100 000 flickering lights and rising! Each reminds us of a person precious to God and their families. Each reminds us that life is fragile, that flames are swiftly blown out. Each reminds us there is light and hope in our darkness. The numbers of those who have lost their lives in the UK during this pandemic are much greater than those recorded. Only those who received tests are recorded. On top there are all those who would have survived other ailments, such as cancers if we were not in a crisis. Our nation is suffering unimaginable shock and grief. This Sunday we should have been celebrating Candlemas in our building. Since we were not able to enjoy our Christmas nativity figures for long over Christmas, I intended to keep them up for this celebration as other churches do and fill the church with candlelight and colour. Candlemas was so named because it was the festival when parishioners brought all the candles they were going to use during the year to the church to be blessed. It symbolised leaving the depths and darkness of winter and moving towards Spring. It officially brings the festivities of Christmas and Epiphany to an end as we look towards Lent and focus on fasting, self discipline and sacrifice in preparation for Good Friday and Easter. Candlemas and our candles remind us that life is made up of darkness and light, good and evil, life and death. Each time we light a candle in memory of a loved one in church we remember that they were a combination of all those. Sometimes we remember them with a smile and sometimes memories of their death pierce our hearts and fill us with sadness. When we light our candles as Christians we are doing more than just remembering. We light with hope that loved ones are still alive in Christ and that having passed through death to resurrection they shine brightly once again. The gospel reading for Candlemas is always the presentation of Christ in the temple, found only in Luke’s gospel. The passage reminds us that Jesus is like us. Like every other Jewish baby he was subject to Jewish law. He was taken to the Jerusalem temple so Mary could be purified after giving birth and for Jesus to be redeemed under the law. Exodus 13 states that every first-born male whether human or animal, “belongs” to the Lord. While clean animals would be sacrificed, first-born sons needed to be redeemed which involved the payment of five shekels to the priesthood. Jesus like us needed to be redeemed, to be bought back from God. Whereas Mary and Joseph paid money, Jesus paid the cost for our redemption by giving his life Luke emphasises that “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord.” Jesus was set apart as holy long before he was conceived. He was the lamb sacrificed before the foundation of the world. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit Baby Jesus was being presented to the Lord in his Father’s house as God’s son, holy, and set apart for him. Instead of bringing a lamb and pigeon to be sacrificed as a burnt offering for Mary’s purification, Mary and Joseph brought a poor family’s offering of two pigeons. They may have been poor in terms of earthly wealth but in their arms they carried the creator of everything that exists, riches beyond our imagining. Their lamb was with them. Jesus was the lamb whose sacrifice would take away not only the sins of Mary but also the sins of the whole world. Two faithful, elderly people in the temple recognized this. While Simeon and Anna were waiting for our salvation to be completed in Jesus they continued to pray and attend worship. Simeon had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. He recognised that this tiny baby, less than 2 months old was the one anointed to bring salvation not only to the Jews but to the Gentiles also. Who would think it, not a superhero not a great prophet but a tiny baby anointed by God? Simeon took the baby in his arms and praised God, aches and pains forgotten, the affects of years of oppression and waiting under Roman rule gone. Simeon had been a faithful, prayerful servant of God. Now he was going to receive all he had longed and hoped for. His waiting had come to an end and his life’s work was completed. He was ready to die. He prayed those great words that we pray each Thursday. “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;” Because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we too may die in peace. Simeon recognized that his salvation, the forgiveness and peace he received through Jesus was available for all people. Jesus would die for the sins of the whole world. The Jewish authorities, the priests and even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t recognize this. Simeon and Anna did. Jesus is our light in the darkness, “a light to lighten the Gentiles” and the glory of his people Israel. Jesus, the light of the world is our hope in our dark world today. As Simeon prophesied he saw the cross and the sword that would pierce the side of Jesus and pierce Mary’s soul. It is awful to lose a child. Mary followed Jesus to the cross and suffered as she watched him die. Amazingly, in a sexist society, Anna an elderly widowed woman who was married for only seven years, was a prophet and preacher in the temple precincts. She had been carrying out her ministry there, possibly for over 60 years, fasting and praying and never leaving the temple grounds. She also began to praise God and speak about Jesus to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Both before and after seeing baby Jesus she shared her faith with all who were looking and waiting for God. Our grief over the loss of loved ones must never blot out the joy of spending time with them. I listened to some of those who survived the holocaust and watched them light candles in memory of their murdered loved ones. I was impressed by their determination to live in the light and absorb the beauty around them. They looked at photographs of loved ones when life was hopeful. The suffering and death they had seen could not be imagined, spoken of or understood so must be consigned to the back of their minds. The pandemic and holocaust shine a light on much which is wrong in us and our world. Because Anna’s suffered she was able to spend her life ministering to the poor and the vulnerable in the temple precincts. It was through Christ’s suffering and death that Jesus became our light. Our lives and world will continue to be places of darkness and light, good and evil, life and death. As we move towards our deaths, have we like Simeon and Anna found peace with God through the sacrifice of Jesus who bore the judgement of God upon a sinful world so we might be forgiven? Are we ready to die, to go to meet with God? Have we the eyes to see God’s redeeming work in the world around us, and the faith to proclaim it? Are we lights in the darkness, fragile yet strong in light of Christ’s flame knowing that we move from death to resurrection life. As we wait and pray let us trust in God’s goodness today and his faithfulness tomorrow. Lord Jesus Christ, light of the nations and glory of Israel: make your home among us, and present us pure and holy to your heavenly Father, your God, and our God.
We long for weddings, wine, feasting and fellowship with no social distancing. Jesus shows in our readings that suffering will come to an end when God reigns on earth as in heaven. Turning water into wine is only found in John’s gospel and is the first of his signs about who Jesus is. Mary, Jesus and his disciples were at a wedding and the wine had run out which would be a huge embarrassment to the host. Wine flows at Jewish celebrations. Wine fills us with joy, helps guests relax, looses their tongues and enables them to join in the dancing. It helps them forget about their worries and believe their glass is half full rather than half empty. Jewish weddings were extravagant. They lasted for a week. The bride and groom kept open house dressed in their wedding robes, wore crowns to denote they were for this time a king and queen and their word was law. We don’t know what Jesus got up to as a child and adolescent but Mary had clearly seen God’s power working through her son before. She expected Jesus would do something about providing wine. His response seems strange. Instead of calling Mary Mother, he addresses her as “Woman,” which while respectful, distances him from being part of her family. He asks what concern the wine running out has to with them and says, “My hour has not yet come.” Maybe, Jesus did not want to perform a miracle or reveal who he was yet. He wasn’t the host or there to sort every problem. The groom and bride were King and Queen for the event. A day will come when Jesus will be King, bridegroom and host of the great marriage feast in heaven to which his bride, the saints throughout the ages who have been forgiven through the shedding of Christ’s blood will be invited “My hour has not yet come” in John’s gospel usually refers to the work God the father had given Jesus to do, to die on the cross for the sins of the world and to the blood of the new covenant and the wine of the new kingdom which will join us together with him forever. Jesus came to create a new family in a new Kingdom where his old relationships with his mother, brothers and sisters would not apply. We don’t see Mary again in John’s gospel until his hour has come and he gives his mother to his beloved disciple and the disciple to his mother. Mary was not deterred by Jesus’ response so she said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus told them to fill the six stone water jars which were used for ritual washing to the brim. Ritual hand and feet washing is very important in Judaism. The servants probably thought Jesus was enabling fastidious purification rituals to take place. Jesus then ordered the servants to draw out the water now changed to wine and take it to the chief steward. The new wine of the kingdom was going to change people on the inside. Inner change is more important than outer purity. Wine is the colour of blood. Water doesn’t change us. Only the shed blood of Jesus can wash us clean. This new wine was better than what had gone before. Wine was so important at weddings because it was a sign of the joy of the bride and bridegroom; rabbis said that if there was no wine there was no joy. Jesus wants us to be full of joy; He wants us to have the best that heaven can provide; a foretaste of the glory of heaven now The bridegroom is the provider of the wine. Jesus marries and rejoices over us. We have a new name Our bridegroom loves us and longs for us to experiencing the joy of relating to him on a daily basis He laid down his life for the church. He wants us to lay down our lives for one another. Wine is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit. We are the new wine skins into which he pours new wine. The disciples were not drunk with new wine on the day of Pentecost as the people round about thought but were full of the Holy Spirit. When our relationship with Jesus becomes cold then we need to stir up the gift he has given us Paul tells us in Ephesians to “Be being filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Whilst we are not able to sing together, that is something we can all do. Jesus’ love is extravagant: He turned water in six stone jars that had been filled to the brim into the best wine possible No wedding party could possibly drink that amount of wine. There was 100 litres, 20 to 30 gallons in each. That’s about 300 litre plastic milk bottles full God gives us out of his abundance. He supplies all our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. There is no need on earth that he cannot supply. There is more than enough for everyone. God is not stingy. He is extravagantly generous. We do not deserve to receive these riches. They are God’s riches at Christ’s expense. John calls the turning of the water into wine a sign of God’s glory.”Wine shows us what grace looks, smells and tastes and feels like. Abundant grace tastes like expensive wine when we are expecting the cheap stuff. Jesus wants us to receive of his fullness today. It is not by accident that this sign took place at a wedding and not a sabbath or Passover meal. It was a sign of the wedding to come. We are going to the wedding feast of the lamb. Weddings are happy occasions where according to Isaiah we will eat the richest food and the best wines. The wedding was a sign of the kingdom to come, when we are all taken safely home to live with our Lord forever. Jesus is the new wine of God’s presence with us. He wants us to feed and drink on him, take him fully into ourselves so that we become one being with the father. Jesus wants us to fall more deeply in love with him Whilst we cannot receive wine in Holy Communion with Christ and one another and whilst we are forced to socially distance we can receive the joy of the kingdom of heaven and the sparkling new wine of Jesus presence with us now. God of all mercy, your Son proclaimed good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed: anoint us with your Holy Spirit and set all your people free to praise you in Christ our Lord. Amen
We long for weddings, wine, feasting and fellowship with no social distancing. Jesus shows in our readings that suffering will come to an end when God reigns on earth as in heaven. Turning water into wine is only found in John’s gospel and is the first of his signs about who Jesus is. Mary, Jesus and his disciples were at a wedding and the wine had run out which would be a huge embarrassment to the host. Wine flows at Jewish celebrations. Wine fills us with joy, helps guests relax, looses their tongues and enables them to join in the dancing. It helps them forget about their worries and believe their glass is half full rather than half empty. Jewish weddings were extravagant. They lasted for a week. The bride and groom kept open house dressed in their wedding robes, wore crowns to denote they were for this time a king and queen and their word was law. We don’t know what Jesus got up to as a child and adolescent but Mary had clearly seen God’s power working through her son before. She expected Jesus would do something about providing wine. His response seems strange. Instead of calling Mary Mother, he addresses her as “Woman,” which while respectful, distances him from being part of her family. He asks what concern the wine running out has to with them and says, “My hour has not yet come.” Maybe, Jesus did not want to perform a miracle or reveal who he was yet. He wasn’t the host or there to sort every problem. The groom and bride were King and Queen for the event. A day will come when Jesus will be King, bridegroom and host of the great marriage feast in heaven to which his bride, the saints throughout the ages who have been forgiven through the shedding of Christ’s blood will be invited “My hour has not yet come” in John’s gospel usually refers to the work God the father had given Jesus to do, to die on the cross for the sins of the world and to the blood of the new covenant and the wine of the new kingdom which will join us together with him forever. Jesus came to create a new family in a new Kingdom where his old relationships with his mother, brothers and sisters would not apply. We don’t see Mary again in John’s gospel until his hour has come and he gives his mother to his beloved disciple and the disciple to his mother. Mary was not deterred by Jesus’ response so she said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus told them to fill the six stone water jars which were used for ritual washing to the brim. Ritual hand and feet washing is very important in Judaism. The servants probably thought Jesus was enabling fastidious purification rituals to take place. Jesus then ordered the servants to draw out the water now changed to wine and take it to the chief steward. The new wine of the kingdom was going to change people on the inside. Inner change is more important than outer purity. Wine is the colour of blood. Water doesn’t change us. Only the shed blood of Jesus can wash us clean. This new wine was better than what had gone before. Wine was so important at weddings because it was a sign of the joy of the bride and bridegroom; rabbis said that if there was no wine there was no joy. Jesus wants us to be full of joy; He wants us to have the best that heaven can provide; a foretaste of the glory of heaven now The bridegroom is the provider of the wine. Jesus marries and rejoices over us. We have a new name Our bridegroom loves us and longs for us to experiencing the joy of relating to him on a daily basis He laid down his life for the church. He wants us to lay down our lives for one another. Wine is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit. We are the new wine skins into which he pours new wine. The disciples were not drunk with new wine on the day of Pentecost as the people round about thought but were full of the Holy Spirit. When our relationship with Jesus becomes cold then we need to stir up the gift he has given us Paul tells us in Ephesians to “Be being filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Whilst we are not able to sing together, that is something we can all do. Jesus’ love is extravagant: He turned water in six stone jars that had been filled to the brim into the best wine possible No wedding party could possibly drink that amount of wine. There was 100 litres, 20 to 30 gallons in each. That’s about 300 litre plastic milk bottles full God gives us out of his abundance. He supplies all our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. There is no need on earth that he cannot supply. There is more than enough for everyone. God is not stingy. He is extravagantly generous. We do not deserve to receive these riches. They are God’s riches at Christ’s expense. John calls the turning of the water into wine a sign of God’s glory.”Wine shows us what grace looks, smells and tastes and feels like. Abundant grace tastes like expensive wine when we are expecting the cheap stuff. Jesus wants us to receive of his fullness today. It is not by accident that this sign took place at a wedding and not a sabbath or Passover meal. It was a sign of the wedding to come. We are going to the wedding feast of the lamb. Weddings are happy occasions where according to Isaiah we will eat the richest food and the best wines. The wedding was a sign of the kingdom to come, when we are all taken safely home to live with our Lord forever. Jesus is the new wine of God’s presence with us. He wants us to feed and drink on him, take him fully into ourselves so that we become one being with the father. Jesus wants us to fall more deeply in love with him Whilst we cannot receive wine in Holy Communion with Christ and one another and whilst we are forced to socially distance we can receive the joy of the kingdom of heaven and the sparkling new wine of Jesus presence with us now. God of all mercy, your Son proclaimed good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed: anoint us with your Holy Spirit and set all your people free to praise you in Christ our Lord. Amen
John Chapter 1 gives an account of Jesus calling Phillip to follow him. Soon Philip came to Nathaniel and explained that they had found Jesus who is the person whom they had been seeking for ages. Jesus is the one written about in the law and the prophets, He is the Messiah and the King who is to reign forever. Nathaniel's response was negative. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" What does this say about common opinion of the place Nazareth? What does this say about Nathaniel? If I were to ask, "Could anything good come out of Frankley, Rubery or B45?" It is almost like implying the place is a dump and the people rubbish. Ouch! This reminds me of when I first started teaching at a secondary school just out of the area. Pupils occasionally asked me where I lived. I would answer "Rubery". There was only one association they had, hence came the next question."Oh, do you live at the mental hospital?" I would coldly answer back in a matter of fact type of way, "that's right, its ward 312 which is on the third floor if you want to visit" The cognitive dissonance I had created here ensured that no further questions ensued. Frankley, Rubery B45 is a beautiful place on the edge of outstanding countryside and the natives, of which I remain one of, are generally straight and decent people. I remember years ago as I was dropping a friend off after church in Frankley, my car broke down. A kind man came out of his house, made me a cup of coffee and loaned me his telephone to get help. A more apt question would have been can any good come out of human flesh? The answer is clearly yes, even though we are born with sinful natures. We can sympathise with Nathaniel, we've all been there and done that and asked if we are any good? Our focus should be on the fact God is good. Jesus, the divine Son of God is good and by His grace and mercy, He can change us to become more like Him. God has chosen to call, to equip and to use whoever He will. God uses even you or me, imperfect as we are. This is precisely what He does. He will equip those who are available with spiritual gifts. He equips the soul with a love for Him, for His righteousness and a love for others irrespective of whether or not we agree with them, choose to like them or even if we judge them to the point of asking, what good can come out of them? Nathaniel asked, “Where did you come to know me?” Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Phillip called you." This was a revelation moment for Nathaniel. Only God Himself could have known that. Yes, this Jesus is the promised Messiah. Our other reading recounts God calling Samuel and how Samuel kept going to the prophet Eli, as it seemed he had written off the idea that God Himself might want to talk directly to him. Eli realised it was God and so prepared Samuel for this. I have said this to myself many times, "Don't write yourself off. Stop highlighting failures and believing you are no good". This places the focus in the wrong place. All that matters is that God is good. All He requires is for us to acknowledge the truth, learn to see things as He does, submit ourselves to Him and be willing to go His way. He will provide all we need as we journey to fulfil His purpose in our world. Should we desire miracles as Jesus did? Of course! God will work miracles through us as we avail ourselves to him. He gives us His righteousness (as our own is of no worth) and He gives us His love. The world will see how real our love is. They will know that we are Christians....... by our love. Eternal Lord, our beginning and our end: bring us with the whole creation to your glory, hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord.
