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Sermon: Second Sunday after Epiphany

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Second Sunday after Epiphany

Isaiah 62 1 – 5
Psalm 96
1 Corinthians 12 1 – 11
John 2 1 – 11

The lesson from John is a favorite of many Christians. The wedding at Cana marks the first recorded miracle of Jesus’ earthly ministry. One does not ordinarily think of Jesus as a partier. His presence at this feast would seem to indicate his endorsement of marriage as legitimate way to structure intimacy in heterosexual relationships. Marriage is one of the seven sacraments. Jesus’ participation in this marriage feast along with his contribution to the marriage celebration would seem to be evidence of his support.

The presence of Mary in this drama speaks to the nature of the relationship between the Madonna and her Son. When the insufficiency of the wine was realized, Mary approached Jesus for a solution. She alerts Him to the presence of the problem, “they have no wine,” which would certainly be a source of embarrassment for the host. John tells us nothing about the circumstances, whether the family was poor and had limited financial resources to be able to host such a party or whether this particular group was just exceedingly thirsty. We don’t know.

We do know that Mary takes the problem to Jesus who is curious about what this problem has to do with Him. His mother turns to the servants and tells them to do whatever He tells you to do. There were six stone containers, which were filled with water and used for the Jewish purification rituals. They were good size containers, holding 20 – 30 gallons each. Jesus instructed them to fill the containers with water, and they obeyed. He then instructed them to remove some of the liquid and take it to the wine steward. The wine steward was so impressed with the quality of this wine that he took it to the groom and remarked about how he saved the best for last. Usually, the practice is to serve the good stuff first. When people begin to get a little tipsy, one pulls the cheap stuff out. This groom did the opposite. He saved the best for last. This miracle got the disciples’ attention, and they really believed.

This text poses a real problem for American Christians who have been heavily influenced by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), because they cannot fathom how Jesus would provide a drink that people could use to be become inebriated. So, this liquid could not have been wine, because Jesus just would not have done such a thing. We call that kind of Bible study isogesis where we try to get the passage to say what we need or want it to say to fit our theology. I enjoy this lesson in part because it makes people squirm a bit. It introduces a tad bit of anxiety into what is otherwise a faith that has become way too comfortable. But, I don’t want to get into all that. The facts stand as John described them. Jesus attended the wedding celebration. When the crisis arose, at the beckoning of the Holy Mother, Jesus intervened and performed a miracle that resolved the real life crisis. The miracle got the disciples’ attention and Jesus’ ministry involving signs and wonders was launched.

Let’s talk about the lesson from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. We are a three stream parish, which means that we are integrationists, of sorts. We consider ourselves to be sacramental, evangelical, and charismatic. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul addressed a sacramental issue that had become an obstacle in their worship. Beginning in chapter 12 he addresses another issue, which apparently had become a major impediment to the spiritual growth of the Corinthian church. That issue had to do with the πνευματικων, spiritual things.

Fr. Raymond Collins refers to this part of 1 Corinthians as the “Fifth Rhetorical Demonstration.” In this work Paul is formulating an argument to correct the thinking of the newly converted Christians in Corinth who are continuing in many of their pagan practices. Paul wants to clarify his position on these spiritual matters, and he uses “contrast” as a means to make his point. Paul tells the Corinthians that he does not want them to be ignorant about such things. Άγνοειν is the same root word from which we get agnostic, which means to be uncertain or to not know.

Paul continues by addressing what they do know and already understand. So, he tells them, “You know, how it was when you were Gentiles worshipping mute idols (είδωλα τά άφωνα). These idols were just statues or figurines, and they did not speak, obviously, but in the worship of these mute idols people would become really emotionally feverish and would be led into getting carried away. I can remember being a boy growing up at home, and we would begin to get overly rambunctious, and my dad would say, “Don’t get carried away,” which meant don’t get so engrossed in the excitement and enthusiasm of the moment that you lose control. In the Greco-Roman world it was widely believed that religious experience was involuntary and irrational. The ecstatic experience laid outside the realm of human self-control. It was believed that the practitioner was being driven by whatever divine forces that were being mobilized. The point that Paul is making with the Corinthians is that the litmus test of being led by the Holy Spirit is not these ecstatic experiences, as it was in pagan worship.

If the litmus test for having the Holy Spirit is not the ecstatic, dysregulated, behavior, if that is not the evidence of having the Holy Spirit, then what is it? Paul says the evidence of whether a person is led by the Holy Spirit is in their confession of faith. The only way that someone can confess that Jesus is Lord is through the Holy Spirit. Likewise, if a person says “Jesus be cursed,” that is person is very definitely not being led by the Holy Spirit.

When the Church Fathers read this lesson in their minds it was support for the doctrine of the Trinity. In their day disputes about the Trinity was a major crisis in the Christian faith. The Church Fathers used this lesson on the χαρισματα (spiritual gifts) as evidence of the nature of the interaction among the persons of the Trinity. I doubt that Paul intended it to be such. The problem Paul was addressing was the crisis created in the church at Corinth by the transition from pagan worship to Christian worship. The Corinthians thought that the litmus test for being led by the Spirit of God was the same as being “led” or “carried away” into an altered state of ecstasy in the pagan worship. Just as in Galatians Paul was addressing the problem of the Judaizers, i.e. those who believed that one had to become a proselyte Jewish en route to becoming Christian, in the letter to the Corinthians he is addressing this pagan problem, because you see, there were those in the Corinthian church who believed that if you did not get carried away in your worship, your worship is not authentic, because getting “carried away” was considered to be a mark of authentic worship in pagan religions. If it is true in paganism, why wouldn’t it also be true in Christianity? To correct this misconception Paul advises that they should let all things be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14 40).

A couple of years ago we had a deacon who visited with us from the Charismatic Episcopal Church who determined that this parish just wasn’t charismatic enough. Such a statement would seem to suggest that there are degrees of having received the Holy Spirit. According to Paul, all Christians are charismatic. It is an implicit part of being Christian. The visiting deacon had the same notion about the Holy Spirit as the Corinthians. To many Christians even today being charismatic means that one gets carried away into these states of ecstasy. Paul is trying to teach the Corinthians that being carried away into an ecstatic state has nothing to do with Christian spirituality.

Having corrected the problem of the expected requirement of ecstasy as proof positive that one has indeed received the Spirit of God, Paul proceeds to discuss his beliefs regarding the issue of the Charismata, and in doing so he identifies and defines nine spiritual gifts. Paul emphasizes that these are gifts. The emphasis is on the diversity of the gifts. Paul provides a list of spiritual gifts in Romans. The list actually is quite different. In the list from Romans there is no mention of any ecstatic gifts. There is the emphasis on Christian unity and of the diversity contributing to the unity. The only spiritual gift that appears on both lists is prophesy.

Paul wants the Corinthians to get a sense about Christian spiritual gifts. This list is composed of nine gifts, which are:

Wisdom
Knowledge
Faith
Gifts of healing
Effecting of miracles
Prophesy
Discernment
Tongues
Interpretation of tongues

After listing each gift he highlights the derivation of the gifts “the same Spirit.” “One and the same Spirit works in all these things. He concludes this periscope with the declaration that the Spirit distributes these gifts καθως βουλεται ( just as He determines).

Paul is attempting to correct misconceptions about spiritual gifts. Yea, it may be a certain way in paganism, but in Christianity it’s different. In Christianity

1. All Christians are charismatic. That is, all Christians have spiritual gifts.

2. Paul’s list is intended to be suggestive and not exhaustive. That is, the ones he mentions here are just a few. In other places there are other lists. In Romans 12 6-8 the list is composed of : prophesy, service, teaching, exhorting, liberal giving, leading, and mercy. In Ephesians 4 11 – 12 the list consists of: being apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. In 1 Peter 4 10: the gifts are to be fervent in love, hospitality, and service.

3. Gifts are dispersed according to the will of the Holy Spirit. One does not put an order in for specific gifts. Being the recipient of spiritual gifts is not like ordering a car that is constructed to our specifications. The Spirit dispenses gifts according to His judgment and determination. Everyone has at least one spiritual gift. No one has all of them. For example, when Paul describes his own gifts, he does not include any of the gifts of healing among them. What is most important is that we identify our individual gifts and execute them faithfully within the body of Christ.

4. All gifts are of equal value. There is no single gift or gifts that would be status symbols or that would indicate that one is on a higher or lower plane because of having been given that gift. Having a particular gift does not make one better or sores than another person. The only gift of a higher value is one that is available to all, which is the gift of love. Paul fleshes it out in 1 Corinthians 13. Love trumps everything else. Without love all the other spiritual gifts are dull and powerless. They are like a cacophony of irritating noises. The Corinthians from their pagan roots wanted to elevate the gifts of utterances, such as tongues and knowledge (gnosis) to be above other gifts. Any of the gifts that carried one away seemed to hold a special valence for them. Unfortunately, in the 20th Century groups of Protestant Pentecostal perpetrated the same heresy.

5. Gifts are communal and not individualistic. Paul was making a point about the purpose and function of spiritual gifts. Gifts are not to be used for self-aggrandizement. The gift is from God and belongs to God. It always belongs to God. The Spirit can withdraw it just as he bestowed it. Gifts are exclusively for use in the body of Christ. The purpose of spiritual gifts is the building up of the body of Christ. Gifts are not intended to generate ecstatic experiences for the bearer. That was pagan worship and has no place in Christianity.

In the same way that the Corinthians were vulnerable to the risks of appropriating pagan worship into their Christianity Americans are vulnerable to risks associated with making Christianity an extension of American culture, which is highly individualistic and autonomous. Christianity is about covenantal relationships. It is about living in community where there are no individual heroes. All of us have a shot at becoming saints

Paul was attempting to create a perspective on spiritual gifts. He contrasted what the Corinthians knew from their previous experiences as pagan worshippers, and he established a new standard for conceptualizing spiritual gifts and their place in the life of the church.

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Sermon: Second Sunday after Epiphany

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