Second Sunday After Epiphany
**Please note this service is based on the format of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada. Unless otherwise indicated, all prayers come from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW). Hymns and other prayers have been sourced to give appropriate credit.
**NRSV translation used for the readings, unless otherwise stated.
Introduction to the Day
The Sundays after Epiphany continue to celebrate the revelation of God’s
glory to us as it was made known to the magi and to those on Jordan’s banks at
Jesus’ baptism – today using wedding imagery. Our God rejoices over God’s
people as those being married rejoice over one another. By the power of the
Spirit there are gifts galore for everyone. In Christ Jesus the best wine is
saved for last. Taste and see.
Thanksgiving for
Baptism
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, the fountain
of living water, the rock who gave us birth, our light and our salvation.
Amen.
Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are clothed with God’s
mercy and forgiveness. Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.
We give you thanks, O God,
for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters
and by your Word you created the world,
calling forth life in which you took delight.
Through the waters of the flood, you delivered Noah and his family.
Through the sea you led your people Israel from slavery into freedom.
At the river your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Holy Spirit.
By water and your Word, you claim us as daughters and sons,
making us heirs of your promise and servants of all.
We praise you for the gift of water that sustains life,
and above all we praise you for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ.
Shower us with your Spirit,
and renew our lives with your forgiveness, grace, and love.
To you be given honour and praise
through Jesus Christ our Lord
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.
Gathering Song – There Is a Balm in
Gilead (ELW #614)
Greeting
The grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion
of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
Kyrie – Kyrie Eleison
Canticle of Praise
– Glory to God
Prayer of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Lord God, source of every blessing, you showed forth your glory and led
many to faith by the works of your Son, who brought gladness and salvation to
his people. Transform us by the Spirit of his love, that we may find our life
together in him, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.
Amen.
Readings
A reading from the Book of Isaiah 62:1-5
For 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.
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.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the
hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
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.
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 word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 36:5-10
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the
heavens,
your
faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is
like the mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All
people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the
abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of
your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in
your light we see light.
O continue your steadfast
love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!
A reading from the First Letter from Paul to the Corinthians 12:1-11
Now concerning spiritual gifts,
brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when
you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak.
Therefore 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.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but
the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and
there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of
them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to
another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another
faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 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. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to
each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation – Alleluia
The Holy Gospel according to John 2:1-11
Glory to you, O Lord.
On the third day there was a wedding in
Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had
also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus
said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern
is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the
servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water
jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty
gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them
up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief
steward.” So they took it. 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 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.” Jesus did this, the
first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his
disciples believed in him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O
Christ.
Sermon
By Reverend Jennifer Marlor
Grace and peace to you
in the name of the Triune God - Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer
In my house the Christmas Tree is still up. It’s a real one — I think it’s a sheared balsam and it’s still drinking water and it has that lovely pine scent. I look at the ends of the branches at the buds and I recall an event that happened when I was a young girl. We had a very healthy real tree one year and we decided not to take it down when we normally would have. The tree was healthy and for fun, we wanted to see how long it would last.
One day we noticed the buds on the end of the branches were starting to swell. Huh isn’t that interesting was our thought. They got bigger and bigger. You could see the bright green start to emerge. Soon after this we came home from church and there was this haze of yellow floating through the house.
We had forgotten that evergreen trees expel pollen when those swollen buds finally burst open! Needless to say the tree came down rather quickly that day and for weeks following we were dealing with the pollen in the house. It got in everywhere! to all the nooks and crannies - all of it floating around — doing what it was supposed to do — to land somewhere in the hopes of being a conduit for new life, new growth, New hope.
We are now into the liturgical season of Epiphany.
It is a green season, a
growing season. A season where we revisit what it means to actively live out
our faith being a conduit for God’s dream in this world.
I have always thought the green we use in this first green season of the church year should be the colour of new growth of the plants coming alive - that unmistakable bright green of the new leaves of the birch trees (or of evergreen trees), the first bright green tips of tulips or crocus pushing through the earth.
New life. New growth.
New hope.
During this Epiphany season the lectionary takes us through part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. He is writing to the church at Corinth, where divisions run deep. And he reminds them that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).
“For the common good”—it is a phrase that is too often lacking today in our political and social discourse.
The pandemic is still
raging in large part because some people think that their personal “freedoms” are
more important than the common good.
Exhausted medical workers are once again dealing with full ICUs because there are too many people who refuse to get vaccinated; again, citing their “freedom” to do whatever they like.
Personal “freedom,” in this understanding, is utterly
opposed to the common good.
By contrast, Martin Luther, in “Freedom of a Christian,” offers another description of freedom by making two assertions that seem to contradict one another:
The Christian individual is a completely free lord of all, subject to none.
The Christian individual is a completely dutiful servant of all, subject to all.
Luther roots these insights in a later verse from 1 Corinthians: “For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all” (9:19). He also cites Romans 13:8: “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.”
Luther says of this latter verse, “But ‘love’ by its very nature is dutiful and serves the one who is loved. The same was true of Christ who, although Lord of all, was nevertheless ‘born of a woman, born under the law.’”
Free in Christ, forgiven of our sins, we are not bound to any particular political or social ideology. But we are bound to our neighbour in Christian love and service, following the example of Jesus.
And what is that example? Well, we can look to Gospel stories like the one for this week, where Jesus provides wine for a wedding feast—wine of the finest vintage, abundant and overflowing.
We can look to the testimony of the psalmist, who extols God for God’s covenant love: “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds … [All people] feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights” (Psalm 36:5, 8).
The biblical testimony, in other words, is that God is a God of generosity. God gives extravagantly out of God’s abundance. Jesus provides copious amounts of fine wine for a wedding feast and then becomes himself the living water, “springing up to eternal life” (John 4: 14). The Holy Spirit pours out gifts on the church, and all for the sake of the common good, for building up the body of Christ.
In our baptism you and I were marked with the cross of Christ, the pastor put their hands on our head and prayed that we would be sustained with the Holy Spirit and in our confirmation, the affirmation of the promises our parents made for us in our baptism, we said that yes, we intended to live out the covenant God made with us in our baptism:
to live among God’s
faithful people…..to proclaim the good news in Christ through word and deed,
to serve all people,
following the example of Jesus, and to strive for Justice and peace in all the
earth.
Our reply to all of
this was: I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.
All of this, for the common good, so that God’s dream to love, bless, feed, and heal every person is realized, New life. New growth. New Hope. by using us as a conduit for the extravagant generosity of a God who names us beloved.
One thing you should to know about me is I love Pixar films, especially The Incredibles. So I was super stoked when I learned this week that one of my favourite theologians, Debbi Thomas said it was her favourite too!
In case you don’t know about The Incredibles it is an animated film set in a fictitious version of the 1960s, and it follows the members of a superhero family:
Mr. Incredible (the Dad
- Bob),
Elastigirl (the Mom - Helen),
and their three children:
Violet, the eldest child, who’s 14 and a gifted
healer with the power to become invisible and project an impact-resistant force
field,
Dash — the second child, a 10 year old with
superhuman speed.
And Jack-Jack the
toddler who has no specific or defined superhero power yet.
This superhero family,
are forced to hide their superpowers in accordance with a government mandate,
and live quiet, “ordinary” lives in suburban America.
In one of the film’s telling scenes, 10 year old Dash — bemoans the fact that he has to hide his superpower (lightning speed) when he goes to school. “I thought our powers made us special,” he complains to his mother.
“Everyone’s special,” his mom replies, hoping to placate him. But Dash rolls his eyes
at her normalization of specialness. “That’s just another way of saying no one is,” he
mutters.
In this letter to the Corinthians Paul responds to an embattled congregation whose thorny questions echo Dash’s.
What does it mean to be
special to God?
Who counts as “gifted” —
and why?
Aren’t some spiritual gifts and abilities more
remarkable than others?
How can everyone be
special at the same time?
As a whole, Paul’s letter is an impassioned plea for unity. The church in Corinth is fraying at the seams, unable to handle — much less celebrate — its rich diversity. In his letter Paul confronts one of the problems dividing the community: the problem of spiritual elitism. Which is to say, the problem of specialness.
Paul notices that the church has an unspoken hierarchy when it comes to gifts. Those with flashier, louder, more “ecstatic” abilities (ie, the ability to speak in tongues) consider themselves superior to those whose gifts are quieter, less visible, or more mundane.
These self-described
spiritual “superheroes” believe that their gifts are a sign of
God’s special
favour. A sign that they deserve more authority, status, and power in the
church than those who don’t speak in tongues, perform miracles, or utter prophecies.
At first glance, this
toxic first-century mess in Corinth might seem irrelevant to us. After
all, most of us don’t spend our worship time fighting over the gift of tongues.
Debbi Thomas asks us to consider our own fraught relationship with giftedness.
Don’t we have hierarchies of our own when it
comes to the talents and abilities we admire most?
In what ways do we
equate giftedness with divine favour or blessing? Don’t we secretly believe that some Christians
(the ones who preach, or pray eloquent prayers, or have the strongest
leadership skills, or exhibit the most charisma) have a more direct line to God
than the people who wipe down pews, run church nurseries, or order office supplies?
Who in your church
receives all the invitations and nominations?
Whose gifts lie buried — unnoticed and uncultivated? All very good
questions.
The fact is, we live in cultures and communities that encourage us to envy, worship, or become religious superheroes. We learn early on to hoard, compete, compare, and judge. We learn to think of “giftedness” as something we deserve — something we inherit at birth, or earn by sheer effort. The end goal of giftedness is privilege, status, and adoration. To be gifted is to be set apart, elevated far above the ordinary. Our gifts are for our own edification, pleasure, gain, and reward.
But this way of thinking about spiritual gifts has no place in Christianity. As our lectionary reading makes clear, spiritual superiority is — to put it bluntly — not a thing.
The source of all our
gifts comes from God.
When it comes to our
spiritual abilities, it’s God all the way down.
The same spirit, the same Lord, the same God, who grants and activates every gift we might lay claim to. Lest we forget, a gift (by definition) is freely given. It is not earned. It is not deserved. It is not meant to inspire competition, envy, or pride. The spiritual gifts we enjoy are treasures of a vast and generous grace, lavishly given by God at God’s discretion.
Dash’s mom, Elastigirl, was on to something when she said everyone is special. Even though we, along with Dash, might roll our eyes at this! Left to ourselves, Paul argues, we can’t even get started as Christians. We can’t even make authentic confessions of faith. “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit,” he writes.
Meaning: the very fact that we can trust in Jesus, recognize him as Lord, or aspire to follow him at all, is a gift. It is a sign that God’s Spirit dwells richly within us.
Can we take this in for
a moment? Piety is not an accomplishment.
Faith is not something
we conjure out of blood, sweat, and tears. It’s not that we impress God with our stellar
faith and thereby earn more magnificent gifts.
It is that faith itself — the very possibility of it — is the magnificent gift.
These spiritual Gifts that God gives us are not “for” us. To hoard them desecrates the gift. Paul tells the church in Corinth that every gift and manifestation of the Holy Spirit exists “for the common good.” A person’s ability to preach or teach Sunday school or confirmation, pray lovely prayers, sing, nurture or heal are not given for that person’s enjoyment. The Holy Spirit pours out gifts on the church - which are the people — for building up the body of Christ, for the sake of the common good, for the benefit of the world God loves.
The list of spiritual gifts Paul mentions in his letter is by no means exhaustive. It merely illustrates the variety, plurality, and multiplicity of God’s own being. Which makes sense, of course. How can the vastness of our triune God exist in one spiritual gift or ability?
How can God the Creator, the Shepherd, the Servant, the Lamb, the Bread, the Way, the Truth, and the Life manifest God’s multifaceted self in a single spiritual ability? Diversity is at the heart of who God is. We are not meant to be cookie-cutter Christians. Our goal is not uniformity; it is unity across difference. The fact that our gifts are varied is not an accident; it is a reflection of God’s own nature.
There are many ways of sharing, But God's Spirit gives each one.
There are different ways of caring; It's one Lord whose work is done.
God, whose gifts are overflowing, May we hear you when you call;
Keep us serving, keep us growing For the common good of all.
We've been baptized in the waters! We've been given work to do.
When you call your sons and daughters, You give gifts for serving you.
God, we join in celebration Of the talents you impart.
Bless each baptized one's vocation; Give each one a servant's heart.
All are blest by gifts you give us; Some are set apart to lead.
Give us Jesus' love within us As we care for those in need.
Give us faith to make decisions; Give us joy to share your Word.
Give us unity and vision As we serve your church and world.
Together, united, let us say “Amen”.
Amen.
Hymn of the Day – We All Are One in Mission (ELW #576)
Creed
Let us confess the faith of our baptism, as we
say the Apostles’ Creed:
I
believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator
of heaven and earth.
I
believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who
was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born
of the virgin Mary,
suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was
crucified, died, and was buried;
he
descended to the dead.*
On
the third day he rose again;
he
ascended into heaven,
he
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and
he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the
holy catholic church,
the
communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and
the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
The Spirit of the Lord is poured out upon us in abundance; so we are
bold to pray for the church, the world, and all that God has made.
Silence
By the Holy Spirit, you gather your church and send it out in mission to
share the good news of Jesus. Inspire your faithful people to be fervent in
prayer and service, that all people know they are precious in God’s sight.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
By your Spirit, activate within your church gifts of faith, healing, and
prophecy. Unite those who profess your name across congregations,
denominations, and geographic boundaries. Open our hearts to recognize and
celebrate surprising miracles.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Your creation reflects your generosity. Bless farmers, migrant
farmworkers, orchard keepers, ranchers, and all who tend the abundance of the
land. Protect food and
water sources from destruction, that all can eat and drink and be
satisfied.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
By your Spirit, grant wisdom, knowledge, and discernment to those who
hold leadership positions at any level. Direct policymakers toward
compassionate decisions that build up safe and just communities. Lead all
authorities in seeking and serving the common good.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
As Jesus provided generously in a moment of need, provide generous gifts
of healing for those in need this day. Provide abundantly for all who are
hungry or thirsty, all seeking shelter, and all who seek peace.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Please take time to offer your own intercessions or pray in silence.
You see us for who we are and you delight in us. Embrace those
struggling with selfworth, wrestling with self-identity, or facing significant
life transition. Remind us that
nothing can separate us from your love.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
You bless us through the spiritual gifts of the saints who have gone
before us. We give
thanks for the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and all who have modeled
the way of
courageous faith.
God of grace,
Hear our prayer.
Since we have such great hope in your promises, O God, we lift these and
all of our prayers to you in confidence and faith; through Jesus Christ our
Saviour.
Amen.
Peace
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Hymn
of Thanksgiving – Jesus Shall Reign (ELW #434)
**Although
not physically at our church buildings to share our offering together I would
encourage you to set your offering of money aside so that it can be dropped off
or placed in the church once services resume, to mail your offering to the
church, or to make donations online. Please remember ministry is still taking
place.
Thanksgiving for the Word
Let us pray.
O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine our
way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken
us to the needs of others, and at the end bring all the world to your feast;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy
Spirit, be honor and glory forever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our
daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time
of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the
power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Blessing
God, who leads you in pathways of
righteousness, who rejoices over you, and who calls you by name, ☩
bless your going out and your coming in, today and forever.
Amen.
Sending Song – Songs of
Thankfulness and Praise (ELW #310)
Dismissal
Go with Christ into a weary world. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.
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