·        20 Richard Rolle of Hampole, Spiritual Writer, 1349 was an English hermit, mystic, and religious writer.^[2] He is also known as Richard Rolle of Hampole or de Hampole, since at the end of his life he lived near a Cistercian nunnery in Hampole, Yorkshire.^[3] In the words of Nicholas Watson, scholarly research has shown that "[d]uring the fifteenth century he was one of the most widely read of English writers, whose works survive in nearly four hundred English...and at least seventy Continental manuscripts, almost all written between 1390 and 1500."^[4]

21 Agnes, Child Martyr at Rome, 304  is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. She is one of seven women who, along with the Blessed Virgin, are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.

·         

22 Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon, first Martyr of Spain, 304 was a deacon of the Church of Saragossa. He is the patron saint of Lisbon and Valencia. His feast day is 22 January in the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Communion and 11 November in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. He was born at Huesca and martyred under the Emperor Diocletian around the year 304.

·         

·        24 Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Teacher of the Faith, 1622

·        25 The Conversion of Paul

·        26 Timothy and Titus, Companions of Paul

OLD TESTAMENT:   Isaiah 62: 1 - 5   (all)

Isai 62:1 (NRSV) 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.

2 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.

3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4 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.

5 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   (RCL)

Psal 36:5 (NRSV) Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your judgments are like the great deep;

you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

10 O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your salvation to the upright of heart!

36   Dixit injustus     (ECUSA BCP)

5               Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, *

     and your faithfulness to the clouds.

6               Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,

your justice like the great deep; *

     you save both man and beast, O Lord.

7               How priceless is your love, O God! *

     your people take refuge under the

                        shadow of your wings.

8               They feast upon the abundance of your house; *

     you give them drink from the river of your delights.

9               For with you is the well of life, *

     and in your light we see light.

10             Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *

     and your favor to those who are true of heart.

Psalm 96: 1 - 3, 7 - 10   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 96:1 (NRSV) O sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts.

9 Worship the LORD in holy splendor;

tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, "The LORD is king!

The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity."

NEW TESTAMENT:   1 Corinthians 12: 1 - 11   (all)

1Cor 12:1 (NRSV) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 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. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 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. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Note: the Roman Catholic lectionary omits vs. 1-3

Early in this letter, Paul has noted that the Christians at Corinth “are not lacking in any spiritual gift” ( 1:7); even so, they appear to have written to him “concerning spiritual gifts” (v. 1): it seems that there are questions in the community. One gift is inspires speech. The tests for whether one speaks under the influence of the Holy Spirit are:

  that one accepts Christ’s authority and pledges obedience to him, “Jesus is Lord” (v. 3) and

  that one does not curse Jesus (even under duress).

Speech that fails these tests is influenced by other (pagan, v. 2) spirits.

“Gifts” is widely defined, and includes “services” (v. 5, ministries) and “activities” (v. 6, operations). Note the suggestion of the Trinity: “same Spirit ... same Lord ... same God” (vv. 4-6), and note also:

  the Spirit himself is a gift of the Father;

  Christ was sent to serve or minister; and

  the Father is the source of all being and “activities”, i.e. ways in which God’s power is applied.

With a common origin, all gifts are shown through the Holy Spirit, not for personal edification but “for the common good” (v. 7), for building up the Church. While the gifts in vv. 8-10 can be grouped, the precise meanings are uncertain:

  “wisdom ... knowledge ... faith”;

  “healing ... working of miracles ... prophecy”;

  “discernment ... tongues ... interpretation”.

“Wisdom” and “knowledge” seem to be the ability to instruct; “faith” seems to be exceptionally deep faith – that God can do anything. “Discernment” is the ability to tell whether gifts genuinely come from God. “Tongues” may be unintelligible speech which needs “interpretation”. Each of us receives a gift (perhaps not one listed); God chooses, not us.

For more on the gifts of the Spirit, see Chapters 13-14. [ NOAB]

This passage tells how the Holy Spirit enables members of the community to fulfil special roles for the benefit of all.

Verse 1: “Now concerning”: This is the first question raised by the Corinthian Christians. For others (also introduced by “now concerning”), see 7:25 (virgins); 8:1 (food sacrificed to idols); 16:1 (collection for the saints); 16:12 (our brother Apollos will come to you). See also 15:1.

Verse 2: “enticed”: Pagan religions in Greece embodied unbridled enthusiasm and emotionalism, even extending to the orgiastic frenzies of the devotees of Dionysios. [ JBC]

Verse 2: “idols that could not speak”: i.e. they could not answer prayers. For this thought in the Old Testament, see 1 Kings 18:26-29 (Baal does not answer his prophets) and Psalm 115:4-8. Perhaps Paul contrasts the silence of the idols with the noisy (demon-inspired) outcry of the worshippers. [ Blk1Cor]

Verse 3: “Let Jesus be cursed”: There were overtones of contempt in the way the “spirit-people” neglected the lessons of the life of the historical Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 5:15), and Paul probably created this shocking formula to crystallize the implications of their attitude. Other interpretations are possible.

Verse 3: “Jesus is Lord”: For this confession in baptism, see Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:11. See also Galatians 3:13. [NJBC]

Verses 4-7: The real test of gifts is whether they come from God and contribute to the common good and edify the community: see also 8:1. [ NOAB] Christians differ from one another, not only in physical make-up but in the spiritual gifts distributed (“varieties”, Greek: diaireseis ) to each. Uniformity of experience and service is not to be expected. [ Blk1Cor]

Verse 7: The point is that each member of the church has a manifestation of a gift appropriate to his or her self. [ Blk1Cor]

Verses 8-10: This list is not exhaustive, and precise definitions of what Paul means are impossible. It is very likely that the Corinthian Christians knew what he meant. See 12:27-30; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11 for different lists of gifts. [ NJBC]

Verse 9: “faith”: All Corinthian Christians must have possessed the faith by which one begins the Christian way of life and continues on it, so perhaps the faith in question is that connected with “working of miracles” (v. 10) and “gifts of healing”. [Blk1Cor] In 13:2, Paul writes: “... if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing”.

Verse 10: “miracles”: On apostolic miracles, Paul says in Romans 15:18-19: “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ”. See also Galatians 3:5 and 2 Corinthians 12:12. [ NOAB]

Verse 10: “discernment”: 1 John 4:1 warns: “... do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God”. [ NOAB]

Verse 10: “various kinds of tongues”: Paul writes in 13:1, only a few verses later: “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal”. See also Chapter 14. Paul is thinking of unintelligible speech. [ Blk1Cor]

Verse 10: “interpretation of tongues”: See also 14:9-19, a section that begins “... if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air”. [ NOAB]

Verse 11: “are activated”: i.e. are put into operation. [ Blk1Cor]

Verses 12-13: The analogy of the body was frequently employed in the ancient world. [ Blk1Cor]

Verse 13: The Church is the manifestation and extension of the Lord’s body in this world. The Church is the body of Christ because it is composed of members who share in the life of the Risen Lord.

Verse 13: “baptised into one body”: See also Romans 12:4-5 (“For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ...”) and Ephesians 4:14-16.

Verse 13: “made to drink of one Spirit”: In 3:16 Paul asks, perhaps rhetorically: “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?”. See also 6:19. The tense of the verb mitigates against this being a reference to the Eucharist.

GOSPEL:  John 2: 1 - 11   (all)

John 2:1 (NRSV) On the third day there was a wedding in Ca'na of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 9 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 10 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." 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Ca'na of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Caper'naum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days. John uses symbolism extensively in his telling of the good news. He says in 20:31: “these [signs] are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name”. Our reading looks forward to Jesus’ resurrection and glorification (“on the third day”, v. 1), the Last Supper, and the messianic banquet expected at the end of time, when Christ comes again. The “mother of Jesus” appears for the first time in the gospel; the last time is when she stands at the foot of the cross. On both occasions, Jesus addresses her as “Woman” (v. 4), a title roughly equivalent to Madam today: Jesus is guided in his ministry only by the Father’s will (“my hour ...”). Mary’s words in v. 5 suggest that she believes in Jesus, as she does at the foot of the cross. Jesus has the water jars filled completely (“to the brim”, v. 7) with water. In Judaism, the “rites of purification” (v. 6, washing before and after eating) were ceremonial, but in totally transforming water into wine, Jesus replaces the old (Judaism) with the new; wine is a symbol originating in Christ. In Isaiah, marriage between God and his people symbolizes the fulfilment of God’s purpose for his people; here the abundance of good wine symbolizes the joy accompanying the arrival of the end of the era (as foretold in several prophetic books). John presents “signs” (v. 11) as aids to people in reaching his objectives ( 20:31). Jesus shows that God is present in his very nature (“his glory”).

© 1996-2019 Chris Haslam

In 1:50, Jesus has told Nathanael: “You will see greater things than these”. This prophecy is beginning to be fulfilled. [BlkJn]

Verse 1: “third day”: This is the third day after the calling of Philip (the apostle) and Nathanael (see 1:43-45), counting that day as the first. John tells us of (or, of most of) the seven days of the new creation story.

Verse 1: “wedding”: A symbol in the prophetic tradition for the time of fulfilment of God’s purpose for his people: see Isaiah 54:4; 62:4-5. For a wedding feast as a parable of the messianic kingdom, see also Matthew 22:2-14 (the Parable of the Wedding Feast); 25:1ff (the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids) ; Mark 2:19; Revelation 19:9 (“the marriage supper of the Lamb”). [ BlkJn]

Verse 1: “Cana”: A small village 15 km northwest of Nazareth. John distinguishes it from Cana in Phoenicia.

Verse 1: “the mother of Jesus”: John mentions her several times (see 2:12; 6:42; 19:25-28) but never by name. BlkJn says that “mother of Jesus” is a more honourable appellation than Mary.

Verse 2: How many of Jesus’ disciples were present? So far in the book, five have been mentioned but there are twelve in 6:67.

Verse 3: Mary’s concern with the shortage of wine suggests that the wedding was that of a near relative.

Verse 4: “what concern ...”: For this Hebrew idiom, see Judges 11:12; 1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 3:13; Hosea 14:8. Persistence after rejection is also found in the other miracle at Cana: see 4:47-50. [ NJBC]

Verse 4: “Woman”: Jesus also addresses Mary this way in 19:26 but a son did not normally address his mother thus. However, notes BlkJn, the same form of address is used to the Samaritan woman (in 4:21) and to Mary Magdalene (see 20:13, 15), so it must be compatible with affection and respect.

Verse 4: “My hour ...”: Jesus will do nothing without his Father’s will. In 5:19, Jesus says “the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise”. The miracle is not done for Jesus’ own convenience but to save his host embarrassment. This motive may not have seemed so trivial as it appears to us. Here Mary assumes that Jesus will do something to meet the situation (v. 5). [ BlkJn] See also 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1. [ NOAB]

Comments: “in totally transforming water into wine, Jesus replaces the old (Judaism) with the new”: BlkJn disagrees with this allegorical interpretation. “six” (v. 6) is not a number that has symbolic significance. But he does consider the event to be a miracle.

Verse 6: “stone”: Stone was used because it was believed that it could not contract ritual uncleanness. That the jars were empty may be symbolic: an indication of the inadequacy of the Jewish rites of purification.

Verse 6: “ the Jewish rites of purification”: Mark 7:1-4 tells us about these rites. [ BlkJn]

Verse 8: “chief steward”: At Gentile banquets, to be “steward” was a mark of honour for a guest. Perhaps Jewish weddings followed a similar custom. Today we might call this person a headwaiter or toastmaster. However, BlkJn thinks that a Gentile custom is unlikely to have been followed at a Jewish village wedding. To him, the “chief steward” is probably an old family slave, one accorded the freedom of speech possessed by an old retainer.

Verses 9-11: These verses underscore the reality of the event.

Verse 10: Comments: “the abundance of good wine symbolizes the joy accompanying the arrival of the end of the era”: For the association of plentiful good wine with the eschaton, see Amos 9:11-14; Hosea 14:4-7; Jeremiah 31:12-14. See also Hosea 2:21-22; Joel 3:18; Isaiah 29:17; 1 Enoch 10:19; 2 Baruch 29:5. [ NJBC]

Verse 11: “the first of his signs”: The second can be found in 4:46-54: “Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum ...” [ NOAB]

© 1996-2019 Chris Haslam