ScriptureHis mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When 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), Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (John 2:5-9&11)ReflectionThe season of Epiphany that we are in now is about the manifestation, the revealing of whom Jesus is; that he is the “Son of Man”. It started with the encounter between the Magi and Mary, Joseph and Jesus; the Magi paying him homage and presenting their precious gifts. Last week, the set reading was about “the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man”….Jesus being the connection between heaven and earth. Today is the account of Jesus’ first miracle – turning water into wine. And not just any wine, the very, very best wine; and in such extravagant abundance too!As happy as that would have made that wedding party that Jesus went too, that is not really the point of the event. This is about Jesus turning the ordinary into something extraordinary; about him being extravagant in his blessing – if we would but accept him and have a relationship with him. He can turn our ordinary lives into extraordinary lives. Perhaps we too should take Mary’s advice: “Do whatever he tells you.”Revd David
ScriptureThe next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me’. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathaniel said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’. ( John1.43-47)ReflectionFor thousands of years the Israelites had longed and hoped for the promised Messiah, who would be sent by God to save and restore his people. Throughout their years of exile, and later, under Roman occupation, they dreamt of a powerful leader who would come with great might to free them from oppression and servitude.Andrew’s announcement to Nathaniel that he has actually met the one foretold by the prophets, and that he is in nearby Nazareth, is not just an interesting snippet of news, but a communication of earth-shattering, history-changing importance. And Nathaniel, the man from Bethsaida, simply sneers that surely nothing of any worth can come from the despised neighbouring town of Nazareth.Ingrained prejudice can make us blind and deaf to the truth.Thank God for Andrew, himself from Bethsaida, who doesn’t argue or remonstrate with his friend, but simply says ‘Come and see’. And Nathaniel comes, sees for himself, and follows Jesus.Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
