The First Miracle and Spiritual Gifts*

 



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.

 

John 2:1-11

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Miracle at Cana

DAVID, Gérard

1503

Musée du Louvre

Paris

France

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_at_Cana#/media/File:Gerard_David_-_The_Marriage_at_Cana_-_WGA6020.jpg

 

Ten women, including Jesus’ mother Mary and the bride, dominate the composition. David seems to show that everyone in the picture was a participant in the mystery and the sense of hidden meaning is present even if not all the figures can be clearly identified according to the gospel narrative. 

 

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Detail

http://idlespeculations-terryprest.blogspot.com/2012/01/wedding-in-cana.html

 

 

 

 

 

The more faithfully you listen to the voices within you,

the better you will hear what is sounding outside.

~ Dag Hammarskjold

 

 

 

A threat to justice anywhere

Is a threat to justice everywhere.

~ Dr. Martin Luther King

 

 

 

 

 

Senbazaru



The phrase "thousand cranes" refers to the Japanese tradition of folding 1,000 origami cranes, called senbazuru, to grant a wish. The cranes symbolize hope, healing, and peace.

 

Dottie Alexander (my sister-in-law) has been battling cancer (now on the road to recovery!) and Robin (Alexander) Sakamoto and her three children decided to construct a thousand cranes to wish her a successful recovery.  Each of them, Robin, Junna, Reina, and Kei, folded 250 cranes!  All the cranes ended up at Junna’s home in Broomfield, Colorado, where they were sorted, spread out on the pool table, and strung together to complete the thousand crane wish!

 



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Reina sent her 250 paper cranes with Robin from Tokyo.

 

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Reina (Sakamoto) Sakakibara in Tokyo

 

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Robin Sakamoto with the cranes in Broomfield, Colorado.

 

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Robin with her son, Kei Sakamoto

 

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Robin and Kei stringing the cranes.

 

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Robin Sakamoto and Junna (Sakamoto) Yoshioka

 

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Robin, Kei, and Junna

 

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Robin and Kei attaching the strings.

 

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Kei, Junna, and Robin

 

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Kei took the finished 1000 cranes back to New York.

 

The next weekend he took them to Dottie Alexander in Connecticut!

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Dottie and Kei

 

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Jack (my brother) Alexander added the (dusty) 1000 cranes 

he had received from Robin more than twenty years ago!


Instructions

 

 

 

 

 

Forgiveness doesn’t excuse someone’s behavior.

It prevents their behavior from

destroying your heart.

~ Marjie Parrot

 

 

 

 

January 19, 2025 - Second Sunday after the Epiphany - Year C

Previous OPQs may be found at: 

     http://www.dotjack.com/opq.htm

 

*     A Spiritual Gift is an ability or prompting of the Holy Spirit, given to us freely, and is energized and empowered by God for His service.

  • In Romans 12 Paul lists the gifts as:prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing, leadership and mercy
  • In I Corinthians 12, Paul includes: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discernment, tongues, interpretation of tongues, helps and administration
  • In Ephesians 4 and I Corinthians 12 Paul lists five equipping positions in the church. These are: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.

 



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.

Isaiah 62:1-5

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

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Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

 

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LECTIONARY

 

Isaiah 62:1-5 

Psalm 36:5-10 

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 

John 2:1-11

 

THE WORD:

Today’s Gospel is John’s account of Jesus’ first great “sign”: the transformation of water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana.  For the churches of the East, the miracle at Cana is the fourth great event of their celebration of the Lord’s Epiphany or manifestation to the world (the first three: his birth at Bethlehem, the adoration of the magi and his baptism at the Jordan by John).

    

Cana evokes two important Scriptural symbols that point to the Messiahship of Jesus:

    

First, wine in abundance was considered a sign for Israel of the Messianic age to come (one example: Isaiah 54: 5-14, Reading 4 for the Easter Vigil).  The water in the six large stone jars used for the ritual washings mandated by the first covenant law is transformed by Jesus into Messianic wine, prefiguring the new covenant to be sealed in Jesus' blood (which we celebrate in the wine of the Eucharist).

    

Second, the limitless love of God for his people is described throughout Scripture in terms of marriage.  Today's first reading from Isaiah is a beautiful example of this tradition.  It is the strongest (yet still far from perfect) image we have to understand the depth of God's love for his holy people.

    

The evangelist John pulls together these two power Messianic symbols of wine and marriage together to introduce the public ministry of Jesus, the promised Messiah and bridegroom.

    

A final note:  In verse 4 of today's Gospel, Jesus is not as brusque toward his mother as he sounds to us in the English translation of the text.  The address “Woman” was a common courteous form of address in Jesus' time.  We do not have in modern English an equivalent of this idiomatic expression.

https://connectionsmediaworks.com/sundaygospel.html#jan19

 

 

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.

Psalm 36:5-10

Your steadfast love, O God,

   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 God.

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!

1 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.

John 2:1-11

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.