Devotions for the Second Week after the Epiphany
Monday of Epiphany 2 – Prayer of the Week
Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. “Where are we going?” she asked. It was the sixth or seventh time my grandmother had asked this question since she had gotten into the car. We were taking her to my cousin’s wedding. My father had answered each time with the same response. We were going to this cousin’s wedding. A few moments later the question would come again. My grandmother had advanced dementia. This conversation was not unexpected or unusual at this stage of her decline. Finally, with a bit of exasperation in his voice, my father responded with the name of the town. “We’re going to...” Immediately my grandmother sat bolt upright in the back seat and shot back, “But that’s a Catholic town!” It was true. My cousin was indeed marrying a Catholic girl and has been happily married to her for decades now. At this point in her life, my grandmother could not tell you what had happened in the last few minutes. She regularly confused my father for her brother. She remembered the names of none of her grandchildren, but she still knew the denominational geography of the community where she had lived for many years. This neighboring town was a Catholic town. We all chuckled a little at this. Yet, there is something important going on. My grandmother’s late teens and married life encompassed the first world war, the great depression, and the second world war. She and her husband lost their farm in the great depression, and they had become migrants. Her husband died relatively young when she was in her early 50’s. She knew suffering, grief, poverty, and displacement. But there was one thing which did not change: the Lord Jesus whom she trusted. We pray in this pray that God would give us His peace. Remember that we do not here pray for peace as the world knows it and as my grandmother seldom saw. We pray for another sort of peace entirely, a peace which passes understanding and which still was there for her in her dementia and decline, when she understood very little. Her faith and knowledge never were perfect or complete, but she knew Jesus and, more importantly, He knew her. We pray for and receive the peace of being in the hands of Christ. We may still walk the valley of the shadow of death, but Christ goes with us into those difficult days.
Tuesday of Epiphany 2 – Isaiah 62:1-5
1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
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 sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.
I heard this story many years ago. A little girl in Mexico announced in her village that she had spoken with Jesus. She said he was not happy about some things and encouraged other things. These conversations happened more than once, she said. People started to take her seriously and she became something of a local celebrity. This drew the attention of the Bishop who brought this little peasant girl in for an interview in his office. A gentle man, he had cookies and something sweet to drink and they shared a pleasant hour together. She seemed sincere, her story did not seem to be influenced by her parents or others. But this is not something that is easy to discern. As she was leaving, he told her that the next time Jesus spoke to her, she should come back and tell him right away. He was grasping for some way to test what she claimed. He added “If you think of it, ask Jesus what is the last sin which I committed.” It was something surely only the bishop and the Lord would know. Several weeks later the Bishop’s secretary told him that the little girl was back to see him. She told him that Jesus had spoken with her again. “Did you remember to ask him the question I gave you? What did he say was the last sin I committed?” “Yes,” said the little girl. “He says to tell you that he forgot.” Isaiah speaks to the people of ancient Israel who had broken the covenant with God over and over. But he speaks of God delighting in them. They are a crown of beauty in His hand and His delight is like a bridegroom delighting in his bride. That can be hard to see when our sins are ever before us and when they consequences weigh us down. So, we need Isaiah and the rest of the prophets, Gospels, and the whole Bible, the weekly absolution, the sacrament, and so much more to remind us. God has put our sins away, restored us to the purity of Eden, and declared our righteousness to the world. He really does delight in you!
Wednesday of Epiphany 2 – Psalm 128
1 Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
5 The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children's children!
Peace be upon Israel!
My neighbor died a few years ago and his family wrote an amazing obituary for him. They gave the pertinent details of his life, but then they summed it up with the two best adjectives to describe him: Gentle and Kind. If you had known him, you would have concurred. Those were the best words to describe him. Often obituaries are filled with accomplishments, rather like Christmas letters and Facebook pages. I have often seen a photo of the deceased holding their biggest fish or standing atop some mountain or in some faraway place. The text speaks of great things done, a business built, or awards received. It is understandable that our thoughts are drawn to accomplishments when we consider a life, but lately I have been drawn to consider more the things that are between those high points. Perhaps this means I am getting old. I wonder about all the habits like eating dinner together, the times they said, “I love you,” or the sporting events they attended for their kids. I wonder about the gentle words spoken and the times they prayed, worshipped, and served. Those are often not the things that rise to the top of the obituaries. But they are the things that make a good life, much more so than the high points, awards, and accomplishments. The psalmist today sees domestic bliss, a fruitful life lived in humble toil, a father with children and grandchildren too. It is not a life of drama or even what passes for excitement in this world, but is that so bad? When I think of the things which I will leave behind me after I die, other than a great deal of stuff for my children to sort, I think the best of it will have been built in those simple habits and practices which I did every day, the things born of fear of God and walking in His ways.
Thursday of Epiphany 2 – I Corinthians 12:1-11
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For 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 ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. Diversity and inclusion are watchwords of this moment. Universities, corporations, and other entities in our world are hiring diversity and inclusion officers or engaging in similar campaigns. I am all for including folks and dislike segregation. It seems, however, like the movement for this has grown increasingly shrill. To put it plainly, those who often bandy the diversity term about have become, ironically, quite intolerant, enforcing the movement’s dicta by excluding anyone who disagrees. Paul speaks of another sort of diversity, a diversity which seems much greater to me than that which is proposed by the diversity wardens of the current regime. What distinguishes this Pauline diversity is a place of rock-solid safety and identity. Christ’s universal love and the Spirit He has poured out provide us with the ability to be truly diverse. Christianity is somewhat unique in this. We do not have a singular dress, diet, or other cultural markers which set us apart. One cannot really be Muslim without adopting some of the culture of Arabia, especially the language. Hinduism is inextricably intertwined with south Asian culture. Judaism is marked by diet and sabbath. Christianity is remarkably flexible in these things, because there is one thing which stands in the middle of it all: Christ and His Spirit. Last summer, on a warm evening, I went walking in my neighborhood past a church. It had recently changed hands from a very white and declining parish to a vibrant place filled with Ethiopians. They sang songs which I could not understand except for the occasional “Alleluia.” That came through clearly. I knew they were praising Jesus. I could hear his name sometimes too. But little else about their worship, dress, language, or expression of Christianity looked much like the parish which I serve, just a few blocks away. Yet, I was listening to Christians sing, the same Spirit blew through that assembly and the same Lord was listening to every subtle nuance and inflection of their prayers. He speaks their language too. In Him and His Spirit, we are one.
Friday of Epiphany 2 – John 2:1-11
1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. The young woman walked into church on her father’s arm, her smile was radiant. A young man stood in the front of church with an array of their friends on either side of him. They were not Hollywood beautiful, but they were really beautiful, beautiful in the sense of being real people who were about to be married. I have witnessed this scene more than most folks. I am a pastor and my own and my wife’s families are quite large. I have gone to a lot of weddings. Jesus delights in the joy of the bride and groom in the reading this day. He loves the proud parents, celebrating parties, and the honeymoon too. This is the first miracle which John records for us. He calls it a sign which revealed Jesus’ glory. But unlike many of Jesus’ miracles, the object of the miracle is not so clear. Opening the eyes of a blind man, cleansing a leper, etc., has a clear object who benefits from the miracle, the person healed. But who benefits here? Which problem is solved? Jesus keeps a family from embarrassment and lets the party continue. He doesn’t want this couple, decades later, to have their wedding still remembered as the one in which they ran out of wine. Embarrassment is not fatal. It is not even a terrible problem, in a rational scale of problems’ severity. But Jesus brings his abundance. John notes how large the water jars are. They hold 20-30 gallons. Jesus makes between 120 and 180 gallons of wine. My friend in the catering business says this would serve about 1,000 people at a wedding reception today. Jesus provides, over what had already been served, an overflowing joy to this wedding. Jesus cares about your joy too. John wrote in another place that “your joy will be complete” (Jn 15:11) and Jesus makes a little detour into the source of that joy in Jn. 16:20-24. There are many who would rob you of joy today, sometimes it is our own sinful self. Jesus is working for your joy today.