Sunday, Epiphany III: 22 January 2023
Introit: Adorate Deum. Ps. 97
All ye Angels of God, fall down, and worship before him: Sion heard of it, and rejoiced, and the daughters of Judah were glad. Ps. Ibid. The Lord is King, the earth may be glad thereof: yea, the multitudes of the isles may be glad thereof. V Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was, in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities: and in all dangers and necessities, stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy God art ever one God, world without end.
Readings
Rom 12.16-
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
+The Continuation of the Holy Gospel According to Saint John (2.1-)
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
Homily by Fr. Dcn. Maverick
The Apostle Paul expects the recipients of his letters to live peaceably with all men, and this Scripture stands as a message with much relevance for us in South Korea. What does it mean to live in peace with all men? Well, we know that the Scriptures speak of God as the universal Savior, the one who desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-5). God's desire is for us to live peaceably, because this reflects God's heart as one of peace and love, rather than raw judgment.
St Isaac the Syrian reminds us, that to think of any of the Scriptures which speak of God's "anger" and "hatred" as literal is to miss the point of the Scriptures. God is essentially eternal love, therefore any Scripture occurrence which doesn't correspond to that; needs to be interpreted in light of God's divine mercy. When we came to understand God, who did not come to understand a brute deity, but a brutally loving God.
It's interesting also that Paul says that we should not be "wise in our own conceits." We shouldn't try acting as though we are wiser than we really are, remember, God will always give us wisdom if we ask for it, and asking for it, is itself an act of both humility and wisdom (Jas 1:5-6). How exactly does this relate to the Gospel reading?
Firstly, we should first realize the power that the Mother of God has. Her prayers and petitions to the Lord Jesus Christ are very effective since her words convinced the Lord to open his hands in miracles. Devotion to our Mother and Lady, the Theotokos is important. It is a devotion that is anchored in our devotion to the second person of the Trinity. Mary is the blessed vice-regent and Queen of Heaven, she is the mother of divine wisdom, so asking her for her prayers is the first "gift" we find in this passage:
"Here it is worth while to enquire whence it came into His mother's mind to imagine anything great of her Son; for He had as yet done no miracle, since the Evangelist says, This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee. John 2:11 2. Now if any say that this is not a sufficient proof that it was the beginning of His miracles, because there is added simply in Cana of Galilee, as allowing it to have been the first done there, but not altogether and absolutely the first, for He probably might have done others elsewhere, we will make answer to him of that which we have said before." St John Chrysostom
"daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir." Psalm 45:9
"Majestic and Heavenly Maid, Lady, Queen, protect and keep me under your wing lest Satan the sower of destruction glory over me, lest my wicked foe be victorious against me." St. Ephrem the Syrian
May we understand the beauty of Lady, the Mother of God, and may we ask her intercession, this is a key of immense value in our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Second, we should always realize that God responds when we pray. We should be sensitive to the movement of God's holy Spirit, by praying continuously. We may pray with prayers from our Prayer Books or Breviaries, or use our prayer beads, our rosaries, or prayer rope. I sometimes take an hour from my day and sit praying the Lord's Prayer or Jesus Prayer constantly, in hopes that my sinfulness or imperfections might be revealed; so that I might see clearly. Just as Jesus required those listening to him to give him waterpots so that he could turn the water into wine. We might need to give something to Christ.
God is always willing to help us and restore us, but that does not mean we passively sit and wait but that we work or respond according to what God requires of us. Jesus requires us to bring our wills in submission to him, so that he might use what we give him, to give us the fullness of what he has for us. These things might not always make sense to us, but we do not always see the bigger picture. Furthermore, sometimes it might be a matter of obedience. God's wisdom, that is, Jesus Christ, will always help us.
Third, the cleansing of the temple. In the context, of the temple and the courts surrounding it, people worshipped there. I remember preaching on this particular passage a few years ago at the beginning of my diaconal ministry at Holy Paraclete congregation in South Africa.
Jesus was outraged because the Jews were using a place that was intended for the God-fearing Gentiles to worship, and they used it as a place for profit, and they sold things. In other words, they were defiling a sacred place of prayer and worship and using it for profit.
We should always respect sacred space, and never defile things that were dedicated to God, and use them for unholy or uncommon purposes. This also means respecting the boundaries of that which is holy and that which is common. This is a distinction we must understand.
I have said these things to you in the name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. God is one. Amen.
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