Married to God
Commentary
For this Sunday, the lessons have a positive, happy view, as might be expected in this season of Epiphany, a time of Christ's manifestation. Honesty about the real world will bring clouds along with the light on some Sundays. For this week, however, the lessons are about a wedding and marriage and living together in harmony.
John's gospel would probably not have chosen to tell the story of the wedding at Cana, a place mentioned only in John (also 4:46), except it illustrated the eschaton was beginning. The wedding feast was a popular motif for the messianic age, as illustrated in Jesus' parables (Matthew 22:2-12; 25:1-13) and sayings. In these references Jesus is the bridegroom, as John the Baptist affirmed (John 3:28-29). With the story of the wedding, Jesus was portrayed as a normal person who attended such festivities, but he also demonstrated that he was the messiah. John was telling in a narrative what Matthew recorded about drinking new wine in the kingdom (26:29). In John, Jesus was inaugurating the messianic kingdom and laying the groundwork for understanding the church as the bride of Christ.
The thought of marriage to God could seem presumptuous for us sinful humans, too familiarly intimate, maybe even crass. Hosea took the bold step to introduce the imagery in the eighth century B.C. He took over a concept from Baalism, whose worshipers thought of the marriage as reality, not metaphor. With his prophetic inspiration, Hosea crashed the party, as it were, broke in upon an adulterous affair, pointed a finger at disloyal Israel and yelled, "Return and be loyal to Yahweh." The points to notice: the whole people, the community, was addressed, not individuals, and God proposed the marriage, not the community.
In contrast with Hosea and some other prophets, Isaiah 62 gives a consistently happy picture. The passage may come from a time after exile when dreams of restoration had been often frustrated and pessimism prevailed. If so, the prophecy is even more remarkable for encouraging the people of Zion to press on with ever renewed hope.
Paul took a similar approach with the much troubled congregation at Corinth. He advocated a careful combination of reliance on the ethereal Spirit of God and practical ordering of church life. He would reach a climax in the next chapter not unlike the postexilic prophet. The life of the church with God should be like young love.
OUTLINE I
Zion beloved
Isaiah 62:1-5
A. vv. 1-3. This is no longer the hidden God, as the people might have thought when they saw their city destroyed, their friends and families scattered, impoverished or taken into exile. God will be active in a way that makes the world take notice.
Some ancient idols found by archaeologists represented gods of particular cities and had a crown that was a replica of the city's walls. In the dark days of suffering and oppression, the exiles had reason to think those gods took better care of their cities than did the Lord. The new promise says the walled city of Zion will be the Lord's crown.
B. vv. 4-5. With good reason, others had called God's people forsaken and desolate. Sadly, the people had probably thought of themselves in those terms. The promise of a new name in verse 3 is now given concrete form. In Hebrew the names are Hepzibah and Beulah. Since the second is a passive participle meaning married, it recalls the metaphor for the relationship between the people and God that earlier prophets, Hosea (chapters 1-3), Jeremiah (chapters 1-2) and Ezekiel (chapter 16), had described. Although those prophets had included the threat of divorce, which conquest and exile had made all too real, the other name suggests God's delight as a bridegroom with a new bride. The Lord is both the builder of the restored Jerusalem and its continuing husband. The reality of construction is combined with the theological reason: a loving God.
OUTLINE II
Gifts in order
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
A. vv. 1-3. Paul implies that the confession of faith is the gift antecedent to all other gifts. Paul described the Spirit of God speaking through the believer in the simple basic confession. Using the human name to locate the historical revelation in Jesus, he added the predicate which denoted the universal rule of the divine Lord. Conformity in this confession allows enjoyment of variety in the church.
B. vv. 4-7. Variety is related to God. The Holy Spirit is the source of different gifts or abilities (charismaton). Different services (diakonion) are related to Christ in whose body, the church, are many ministries or offices, with which the gifts should be matched. God, ever at work, produces the activities (energematon) for accomplishing results from the gifts through the ministries. Another unifying force, the purpose seeks the common good or, more exactly, advantage of all in the church.
C. vv. 8-11. As for specific gifts, first come wisdom or good judgment, knowledge or mystical insight (personal encounter with Christ) and faith in a measure that can be of help to others in their relationship with God. Healing, miracles and prophecy would suggest extraordinary activities. Ability to interpret tongues and to distinguish between spirits suggest regard for order, difficult with the gift of tongues (See chapter 14). Paul warned against the excesses of pagan spirituality. All depended upon the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
OUTLINE III
Better than the best
John 2:1-11
A. v. 1. Since John's gospel regularly uses expressions packed with subtle meaning, "the third day" alerts the reader to a report pointing toward the resurrected glory of Christ. "Wedding" suggests the messianic banquet in Jewish hope. The author has chosen to report an event, not mentioned in other gospels, because it offers symbolical expression of the truth which he wishes to emphasize.
B. vv. 2-5. With indications that a member of the family or close friend was being married, Jesus' mother, haying special responsibilities, looked to her son for help. Jesus' response continues the point which the gospel wishes to teach. Since "woman" was a noble form of address, but was not used to speak to one's mother, something special is intended. As Eve was called "woman" and "the mother of all living" (Genesis 2:23; 3:20), Mary is mother of the new life in Christ.
C. vv. 6-10. What would have been water for a Jewish rite was wine better than the best, a new creation. Like the bread in 6:33-35, the wine offers a sacramental representation of new life in Christ, and in abundance. Such was part of the way to picture the eschatological expectation (Amos 9:13-14).
D. v. 11. "Sign" is a distinctive concept in John. Although the signs might be taken as proof that Jesus was messiah and Son of God, he saw the danger of a faith based on miracles (4:48-50). Rather, the sign conveyed truth and life, which a person would understand only with faith (3:2-3; 6:26).
John's gospel would probably not have chosen to tell the story of the wedding at Cana, a place mentioned only in John (also 4:46), except it illustrated the eschaton was beginning. The wedding feast was a popular motif for the messianic age, as illustrated in Jesus' parables (Matthew 22:2-12; 25:1-13) and sayings. In these references Jesus is the bridegroom, as John the Baptist affirmed (John 3:28-29). With the story of the wedding, Jesus was portrayed as a normal person who attended such festivities, but he also demonstrated that he was the messiah. John was telling in a narrative what Matthew recorded about drinking new wine in the kingdom (26:29). In John, Jesus was inaugurating the messianic kingdom and laying the groundwork for understanding the church as the bride of Christ.
The thought of marriage to God could seem presumptuous for us sinful humans, too familiarly intimate, maybe even crass. Hosea took the bold step to introduce the imagery in the eighth century B.C. He took over a concept from Baalism, whose worshipers thought of the marriage as reality, not metaphor. With his prophetic inspiration, Hosea crashed the party, as it were, broke in upon an adulterous affair, pointed a finger at disloyal Israel and yelled, "Return and be loyal to Yahweh." The points to notice: the whole people, the community, was addressed, not individuals, and God proposed the marriage, not the community.
In contrast with Hosea and some other prophets, Isaiah 62 gives a consistently happy picture. The passage may come from a time after exile when dreams of restoration had been often frustrated and pessimism prevailed. If so, the prophecy is even more remarkable for encouraging the people of Zion to press on with ever renewed hope.
Paul took a similar approach with the much troubled congregation at Corinth. He advocated a careful combination of reliance on the ethereal Spirit of God and practical ordering of church life. He would reach a climax in the next chapter not unlike the postexilic prophet. The life of the church with God should be like young love.
OUTLINE I
Zion beloved
Isaiah 62:1-5
A. vv. 1-3. This is no longer the hidden God, as the people might have thought when they saw their city destroyed, their friends and families scattered, impoverished or taken into exile. God will be active in a way that makes the world take notice.
Some ancient idols found by archaeologists represented gods of particular cities and had a crown that was a replica of the city's walls. In the dark days of suffering and oppression, the exiles had reason to think those gods took better care of their cities than did the Lord. The new promise says the walled city of Zion will be the Lord's crown.
B. vv. 4-5. With good reason, others had called God's people forsaken and desolate. Sadly, the people had probably thought of themselves in those terms. The promise of a new name in verse 3 is now given concrete form. In Hebrew the names are Hepzibah and Beulah. Since the second is a passive participle meaning married, it recalls the metaphor for the relationship between the people and God that earlier prophets, Hosea (chapters 1-3), Jeremiah (chapters 1-2) and Ezekiel (chapter 16), had described. Although those prophets had included the threat of divorce, which conquest and exile had made all too real, the other name suggests God's delight as a bridegroom with a new bride. The Lord is both the builder of the restored Jerusalem and its continuing husband. The reality of construction is combined with the theological reason: a loving God.
OUTLINE II
Gifts in order
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
A. vv. 1-3. Paul implies that the confession of faith is the gift antecedent to all other gifts. Paul described the Spirit of God speaking through the believer in the simple basic confession. Using the human name to locate the historical revelation in Jesus, he added the predicate which denoted the universal rule of the divine Lord. Conformity in this confession allows enjoyment of variety in the church.
B. vv. 4-7. Variety is related to God. The Holy Spirit is the source of different gifts or abilities (charismaton). Different services (diakonion) are related to Christ in whose body, the church, are many ministries or offices, with which the gifts should be matched. God, ever at work, produces the activities (energematon) for accomplishing results from the gifts through the ministries. Another unifying force, the purpose seeks the common good or, more exactly, advantage of all in the church.
C. vv. 8-11. As for specific gifts, first come wisdom or good judgment, knowledge or mystical insight (personal encounter with Christ) and faith in a measure that can be of help to others in their relationship with God. Healing, miracles and prophecy would suggest extraordinary activities. Ability to interpret tongues and to distinguish between spirits suggest regard for order, difficult with the gift of tongues (See chapter 14). Paul warned against the excesses of pagan spirituality. All depended upon the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
OUTLINE III
Better than the best
John 2:1-11
A. v. 1. Since John's gospel regularly uses expressions packed with subtle meaning, "the third day" alerts the reader to a report pointing toward the resurrected glory of Christ. "Wedding" suggests the messianic banquet in Jewish hope. The author has chosen to report an event, not mentioned in other gospels, because it offers symbolical expression of the truth which he wishes to emphasize.
B. vv. 2-5. With indications that a member of the family or close friend was being married, Jesus' mother, haying special responsibilities, looked to her son for help. Jesus' response continues the point which the gospel wishes to teach. Since "woman" was a noble form of address, but was not used to speak to one's mother, something special is intended. As Eve was called "woman" and "the mother of all living" (Genesis 2:23; 3:20), Mary is mother of the new life in Christ.
C. vv. 6-10. What would have been water for a Jewish rite was wine better than the best, a new creation. Like the bread in 6:33-35, the wine offers a sacramental representation of new life in Christ, and in abundance. Such was part of the way to picture the eschatological expectation (Amos 9:13-14).
D. v. 11. "Sign" is a distinctive concept in John. Although the signs might be taken as proof that Jesus was messiah and Son of God, he saw the danger of a faith based on miracles (4:48-50). Rather, the sign conveyed truth and life, which a person would understand only with faith (3:2-3; 6:26).
