19 January 2025 - Second Sunday after Epiphany, Year C

Theme

The theme running through our scripture readings for this week seems to place a focus on signs and wonders. In John’s gospel, Jesus performs what is widely regarded as his first miracle - turning water into wine. In 1 Corinthians, Paul helps the Church make sense of the gifts that are imparted on people by the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist declares and praises God’s might, while the prophet Isaiah prays for the Israelite people to become a righteous light to attract all the people of the world. 

Scriptures

Isaiah 62:1-5 - A prayer of Isaiah for the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel, that they would become righteous and no longer be known as the city of desolation but rather as a people of God’s delight/the bride of God.

Psalm 36:5-10 - A psalm of praise, declaring God’s might and love for all of God’s creation - humans and animals alike. “All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.”

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 - Paul speaks to the Corinthian church about spiritual gifts. “There are different gifts but the same Spirit, different kinds of service, but the same Lord, God works in different ways, but it is the same God working in all of us.” Spiritual gifts are given so that we can help each other. 

John 2:1-11 - Jesus’ first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding in Canaan. 

The Context

After Jesus’ resurrection and the events of Pentecost, the early Church were struggling to make sense of the reality of the Holy Spirit with them and what this would mean for their life and ministry. It seems as though when some people were filled with the Spirit, they would prophesy; others would speak in tongues; others would heal and perform other miracle-like signs. I am sure that there were still others for whom no signs and wonders were present when they experienced the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives. What did this all mean? Were some people more gifted by the Spirit than others? These are some of the questions that Paul was trying to address in this portion of his letter to the Corinthian church. 

The author of John’s gospel was very clearly a mystic who used elaborate, often metaphoric language to explain deep truths about Christ. Therefore, when reading stories such as this one about Jesus turning water into wine, we can focus less on the "facts" of the story and more on the deeper truths that the author is trying to portray. The story of Jesus turning water into wine can be easily misunderstood if read out of context of John’s larger gospel account. One of the key lines in this story is the Master of Ceremony’s declaration that “the best one has been saved for last.” The Israelite people had been long-awaiting the chosen Messiah. They had elected many kings, prophets, priests and leaders. Throughout the opening few chapters of John’s gospel, the author seems to be laying the ground work to show that finally, God had provided them with their Messiah, who is greater than all other leaders that have come before.

Personal Application

Depending on our different upbringings and church backgrounds, it is understandable for us to have differing opinions on the work of the Holy Spirit. Many people either over-emphasise or under-emphasise the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of this, we might find ourselves asking similar questions to the early church: why do some people experience gifts of the Spirit that I never have? Are their experiences of the Holy Spirit real or fake? Are other people more spiritual than me because of their inclination to particular gifts of the Spirit? 

We would be wise to take Paul’s words to heart, that God works in different people in different ways. Although we have different experiences of the Spirit, it is the same Spirit of God at work in us all. This understanding will ensure that we do not judge each other based on our differing experiences of the Holy Spirit and we will not feel guilty that our experiences of the Spirit are different to that of others. We also cannot read this portion of Paul’s letter without including the following part that declares: if we have access to many gifts of the Spirit, but do not love others, our gifts are worthless to God (1 Corinthians 13, paraphrased). Or let us take Jesus’ warning to heart to not seek signs and wonders in order to believe (John 4:48).

Communal Application

Similarly to us each having our own personal opinions about the role of the Spirit in each of our lives, different churches and denominations often have very different opinions about the role and work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. These different opinions/teachings can cause friction within congregations and make it a challenge to integrate into a new church when their traditions are very different to what one has grown up with or been taught in the past. Perhaps, instead of emphasising what the gifts of the Spirit should look like in a communal setting (speaking in tongues, prophesying, etc), the Church should put more emphasis on the resulting output of a people being guided by the Holy Spirit. Are their lives revealing God’s love to the world? Do those around them feel more or less loved? Is their enacting of their gifts making them more loving towards God and others? Rather than assessing a person’s life by their ability to enact the gifts of the Spirit, let’s take Paul and Jesus’ encouragement seriously to let our litmus test of the Holy Spirit’s work be love.