The Texts for Sunday, January 31st, 2016, the 4th Sunday after Epiphany

First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10

4Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

 and before you were born I consecrated you;

 I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 7But the Lord said to me, 

 “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;

 for you shall go to all to whom I send you,

 and you shall speak whatever I command you.

 8Do not be afraid of them,

 for I am with you to deliver you,

 

says the Lord.”

9Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, 

 “Now I have put my words in your mouth.

 10See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,

 to pluck up and to pull down,

 to destroy and to overthrow,

 to build and to plant.”

The Word of the Lord

Psalm: Psalm 71:1-6

1

In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; 

    let me never be ashamed.

2

In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; 

    incline your ear to me and save me.

3

Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; 

    you are my crag and my stronghold.

4

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, 

    from of the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.

5

For you are my hope, O LORD God, 

    my confidence since I was young.

6

I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;

from my mother's womb you have been my strength; 

    my praise shall be always of you.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And 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. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

  4Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

  8Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30

21Then [Jesus] began to say to [all in the synagogue in Nazareth,] “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ” 24And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. 25But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Luke 4:21-30 Greek Text

Luke 4:22-30

v22 εμαρτυρουν (μαρτυρεω) imperf. "witnessing, bearing testimony to” usually in the sense of "approved of” or “impressed with" except the question that follows shows skepticism so possibly "everyone noticed what he said".

εθαυμαζον (θουμαζω) imperf. "were amazed" - the imperfect indicating ongoing action. Amazement is an important initial response to the gospel; it is the kind of response a person makes when confronted with a theophany. From Luke's perspective, the people's response of amazement serves as a testimony that Isaiah's words were being fulfilled through Jesus.

της χαριτος (ις ιτος) gen. "the gracious [words]" - The word "grace" is translated in various ways here: "winning words", "the wonderful things he said", "beautiful words", "astonished by his eloquence", "charming words ", it is more likely that the gracious power of God salvation is evident in His words so the crowd is amazed by his message, not by his presentation.

ουχι "Isn't this [Joseph's son?]" In Greek the negation used when a question presumes a positive answer. This question evidences the skepticism of those who knew Jesus well, and the old adage applies here: familiarity breeds contempt.

v23 ειπεν (ειπον) aor. "[Jesus] said]" – his reply is an indirect response to the question of the people in 22. He doesn't address the insult directed toward him but instead addresses the substance of their doubt, is Jesus really something more than just Joseph's bastard son, and if he is, where's the evidence?

παντως adv. "doubtless” - expressing strong affirmation indicating Jesus is sure he understands what they are thinking. 

επειτε (ειπον) fut. "you will quote" – this is not a “prophetic future” tense, so it indicates what is on their minds in the present.

την παραβολην (η) "the proverb" – parable is the actual translation but here it is presented as a common saying, so it is actually a "proverb".

γενομενα (γινομαι) aor. part. "that you began" - an object clause of perception expressing what the people heard, namely, that Jesus had done miracles in Capernaum. They are skeptical of Jesus' credentials and Jesus knows it, nevertheless they are still keen on seeing some magic tricks!

v24 ουδεις "no [prophet is]" - a statement of truth and a common proverb δεκτος adj. "accepted" –a predicate nominative. Some scholars suggest a wordplay here in that Jesus has proclaimed the "acceptable" year of the Lord even as he, a prophet, is not "acceptable" to his people!

v25 επι αληθειας "upon this truth – an idiom, I assure you.

εν ταις ημεραις Ηλιου "in the days of Elijah" εκλεισθη (κλειω) aor. pas. "[the sky] was shut" – another idiom meaning a drought επι + acc. "throughout" την γην (η) "the earth" – i.e. everywhere in the land.

v26 ουδεμιαν adj. "no one” αυτων gen. pro. "to them" επεμφθη (πεμπω) aor. pas. "sent" a divine passive, so "God did not send Elijah to any of them."

ει μh "but instead [to a widow]" from Ζαρεπτα "Zerephath" a town North of Israel between Tyre and Sidon in Gentile territory!

  
v27 λεπροι adj. "[there were many] lepers" 

επι + gen. "in the [time of Elisha]" – temporal use 

ουδεις "not one" - no Israelite was touched by God's kindness ει μη "except one”. 

εκαθαρισθη (καθαριζω) aor. pas. "was healed" another divine passive identifying God as the agent of the healing. 

v28 επλησθησαν (πιμπλημι) aor. pas. "they were furious" - the genitive θυμου, "of anger" is adjectival so "furious". The strong reaction of the crowd indicates Jesus' words were provocative and the people display a fury similar to that portrayed by Luke in Acts at the stoning of Stephen. 

ακουντες (ακουω) pres. part. "when they heard [this]" – the word means to hear and understand, i.e. the hearing prompts this response.

v29 ανασταντες (ανιστημι) aor. Part. "they rose up" and εξεβαλον (εκβαλλω) aor. "cast [him] out“ our idiom would be “ran him out on a rail”.

εως "as far as” the οφρυος "edge” Nazareth was not built on the top of but on the side of a hill, so the crowd probably took Jesus to the lower gate.

του ορους (ος) gen. "of the mountain” εφ (επι) + gen. "on [which]" ω κοδομητο (οικοδομεω) pluperf. pas. "had been built”. Pluperfect is an unusual case that expresses a past state which is the result of a previous action. 

ωστε + inf. "in order" - This construction usually forms a consecutive clause expressing result, sometimes final or unfulfilled desire.

κατακρημνισαι (κατακρημνιζω) aor. inf. "to expel [him] down the slope” not necessarily thrown off a cliff, but more like an excommunication than an attempted execution. If the crowd truly regarded him as a false prophet they would have stoned him, so it is likely that they are just bundling him out of town by the lower gate to be rid of him.  The point here was humiliation.

v30 αυτος δε "but he" – an emphatic διελθων (διερχομαι) aor. part. "walked"- attendant circumstance participle expressing action so "was walking away". Some scholars propose a miracle here but there seems nothing miraculous about Jesus picking himself up, dusting himself off, staring the crowd down and walking straight through them to go on his way (it is not as dramatic as a miracle but it is but pretty cool none the less!)

επορευετο (πορευομαι) imperf. "going on his way" – the imperfect expressing an ongoing action. Jesus is still ‘going’ on His way!

A Prophet at Home

A staggering thought, however, is that such love should mark the way we live as social beings. Christians must love others as God has loved us. And this, it seems, is a command of screaming impracticality. — John Kavanaugh

What if “agape” (Love) is a gift? And what if as a gift it makes itself known and felt, it works its labors in spite of those possessed by it? The possibility absolutely scares me. Not because it my not be present in my life but because it might be.

John would write that God is Love (agape). Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 Jn 4:16) Those who believe in Jesus the Messiah are in danger of loving God and loving God they will love the commandments and they will love the people, they will love truth. (1 Jn 5:1ff)

Far from the charming sentimentality that has gotten attached to 1 Corinthians 13, this agape, this love, is the stuff that martyrs are made of. It is the power of martyrs. 

Peter Leithart recalls in a recent article (First Things) that Constantine received the bishops of the church, who only a few years before had been hounded by the Roman state, at his palace. One of them, Paphnutius, had lost an eye and a leg to torture. Constantine kissed the empty eye socket as a symbol of apology. His people had emptied it but they could never fill it again. Theirs was only the power of destruction. Martyrdom’s power is precisely there. A martyr’s suffering exposed a powerlessness in those who wanted to be seen as gods. They did not have creative powers, only destructive ones.  

Leithart concludes his article with this thought to us today:

If the Church of the martyrs has one thing to teach us, it is this: The Church is most politically potent not when she has a place in the halls of power, but when she shares the testimony of Jesus regardless of the consequences.

Uncomfortable things must be spoken by the church, beginning with the assertion that Jesus is the Christ, the only son of God. After that confession, all sort of other things enter the conversation not the least of which being sin, for those who confess “Jesus is the Messiah,” love both neighbor and the the God of Abraham, and they cherish the ways of that God: the commandments.

Elijah and Elisha are revered prophets. We love them because they stick it to the bad boys and girls of the bible like Ahab and Jezebel. We love prophets. We love Isaiah and read him extensively so it would seem from the lectionary, and we rejoice in his promises.

But the words and deeds of the Elijahs of the world exposes things no one wants to have exposed. What Israelite in his right mind wants to be reminded of the acts of Elijah? No. Really. Think about it. He is a continuous judgement on the reign of Ahab and the Israel and Israel hated him. 

It seems raising his name in Nazareth was not a popular thing. His actions told by Jesus drove home the stark fact that God could be merciful to anyone but owes no one anything. 

Love keeps no records. Nazareth does. If it is important never to recall that God sent famine to chasten Israel ( 1 K 17) so that one can keep alive an idol of God that one can find time and energy to adore, then love is not in the picture though hypocrisy might be. Truth can never be at home there as the reaction to Jesus sayings about Elijah and Elisha prove. Love can receive chastening, pride and hypocrisy cannot.

When truth cannot be spoken, martyrs will be made. 

The Texts for Sunday January 24th, 2016 -- the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany.

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

1All the people [of Israel] gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. 2Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. 3He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. 5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 8So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

  9And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. 10Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

The Word of the Lord

Psalm: Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, 

    and the firmament shows his handiwork.

2 One day tells its tale to another, 

    and one night imparts knowledge to another.

3 Although they have no words or language, 

    and their voices are not heard,

4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, 

    and their message to the ends of the world.

5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; 

    it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;

    it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens

and runs about to the end of it again; 

    nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect

                             and revives the soul; 

    the testimony of the LORD is sure

                             and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8 The statutes of the LORD are just

                             and rejoice the heart; 

    the commandment of the LORD is clear

                             and gives light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is clean

                             and endures for ever; 

    the judgments of the LORD are true

                             and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

                             more than much fine gold, 

     sweeter far than honey,

                             than honey in the comb.

11 By them also is your servant enlightened, 

    and in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can tell how often he offends? 

    cleanse me from my secret faults.

13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;

let them not get dominion over me; 

    then shall I be whole and sound,

    and innocent of a great offense.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my

                             heart be acceptable in your sight, 

    O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

  14Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

  27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31aBut strive for the greater gifts.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21

14Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

  16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

 18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

  because he has anointed me

   to bring good news to the poor.

 He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

  and recovery of sight to the blind,

   to let the oppressed go free,

 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

A note from us

It is the week of the All Ohio Rostered Leaders Conference. Some of us went . . . some of us did not. As you can see our resident Greek Scholar is at the retreat - which is held on the shores of Lake Erie in single digit weather I may add - and our regular writer of spiritual reflections stayed home - to weather none the warmer but, and I want to make that perfectly clear, the lake effect ain't getting us. 

Anyway: There may be Greek later on int he week when everyone has mushed the huskies back to the Miami Valley. Until then, we post what we know.

Keep the Faith

They're on your side in Nazareth.

Sometimes it happens that when you start to pray, you find you can pray well. At other times, even when you have expended great effort, you may find your efforts frustrated. This experience is to make you learn that you must exert yourself constantly, for having once gained the gift of prayer, you must be careful to keep it safe (29. Philokalia 1:179). — Evagrios of Pontus

A beginning note: The lectionary disassembles an episode in the ministry of Jesus this week and next week. Jesus walks into he synagogue in Nazareth and all does not go well. This week’s half of the episode leaves off before the conflict happens. I chose not to separate things this week or next week. So, you will hear that Jesus’ sermon is not well received even though Sunday’s text does not quite get there this week.

It is texts like Luke 4 that give rise to the idea that Luke writes a social justice Gospel. That notion is really hard to argue with since it is generally held that Luke writes into a rich community and since his stories seem to, in part, want to answer the question: “How can a rich man be saved?” The rich fool and Lazarus give details.

The themes in the reading that Jesus is given to speak on in the synagogue are not new to us. They are contained in the canticles of Mary and Zachariah from chapter 1:  Restoration and redemption, and both canticles anticipate or announce the imminent presence of God and Messiah. We, the readers of Luke’s Gospel, already know that Jesus is that Messiah. His birth came with angels’ song and his baptism with the very voice of God. 

Speaking of the voice of God, Alan Rickman just died. Long before he played Snape in Harry Potter he got to be the voice of God: Metatron, in the movie Dogma, but that is another story. But still, his best line is: “All who are not dead or from a parallel dimension do well to hold their ears right about now,” right before the true vocalization of God makes the banished angel Bartleby’s head explode. 

In a way, Jesus should probably have prefaced his sermon in Nazareth in Luke 4 with Rickman's/ Megatron’s line. In a way, it made his listeners’ heads explode. How could he claim the words of ancient prophecy, of ancient lore, to be referring to himself? How dare he! But then, remember, that you and I are by now of a parallel dimension. We know, having read the first 3 chapters, who Jesus is. Nazareth, on the other hand, is deaf to this. 

Ancient words read by the faithful have a function in the faith where they are treasured. They serve as a voice of wisdom, history, identity, and, yes, God. We ponder them and rearrange and reset our lives and our living by what they say to us. We hear them and rebel against them too, as a matter of fact, that seems to be the more common response. We find  ways to shield ourselves from the voice. We hold our ears so to speak, so that the true awesome creating and killing voice of God can somehow not get to us. 

Yet there are certainly times when we have taken our hands away from our ears — maybe to scratch our nose — when it suddenly intrudes and when that happens, all manner of things get wrecked like moneychangers’ tables in the Temple; and some things get healed as well. 

In Nazareth, God was about to do an old thing, that is God was about to fulfill the words of ancient prophets, a fulfillment that really ought to have been looked forward to. Unknown prophets like Simeon saw it and said so. (2:29ff) 

Is the fulfillment of God’s promises something we actually wish to see or are our spirits quietly whispering the refrain of Melville’s Bartleby: we “would prefer not to?” Melville’s Bartleby dies a much less fantastic and much less messy death than Dogma’s Bartleby. Melvin’s Bartleby starves, he preferred not to eat. 

Do you prefer God and God’s plan or do you prefer them not? When God’s great plan is read do you prefer it not come to be in your sight? If God’s voice sounds from the promises of prophecy do you prefer not to hear? 

“Of course not! That would be silly,” you say. And everyone in Nazareth agrees with you. But they still try to take Jesus to the cliff.

The Text for Sunday, January 17th, the 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany

First Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5

 1For 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.

 2The 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.

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

  and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

 4You 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.

 5For 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.

The Word of the Lord

Psalm: Psalm 36:5-10

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.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore 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.

  4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to 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. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel: John 2:1-11

1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9When 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 10and 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.” 11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The Greek Text of John 2:1-11

Greek Study John 2:1-11

v1 τη ημερα τη τριτη  "on the third day" - two days after the call of Philip and Nathaniel.

γαμος (ος) "wedding" - the festivities that follow the arrival of the bride at the groom’s home - can last seven days.

Κανα "Cana" - nine miles north of Nazareth in the hill country, only mentioned by John.

η μητηρ "the mother" - title of honor for any woman who has given birth to a son.

  
v2 εκληθη (καλεω) aor. 3rd. sing. "invited" - Jesus and his disciples were invited.

οι μαθηται "the disciples" - John uses the term "disciples" rather than "apostles".

v3 υστερησαντος (υστερεω) gen. aor. part. "when [the wine] was gone" – literally running short, lacking or late in arriving. 

v4 γυναι (η) "woman" –  normally used respectfully, rather than in an abrupt manner, which is why  the NIV translates it "dear woman." Some commentators suggest an idiom, and that the best English equivalent would be "mother".

τι εμοι και σοι "why do you involve me?" – a Semitism, where a person asks why they are being involved in something that has nothing to do with them. This situation is clearly the groom’s responsibility.

ουπω ηκει η ωρα μου "my hour has not yet come" – in John this refers to the glorification of Christ in his death. Why would Jesus make an enigmatic aside about his death in response to an innocent comment from his mother? 

v5 τοις διακονοις (ος) dat. "[said] to the servants" ποιησατε (ποιεω) aor. imp. "do" - Mary hasn't properly understood Jesus' words and decides the situation demands action, not riddles, so suggests something needs to be done and tells the boys to do something, in the sense of begging, borrowing or buying more wine.  “Make this better now!”

v6 καιμεναι (καιμαι) pres. part. "[nearby] stood" λιθιναι υϑδριαι "stone water jars". Much has been made of the fact that the jars are stone and that there are six. It is possible John is underlining the ritual cleansing function of these jars. 

των Ιουδαιων gen. adj. "used by the Jews" κατα + acc. "for [ceremonial washing]" χωρουσαι (χωρεω) pres. pat. "each holding" - about twenty gallons."

 
v7 αυτοις dat. "to the servants" - to them. ("Servants" is assumed by most translators.).

υδριαι (α) dat. "[fill the jars] with water" εως ανω "to the brim"…as full as you are able.

  
v8 αντλησατε (αντλεω) imp. "draw" - Westcott argues the verb is used of drawing water from a well and so therefore, the servants fill the jars (purification is complete) and then continue to draw as the water is turned into wine; an even neater trick which also explains why they . 

τω αρχιτρικλινω (ος) dat. "the master of the banquet" - the head steward, or possibly the best man or guest appointed for the occasion, more likely the wedding planner..

  
v9 γεγενημενον (γινομαι) perf. pas. part. "that had been turned into [wine]" - participle is adjectival, attributive "water"; "the water which was now wine."

οι ηντληκοτες (αντλεω) perf. part. "[the servants] who had drawn [the water]" - 

φωνει (φωνεω) pres. "called [the bridegroom aside]" - The bridegroom was responsible for the provisions and so he is the correct person to congratulate.

  
v10 τιθησιν (τιθημι) pres. "brings out" - places. 

οταν + subj. "after” an idiom when [they have become drunk]. 

ελασσω (μικρος) comp. adj. "the smaller wine" - smaller = worse a comparative adjective. 

  
v11 ταυτην pro. "this" - The miracle of turning water into wine.

αρχην (η) "was the beginning” Jesus did this as the first of his signs; " in the sense of first in a series, but also possibly first in importance.

σημειων (ον) "of his miraculous signs" - genitive is adjectival, partitive. Instead of "miracles" or "wonders", John uses the word "sign" in that Jesus' miracles are not just displays of divine power. Signs are "significant displays of power that point beyond themselves to the deeper realities that can (only) be perceived with the eyes of faith", Carson.

δοξαν (α) "glory" - For John, Christ's glory is fully displayed in the cross and empty tomb. What is seen in the sign of water to wine is a partial manifestation of the glory of that coming "hour", cf. v4. The image painted by the prophets of the coming day is of God's people siting on their back porch, underneath their grape vine, drinking freely of a new wine.