Romans 12:6-16: "6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble."
This mornings reading which is the Epistle appointed for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, doesn't really seem to have anything to do with the Gospel reading for today, which is our Lord's first miracle, the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana.
There is something to be said about this, that is, that certain Epistles throughout the Church year are what they call "continua lectio." This is an ancestor of the ancient practice of reading the Scriptures continuously, the Bishop telling the Deacon when to stop reading. The Deacon would start up the next time where he left off. One can see this pattern when one looks at the list of Epistle reading for Epiphany, they are all from Romans 12 and 13 with only a few gaps in between. Hence, certain Epistles in the Church year were not meant to necessarily relate in theme to the Gospel, but instead were certain parts of Scripture that were read at certain times of the year.
However, the theme of the Gospel, that our Lord manifests Himself as God, can be seen in this Epistle. Our Lord Jesus is manifested through the saints who prophesy, minister, teach, exhort, give, lead, or show mercy. When the saints do these things, they show the love of our Lord, Who shows His love in the Gospel reading today, by not only providing for a need, but revealing Himself to His disciples that He is the Messiah, and foreshadowing the blessed Sacraments of baptism and communion.
Of course the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul qualifies his statement to the Church of Rome by saying that just doing these things, doesn't manifest our Lord, but rather, those who do these things without hypocrisy, that is to say, doing these things in faith; Believing that when these things are done, our Lord Jesus Christ is manifested to those who receive them in faith. This is similar to the Gospel reading for today, for those who saw the sign, done for the benefit of those at the wedding in Cana, manifested our Lord Jesus, and His disciples believed in Him. That is to say, they had faith that He was the Messiah.
This faith is really only fostered in unity. For where there is discord and strife, a roadblock to faith is put up, for people are so consumed with the discord that they lose sight of the thing that truly matters. However, it should be stated up front that unity does not come at the cost of the Word of God. True unity exists where people dwell together in the peace of like teaching. When there is unity in teaching and belief according to those teachings, there is a trust and bond that truly displays the love of our Lord Jesus Christ through us.
This is such an important point, that the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul, tells the Church at Rome to "be of the same mind toward one another." Or, in other words, be in unity in doctrine and practice. This is only accomplished through humility. Humility comes by submitting yourself to someone else. In the Church this is done by fellow ministers of the Word submitting themselves to examination of their doctrine, life, and practice by their other fellow ministers of the Word. This is only fostered by an enviroment of accountability, meaning, when your brother ministers challenge your doctrines or life or practice, that minister should listen to them, and humble himself before them., especially if that fellow minister of the Word be a Bishop, who has the care of the ministers under his authority.
Where this humility and accountability exists, love, trust, and peace exist. Our prayer is that the whole Church on Earth might experience this great gift of our Lord God.
May God be with you!
Deacon Dulas
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