Second Sunday of Epiphany John 2:1-11 Isaiah 62:1-5The wedding at Cana, the text says, is the first of Jesus’ signs, through which he revealed his glory. It was certainly spectacular, even though many of the guests didn’t have a clue. What they did notice, though, was the different – read, better – quality of the wine they were drinking! And that is the whole point. There are many strands we could take from this passage to focus on, but the point is that water was changed into wine. In other words, what was ‘commonplace’ as it were, had become special. We associate wine with a festive occasion, and water with everyday drink. We need water; there’s no doubt about that. It is so very basic to our existence. Our national beverage depends on it. It is the first thing that some cultures offer to a guest, so as to revive them in a hot climate. And it is even Jesus himself who refers to his own person as the Water of Life; not just like a liquid to avoid human bodies from being dehydrated, but as an essential ingredient to our existence in the spiritual sense for our souls, as we find for instance in the story of the encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4). So it is perfectly understood that we need both physical water and its spiritual counterpart in Jesus.However, here, in chapter 2 of John’s Gospel, the ordinary water had changed into extraordinary wine. It’s interesting to read the passage anew, to ponder the words that Mary spoke to Jesus and his response. Her, ‘They have no wine’, is met by his, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and me?’. Nevertheless, she then says to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Would she already know a thing or two about Jesus’ power to change a situation? Or did she think more in the line of Jesus organising a search party by his disciples, to go to the nearest wine cellar and buy more wine? We don’t know for sure. But we do know that Mary must have had a special bit of extra knowledge about her son anyway, what with the words of the angel Gabriel to her before Jesus was born, and other things that followed. And although Jesus doesn’t perform his ‘first sign’ straight away at his mother’s bidding, he does get on with it, and does something so different, so wonderful too, that the wedding is saved. What’s more, it says that the disciples believed in him through this.The point that water was changed into wine, though, is more relevant and important than that. Yes, it led to a favourable outcome for the wedding couple as well as for the guests and the faith of the disciples. But the very change of water into wine is significant in another sense as well and it may be helpful to remind ourselves of it. For that, I turn to the passage from the prophet Isaiah for today. This is about a change of fortune, a new name for what was forsaken and desolate for the people of Israel. There is the reference to a wedding: ‘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.’ The symbolism of marriage is used to describe the change of the situation, to say in effect that ‘the old has gone, the new has come’. This passage also says, ‘You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.’ A real change, in the process of vindication and restoration, just like the work of Jesus was going to make to the lives of all who put their trust in him. We can read this account in John’s Gospel like a simple story, saying that, yes, okay, water was changed into wine and the wedding party were happy. But we could also read it as a message and a gift for us: Water was changed into wine!! And you know why: because Jesus was there; he made the difference. And we can taste his goodness, just like the people at the wedding, and perhaps even more so, because we know who he is. Amen.
Baptism of Christ Luke 3:15-17; 21-22 Isaiah 43:1-7‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.’ The prophet Isaiah speaks of redemption and salvation. The dangers that the people have been facing they will survive and those who were taken away from their homeland shall return. The Lord has promised and he will not delay. In Luke’s Gospel, we are told about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. John had clearly said to the people that he himself was not the Christ and that he was not worthy even to untie his sandals. Then, when Jesus appeared on the scene and was baptised, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ This is the moment when Jesus begins his ministry, at about 30 years old. It is also another moment when his identity is revealed, and quite strongly too! God’s own voice speaking audibly and affirming his Son. The Baptism of Christ is also marked specifically in this Church season of Epiphany, and the reading from Isaiah is important in this respect, as it proclaims the salvation of the people. The reference to ‘the waters’ we can interpret in this context and also in that of the wider scope of God’s promise and work of salvation. Of course, we are reminded of the beginning of Genesis and the story of creation, when God’s Spirit ‘hovered over the waters’. Water is an image of chaos, of danger. But it is also essential to life. Life on earth is not possible without it! And, Jesus himself is the Water of Life in that meaning of life-giving and life-sustaining. But, the water of baptism is a reference to death. In baptism we go through death symbolically, to come out ‘at the other end’, as it were, renewed and more fully alive. And here we have the message for today: we, as human beings, are fallible and sinful, and without help we are already dead in a way, even while we are still alive. The word ‘sin’, as it has been said, has ‘I’ in the middle; in other words: we put ourselves at the centre of the universe far too often and therefore ‘miss the mark’, which is what ‘sin’ means. We are literally doomed in that way, as there is no way we can – of ourselves – wipe away the wrong we have done. We need God to save us from our sin, and to help us to change. That we most certainly can, through faith in God’s Son, Jesus. That is why it is so important to see who Jesus is. He is our life-saver, quite literally! And God says to us, ‘do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you.’ Isn’t that the most beautiful news? I think it is wonderful to know that God cares so much for us that he has put his plan of salvation in motion and made sure that we can actually truly live. As we see Jesus – now baptised and affirmed by God the Father – we have a foretaste of that final act of salvation that he performed on the cross. For us, so that we don’t have to be overwhelmed by death but may rejoice in the new life we have been given. Amen.
Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12 Isaiah 60:1-6The feast of the Epiphany goes back to the account in Matthew’s Gospel about the journey and arrival of the Three Wise Men – the Magi. They were political officials, so that is probably why they are often depicted as kings. The prophecy from Isaiah 60 has particular relevance, as it speaks of foreigners who will bring tribute, bringing gifts, also mentioned in Matthew. Epiphany means manifestation – it is the moment when Christ is made manifest to the Gentiles, non-Jews. The short season of Epiphanytide helps us to see the world-wide perspective of God’s act of salvation through him, and to be reminded that this is part of the mission of the Church in every age. Jesus was born for all of humanity, not just for a selected few. In the sequence of the following weeks, we find several other incidents of the identity of Jesus as the Christ being manifested and revealed. It is like the pulling back of a curtain or the lifting of a veil; what was hidden and obscure now becoming visible. It is now also a few days into the New Year. It may have been a bumpy start for some; so much in the world is still challenging and difficult or downright painful. The story of the Epiphany does not claim to change our circumstances in a flash. But it does point to the One who can – and who did and who still does, through faith. For the realisation that we are not facing life alone already makes a difference. Through Christ we are called children of God and in his care, even if the circumstances don’t change, we are being changed and find comfort and peace. It is a bit, I hope, like the poem I wrote for the beginning of the New Year:Hope for the unknown journeyWhat can we do at the start of a yearwith the diary open and bare -what do the seasons of this year bringin the days and the months that are there?Are we to fill the blank pages with workor with leisure, we ask, as we stareinto the unknown, as yet distant, timeof the future that’s certainly there?How do we live in the places we knowwith the people that are in our care,when so much before us is covered in fogfor the days that are not yet there?What is our hope for this year ‘25in the times when we are going sparewith worry about wars and dreadful thingsthat are not right, both here and there?Where are the words we can listen tothat will not let us down in despair, but will build us up in lives that are fullof joy and peace, finally there?So many questions, this year just begunand I wonder, am I not awareof the love that God came to share in his Son,who said he would always be there?So I listen again to the words that he spokelike a lamp to my feet, and show wherehe says I should reach out my hand in faithand be held on the path that is there;in his care, anytime, everywhere!May this New Year be for you a time of peace and joy. Amen.
First Sunday of Christmas Luke 2:41-end 1 Samuel 2:18-20; 26The first Sunday of Christmas falls four days after Christmas this year and in terms of the story of Jesus we make a bit of a jump from when he is a baby to when he is twelve years old. The scene is actually the Passover festival and Mary and Joseph are taking him to Jerusalem for the festival. This must have been a very exciting time for Jesus. When the festival was ended and Mary and Joseph started on their return journey, Jesus stayed behind, but they didn’t know it. You know how it happens: assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then, when they looked for him among their relatives and friends, Jesus was not there… So, they went back immediately, to search for him. It took them a long time: three days in all, before they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking question. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. The worried parents were astonished and Mary asked him: ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ But Jesus said: ‘Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ I remember a time when I grew up and was so engrossed in my play outside – and outside her range of vision – that I missed my mother’s call to come in. She also looked for me and her emotions were quite mixed… As I came to understand fully when I had a similar moment later as a mother myself.The passage in Luke chapter 2 ends saying: ‘And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.’ In 1 Samuel, we find similar words about the boy Samuel when he grew up to be a servant of the Lord. He was a longed-for child to his parents, after his mother Hannah had prayed fervently for him and later ‘gave him up’, as it says, as God’s servant in the temple. The temple that we know as the very special place as God had designed, for festivals and sacrifices to him. Samuel was indeed to become an important figure, as the last of the judges and the prophet who anoints Saul and later David as king. They too, have a particular part to play in the run-up to the birth of Jesus, especially, of course, king David. But what about this particular part in Luke’s Gospel on the first Sunday after Christmas? We’ve only just celebrated Jesus’ birth and we haven’t even had the Epiphany yet, the arrival of the three wise men who came from the East to bring homage to the new-born king. So, we may feel a little bit at odds, going backwards and forwards in the account. Well, it is not so strange as it seems, really, as it’s all about indications of who Jesus is. It was this event, when Jesus chose to spend more time in the temple after the festival of the Passover that already pointed in the direction he was to go as Saviour. For the temple would be important in the days leading up to his crucifixion and consequent rising from the dead. Already, Jesus knew about his Father, God, and possibly began at this time to learn and to teach about the calling and work of the Messiah. I think this little part of the story, when Jesus is only twelve years old, is actually very important. It could well have been a reminder to Mary and Joseph that this child that they were raising had God’s special task to perform, for the good of the whole world. It’s a reminder to us, too, that Jesus did not stay a cute little baby, nor did he simply ‘jump’ into a grown man and started his ministry then. Rather, his connection with God as his Father, began as a child and inspired and helped him grow. His earthly parents might have feared for him as being lost, but Jesus was never lost, not physically, nor spiritually, for he knew the Father. That is now a reality for us, too. We have been known by the Father and we can know him too, through Jesus and his obedience to his work of salvation. That is why we rejoice: we once were lost and now are found: glory and praise be to God forever and ever! Amen.
