses me is how deeply embedded community appears to be in both the human and natural world. Even the atom is a community of particles. Each cell is a community of interacting parts. The human body requires genes and cells, with interacting electrical charges in the brain, to work together for the good of the body. We do not understand the parts fully until we see how it all comes together in the body. Each part has its place in the whole. 

Let us reflect upon the process of thinking. We apply our rationality to understand the world better. We may think of this as an internal process, but we grow in intelligence and understanding as we engage the situations we encounter in the world. Intelligence and understanding occur outside the mind. We improve our thinking or cognitive process as we connect with a world that is outside us but already within us as well. Competing and cooperating in a social context will enhance our exercise and improve our game. Even developing a habit of walking outside gets out of internal thought processes and stimulate our thinking as we engage nature. Thus, cognition or intelligence is socially distributed.[16]

To view the church from this perspective is a humbling act. The most gifted in time, talent, or treasure, still needs other members of the community in order to grow in their faith, love, and hope. However, this view of the church is also an encouraging one. Every follower of Christ is important to the pattern of life the church is weaving. 

            I am only one; but I am one.

            I cannot do everything,

            But I can do something.

            What I can do I ought to do;

            And what I ought to do,

            By the grace of God, I will do.[17]

                        

Clearly, the church is not “the real thing,” if by that we mean the reign of God. You do not have to be involved very long before you realize that. I have seen far too many pastors end their ministries with a cynical frame of mind. The church is not New Jerusalem. Pastors are not saviors, of course. Yet, the church is to be a sign or pointer toward the real thing.

I do not want to press the image too far, but what would happen if God were building a model. What if the model God is building is the church? Why the church?

Well, as I understand biblical history, God keeps working with groups of people. God worked with the family of Abraham. God worked with Israel. The purpose was to have a community of people who would live faithfully in this world. They would direct people to the true God. Israel was to be a light to the nations. Jesus said of his followers that they were to be light, a city on a hill, and salt of the earth. 

What would happen if God wants the church to be a model of something greater to come? One way to think about that is to consider why people make models. William Klink, physics and astronomy professor at the University of Iowa, says one key reason to create models is to provide an explanation of how things work. They enable the one making the model to understand why some parts of nature behave the way they do. The one making the model puts it together in a way that one can change and control in a workable fashion. What distinguishes a model from pure speculation is that one can test a model.[18]

Based on such an understanding of a model, we could ponder what God is testing in the church. Will the church be a means of grace in this world? Will the church be a place where the world can see and experience the love God has for the world? If the church is to be a place where the mission is to love God and neighbor as well as make disciples for Jesus Christ, will the church be its statement of mission? Will the church be a place where faith in Christ, love from God that flows to others, and hope in the future rule of God and destiny of humanity empower its life?

Paul offers the metaphor of the human body in order to help us grasp how the diversity and individuality with which the Spirit works in the community of believers is a benefit to the community. 

Among the beautiful things that God did was to make us in such a way that none of us is complete alone. No matter how gifted and talented we are, no matter how saintly we become, we still need each other. In this way, we reflect the image of God. I realize that the Trinity is a difficult doctrine to understand and apply to one’s spiritual life. Yet, the Trinity is one way for us to understand the nature of God. God is one while God is also in relation. God is already in community, before God created anything else. This shows how much community means to God. God as Father, Son, and Spirit were in relationship with each other from eternity. God invites all creation, but especially us as human beings, into that relationship.

The teaching of the church concerning the Trinity suggests a relational image of God. As persons made into the image of God as Father, Son, and Spirit, we also need relationships with others. We are not complete until we enter that kind of relationship. C. S. Lewis wrote in his book, The Great Divorce of a place in which everyone got exactly what they wanted. They did not have to relate to others. They could live isolated lives, knowing they would also get want they wanted. He called that place Hell.

We can forget what matters most to us.  I like the way Stephen Covey talks about this problem.  We easily focus upon the trivial and minute matters of life, the little things that attract our attention, and lose sight of what matters most. I recall a Seminary professor asking a group of us why we entered ministry. I was surprised how many said that it was because they wanted to help people and work with people. After several responses, the professor said, “You must not understand people very well.” His point was that people could be difficult. However, even those difficulties are what we need to grow in our Christian life. We could focus upon the little things that irritate us. We could also focus upon what matters most.

¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. As a metaphor of how all this works, a body is one, but also has many members. The members of the body are many but are part of one body. Christ is the same way. His point is that the aim of the Christian is the well-being of the whole body. One meaning of this description is that the existence of the church involves a repetition of the Incarnation of the Word of God in the person of Jesus Christ in that area of the rest of humanity that is distinct from the person of Jesus Christ.^[19] The term “body of Christ” stresses Christ is a body. The “being” of the Christian community is this “body.” Christ is one in many. Jesus Christ is by nature body. Such a statement is why Paul will stress the necessity of unity and plurality in the community. The gifts, services, and workings have a bodily nature that recognizes the order and freedom needed within the community. The resurrection of Jesus is what allows Paul to tell the Corinthians they are the body of Christ in verse 27. The body of Christ as seen in the community points like an arrow to the unity of humanity in Christ. The exclusiveness of referring to church as the body of Christ is relative, provisional, and teleological. To use the language and theology of Karl Barth, the community is the body of Christ in the election of Jesus Christ from eternity. It became the body of Christ and individual members of it due to their election in the death of Christ on the cross and proclaimed in his resurrection from the dead. The work of the Holy Spirit is to realize subjectively the election of Jesus Christ and to reveal and bring it to humanity. The Holy Spirit awakens the poor praise on earth.^[20] We may also find a kind of representation in a broader sense in any social group in which individual members have special functions that both single them out and enable them to contribute to the unit as a whole and to the other members, this passage being an example. In a working society, the different members do jobs for others, and all the members relate reciprocally to each other. They are “for” each other and must act in solidarity in this sense.^[21]

¹³ For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body in a way that dissolves distinctions of race and class-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-- and we were all made to drink, maybe referring to baptism again but also a possible reference to the Lord’s Supper, of one Spirit. The Spirit is the means through which the reconciling work of Father and Son find completion. For Paul, the fellowship of Christians with God and each other rests on their participation in the one Jesus Christ to whom each of them is related by faith and baptism.^[22] By the Spirit, we receive baptism through the one Spirit and immediately we drink of the one Spirit.^[23] Here, Paul describes as a work of the Spirit the incorporating of believers into the one body of Christ by baptism, by which they also receive sonship.^[24] The Holy Spirit binds believers together in the fellowship of the body of Christ and thus constitutes the church, as the Spirit is present as its lasting gift.^[25] Baptism incorporates individuals into the body of Christ and thus relates them to the unity of the body. Baptism establishes the identity of individual Christians and integrates them with their separate individual qualities into the fellowship of the church.^[26] As such, the church becomes a provisional sign of the eschatological fellowship of a renewed humanity in the future reign of God.^[27] The redemptive work of the Spirit is present in individuals and society. Individuals receive the gift of the Spirit in baptism, but the gift is not in isolation. It binds them to fellowship with each other. All of this points us toward the goal of the work of the Spirit, renewing individual life and corporate life.^[28]

St. Boniface of Mainz lived in the 700's in Germany. He was archbishop of the area when he went to the city of Frisia. He thought he went to a meeting to instruct new converts and confirm them in the faith. Instead, some ruffians showed up and killed him because his preaching threatened shrines to local gods. They also thought that he carried a treasure of gold in the large chests he carried with him. Instead, after they killed him, they found only the books he carried with him. One well-known quote he made about the church goes like this. “The church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship, but to keep her on her course.” 

God created a system of interdependence. We cannot escape the reality that we belong to one another and function in unhealthy fashion without each other. 

Paul refers to baptism and the Lord's Supper as signs of our unity. Regardless of our differences in social standing, wealth, gender, or ethnic background, Christians are one in their reception of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Both sacraments remind us that Christian life is about Christ. Here is our unity. 

God has made you for others and others for you and all for his Body collected.

---

[1] Barth, CD, III.4 [53.3] 114-5.

[2] Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair. —G.K. Chesterton.

[3] “Their idols are silver and gold, / the work of human hands. / They have mouths, but do not speak; / eyes, but do not see. / They have ears, but do not hear; / noses, but do not smell. / They have hands, but do not feel; / feet, but do not walk; / they make no sound in their throats” (cf. Psalm 135:15-18).

[4] Further notes. Nevertheless, once again, one wonders, if idols are merely a convenient religious fiction, what possible danger could they currently create for the Corinthians? Since no definitive answer to that question is evident in these verses, some measured speculation seems warranted. To that end, therefore, if Paul did have Psalm 115 in mind when he penned his words to the church at Corinth, we might find the source of his distress in Psalm 115:8, which declares, “Those who make them are like them; / so are all who trust in them.” In other words, because of their previous allegiance “to idols that could not speak,” one of Paul’s concerns for the Corinthians is that they might unwittingly become like their speechless idols and thus conclude that their speech is, in final analysis, irrelevant. However, how could they become like the dumb idols that they formerly served? While someone might conceivably argue — based on a literal reading of Psalm 115 — that the Corinthian believers might actually become speechless, such a conclusion appears unlikely. On the contrary, the Corinthians rarely, if ever, seemed to suffer under any sort of voiceless mandate. Indeed, their more common problem was that they spoke too much and too often as Paul’s two examples in verse 3 suggest (cf. chapter 14). In sum, Paul’s examples of conflicted religious speech seem to confirm the supposition that the Corinthians were prone to frequent and excessive speech.

[5] Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr., but I have never seen the source. 

[6] Gordon D. Fee, First Corinthians, 578-82.

[7] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 269.

[8] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 321.

[9] Barth, CD IV.3 [72.4] 856-9.

[10] Barth, CD, III.4 [56.2] 603. 

[11] The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. -Emile Zola (1840-1902)

[12] Barth, CD, I.1 [9] 348-9.

[13] Barth, CD, IV.2 [64.4] 321.

[14] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 372.

[15] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 18.

[16] Annie Murphy Paul The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, 2021.

[17] (C. Farrar, "I am only one.")

[18] Klink, William H. “Ecology and eschatology: Science and theological modeling.” The Otherness of God. Orrin F. Summerell, ed. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Press, 1998.

[19] Barth, CD I.2 [16.1] 215.

[20] Barth, CD IV.1 [ 62.2] 662-8.

[21] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 419.

[22] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 15.

[23] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 451.

[24] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 16.

[25] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 134.

[26] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology, Volume 3, 459.

[27] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 478.

[28] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 552.

Isaiah 62:1-5

Isaiah 62:1-5

¹For 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. 

² 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. 

³ You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, 

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. 

⁴ 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. 

⁵ 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.

The theme of Isaiah 62:1-5, part of a segment of the preaching of III Isaiah that extends to verse 12, is the salvation of Zion. It has a companion in Chapter 60. The prophet speaks of the promised salvation in spite of the incredulity of those he addresses. We need to remember that the setting is one of post-exilic Israel, soon after the return of a Jewish remnant from Babylonian exile. The Jewish people have experienced the devastation of an exile that meant physical, social, and political devastation. The exile is the desert. The destruction of Jerusalem, the loss of land, and the recognition that the exile was the judgment of God has shattered the soul of the chosen people. Rebuilding of people and land now needs to take place. The starting point for rebuilding is the recovery of righteousness. We start rebuilding from the inside out.  No political solution alone will suffice.  When we view this text along with the preceding chapter’s message of the Messiah, we see that righteousness comes from being clothed with the garments of salvation.  

In Isaiah 62: 1-7, the prophet speaks. III Isaiah promises such rebuilding and renewal. One reason these words are so powerful is that many people in many situations long to hear such a promise. People hunger for renewal in personal lives and community. Sadly, the hunger can render one susceptible to false promises and false messiahs. Such hunger can also make one open to a genuine word from the Lord. Like the Jewish people returning home, we long for spiritual renewal, but we may also long for renewal of a nation to its highest and best ideals. In the case of III Isaiah, a vision of a new landscape is so exciting that he cannot keep from shouting and proclaiming the good news.

Therefore, as this song continues into 62:1-3, the tone changes significantly. The Anointed One declares that Zion itself shall soon also enjoy salvation and receive recognition in her new redeemed state by all the nations.  The Anointed One, the prophet, speaks of the promised salvation in spite of the incredulity of his listeners. Thus, to achieve this end, ¹For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent (be still or inactive) and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest. This vow to both ceaseless action and ceaseless prayer has a specific objective in mind, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The Anointed One will bring changes in Zion's status. ² The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall receive a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. The vindication of Zion will occur before the eyes of the world. This work of salvation and redemption transforms Zion so thoroughly that it becomes a new creation.  Note that according to divine privilege, the Lord, not the Anointed One, bestows the new name on Zion. The result is that Zion/Jerusalem ³ shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. They receive salvation in such a way that they will experience safety and protection. ⁴ People shall no more call you Forsaken, and people shall no more call your land Desolate. Rather, people shall call you My Delight (Hephzibah) Is in Her, and your land Married (Beulah); for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. II Isaiah, in 50:1, asks where the certificate of divorce is, with which the Lord sent away Israel, due to its iniquities and transgressions. The prophet uses the image of marriage earlier.  Here it refers to a remarriage. The theme of a new name is a favorite for these Zion poems. Thus, in 60:14, III Isaiah says the city shall have the name “City of the Lord” and “Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” In 60:18, the walls will have the name “Salvation” and the gates “Praise.” As the prophet continues, ⁵ 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.

One reason these words remain so powerful is that people as individuals and communities still go through times of forsakenness and abandonment. If you have not yet had that experienced it, I think life is such that you will. The power of this passage is the hunger, promise, and hope it expresses of a deeper connection, even the intimacy of marriage, to the Creator of all who has turned toward us with such grace and love to that we can have the privilege of a new creation. If the journey has led us to a place of devastation and forsakenness, the journey does not have to be over. A new journey can begin.