The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

For the student: Read along, fill in the blanks, and write your answers on the lines. Your parent has the answers.

Step 1 · Understand the Collect

Most collects follow a five-part pattern: the address (the One to whom we pray), the reason (what God has done or promised), the petition (what we ask), the purpose (what we hope will result), and the ending (the closing that names the Trinity).

1. Mark each part of the collect. Which part is missing?

2. How does the reason, that God governs all things, give confidence to the petition?

3. What kind of "peace" does the collect ask for?

Step 2 · Understand the Gospel

Read the Gospel on your own.

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.

1. Jesus says, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come" (v. 4). Was He being rude?

2. How did Mary respond, and what does her answer show?

3. Jesus used jars meant for "the Jewish rites of purification" (v. 6). Why is that fitting?

4. Six jars of twenty or thirty gallons is well over a hundred gallons of wine. What does that amount say about Jesus?

Step 3 · Find the Collect in the Gospel

1. Find at least two places where the collect's words appear in the Gospel. Explain each one.

2. Today's Old Testament reading promises, "The mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it" (Amos 9:13). How does Cana show that promise coming true?

Step 4 · The Small Catechism

The Sixth Commandment. You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

Cross-reference. "'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:31-32)

1. Why does it matter that Jesus' first sign was at a wedding?

2. Luther says to lead "a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do." How does that apply to someone your age now?

3. Ephesians says marriage "refers to Christ and the church." How does Cana show Christ as the Bridegroom?

Think about it. Jesus made wine at a wedding. What does the Bible say about wine and about drunkenness? Read Psalm 104:15 and Ephesians 5:18 and be ready to talk about it.

Step 5 · Wrap It All Up

1. Write a short collect of your own for this day. Use all five parts.

Pray today's collect together. Then answer:

2. What does Jesus do for you when you bring Him your needs?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible. Small Catechism quotation from Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, © Concordia Publishing House.