As our world situation deteriorates who and what do we trust to get us out of the mess we find ourselves in? Where do we go for refreshment? What waters, feeds and sustains us? During the pandemic many of us have been living like the shrubs in desert that Jeremiah describes. We are still alive, but life has become parched and painful. Unable to mix and feel safe we haven’t had the friends and support we would normally have around us or the refreshment we once enjoyed through holidays and trips out. No longer confident in our leaders and hearing lots of differing advice we do not know who to trust. Do we drop all restrictions, lateral flow tests and face masks on the 21st February as the government advocates or do we follow the medical advice and continue as we are? Is the dropping of the restrictions the relief that we are all waiting for? Will it increase our sense of well being or blessedness or our sense of anxiety? As we look at the amount of debt our country is in, inflation and worry about keeping ourselves warm and feeding ourselves many are feeling far from blessed. While many are hungry and mourning their losses, others we hear are living rich, privileged lifestyles. They are the ones laughing and partying now, not those they have tried to do the right thing and keep themselves and others safe. Jeremiah says we are cursed if we trust in mere mortals and make flesh our strength. Globally humans continue to trust in the rich and powerful in the false belief that they can get things done. Surprisingly, Boris is still in position despite his obvious failures to keep his own law. The public like people who believe they know what they are doing; those who trust in their own strength. They appear to be stronger than those who trust in God. They also like those who promote their idea of having as good time, partying, booze, sex sticking two fingers up at the rules, hence the Trump phenomenon in America and the popularity of President Putin in Russia. Our leaders reflect the sins of the nation. We have put them there. Whilst our prime minister has appeared to act like a clown recently, he is an astute politician and will do what brings popularity. He is aware of the need to make us feel better and nothing would do so more quickly than believing that the virus is now under control. Some still trust in science. Our prime minister advocated this until now. He now differs from the views of most scientists. Most doctors do not think lifting all restrictions is right. Science is important. I am grateful for the vaccines that have given us a level of freedom and for all the research that enabled them to be delivered so quickly. Science also has its limitations. Healing is not found for all illnesses and conditions and when one sickness is overcome more mutations take place and others appear. When we place anyone or anything above God we are committing idolatry. The people of Judah were committing idolatry in Jeremiah’s time. They had been worshipping Baals and material wealth. They had rejected Yahweh and their heritage and were soon going to suffer the consequences when they were defeated by Babylonia. Many were killed and their elite and temple riches were taken away into exile. Life was grim for the poor and it was going to get worse. They had a choice to make. They could continue to live in parched places like a shrub in the wilderness or they could be like trees sending out its roots by the stream. Whether they turned back to the Lord or not they were still going to suffer the economic and physical consequences of their nation’s sins. However they could remain in salted, poisoned land with no hope of relief or they could receive nourishment from the Lord. We need to be rooted and grounded in the Lord. Jesus is living water and the bread of life. He waters, feeds and sustains us when our lives are lived prayerfully, worshipping in his presence. In contrast to those who have broken the rules, the church today is often depicted as weak and ineffectual. We are often seen as miserable, boring spoil sports. This is not how the Lord sees us. A tree by water is strong and attractive to others. It does not fear the heat or the cold and it does not cease bearing fruit. The nation needed strong, fruitful leaders from amongst the poor who were left behind. They needed trees, not shrubs. We are blessed when we trust in the Lord even if what is happening around us gets worse. We need to make sure our hearts are right and that we are pure within so that we are ready for what God is going to do in our times through us. After Jesus has spent a night in prayer and chosen his disciples, multitudes came to him for healing and deliverance. Those who were troubles and considered unclean were cured. They knew where to find healing and refreshment in troubled times. They were not however ready to become followers or disciples of Jesus. Jesus looked up at his disciples knowing all they were going to suffer for him, that they would be poor, hungry, and mourn the loss of many things. Worse still they would be persecuted, hated, reviled, excluded and defamed. He reversed all the Jews thought about blessing and happiness by telling his friends that when they suffered these things they were blessed. They were to rejoice and leap for joy for their reward would be great in heaven. Making godly choices is costly but ultimately rewarding. Jesus reassures us there will be a great reversal for those who are rich, full, laughing and partying now. They will hunger and weep. However bad things get, we are nurtured, fed, watered and strengthened by our relationship with the Lord. As we trust in him we will be fruitful and bring healing and hope to those around us.
Both of our readings today are about Love. Not the sort of Kiss-me-quick Love that may affect us when we are teenagers, but the sort of Love that we are able to control and command. It is the kind of Love that we are able to decide to give. The recipient of our love may not be an obvious choice. In our first reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, Paul demonstrates this when he gives the example of God loving him. Why on earth would God love Paul? Earlier in the Bible we are told that Paul was originally called Saul, and he persecuted Christians. This was in the book of the Bible called The Acts of the Apostles, in chapter nine. There we are told that Saul was not a peaceful man. He was threatening murder of the Lord’s disciples, and he even went to the high priest to ask for letters he could take to the synagogues of Damascus. These letters were to give him permission to capture Christians and take them to Jerusalem. Then Saul saw the light. He literally did. A great light shone down upon him and a voice said “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” The light was so bright he couldn’t see anything until three days afterwards. Saul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice said “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the City, and you will be told what you are to do.” When Saul got to Damascus, a disciple called Ananias was asked by the Lord to put his hands on Saul to restore his sight. Ananias was sceptical, because he knew about the bad things Saul had done to Christians. The Lord explained to Ananias that he had decided to make Saul an instrument of his work, and he himself would show Saul how much he would have to suffer. Ananias laid his hands on Saul. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and his sight was restored. Saul was baptised and much to everybody’s surprise started praising Jesus in the synagogues, proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. Saul became known as Paul, and went on to spread the Good News about Jesus, and some of his letters make up part of the New Testament in our Bibles. Back in our reading from Corinthians, Paul suggests he is unfit to be an Apostle, because of his past, but he has been given the grace of God, and it is as a result of this unbounded love that he has spread the Good News, and the Corinthians have become believers in the resurrection of Jesus as a result. This brings us back to our Gospel reading from Luke, and the miraculous catch of fish. Only Luke tells us about this event, and it is another example of a person being suddenly called by God to do his work. In this case it is Simon Peter. He does not think he is up to the job, and even asks Jesus to get away from him, because he was a sinful man. Jesus must have shown Simon Peter how valued he actually was though, because he and his fellow fishermen James and John left their boats to follow Jesus. I think the story of Paul shows us how, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to love our enemies. I used to be bullied at school when I was younger, then amazingly as the bully and I grew older, we became friends and even went cycling together. It is well known that in the First World War, our pilots would be respectful to the German pilots they shot down and vice versa. Enemy pilots were given respectful funerals, or if still alive, were treated to a few drinks at the barracks before they were taken away as prisoners. God’s love for us is unconditional – however undeserving we think we are, God still has hope for us and will look after us. The Good News that Paul tells us about does not start in the New Testament. It is already there in the Old Testament too. Isaiah chapter 40, tells us: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young shall fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Amen
What does good news to the poor, release of the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and letting the oppressed go free mean for our elderly who have been locked in for the last two years, for those who cannot get a doctor appointment and for those reliant on food banks? What does it mean for the starving in Afghanistan and Yemen or Christians facing insufferable persecution? It is not God’s will that his people should suffer poverty, imprisonment, blindness, injustice and oppression. His desire is that we enjoy the life and joy of his Kingdom now, yet most of us feel overwhelmed and unable to make significant difference in our time. Jesus filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee to minister and live out his ministry amongst the poor, despised and rejected of his day. He anoints us with his Holy Spirit to continue his Father’s work in our day. Jesus had spent 40 days and forty nights fasting and praying in the wilderness, resisting temptation, focusing on his relationship with his heavenly Father, and what he had been sent to do. His ministry would be costly and need all his spiritual resources. News of the Spirit falling upon Jesus at his baptism had spread throughout Galilee and he was Mr Popular, praised by all. His teaching ministry had begun in local synagogues and was powerful. The oppressed were going free and the sick being healed. Synagogues were the centre of religious life in Palestine. Wherever there were ten Jewish families there was a Synagogue to offer worship and receive teaching. Unlike the Church of England there was no professional ministry, nor any one person who gave the address. The president would invite any distinguished males present to speak and discussion would follow. Ministry in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, was not so easy. The congregation would have watched Jesus grow up, they knew his parents, brothers and sisters and that he was a carpenter’s son. They knew he was conceived before marriage and that Mary and Joseph were not wealthy enough to offer the prescribed animals when Jesus was born but had to offer pigeons instead. As Jesus walked in he would have felt their prejudice; all eyes were upon him. Jesus was handed the scroll of Isaiah 61, the prescribed reading for the day. He read, “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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” He then rolled the scroll up, handed it to the attendant and sat down to teach. He added, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” implying that he was the servant Isaiah spoke about. The congregation was amazed at the local boy made good, yet by the end of his teaching, the congregation seized Jesus. In an explosion of anger, they pushed him out of town to the top of the hill on which the town was built and attempted to hurl him off. What incensed them so much that they attempted to kill someone who knew them so well? The Galileans were being healed and set free but we know from the other gospels that Jesus was unable to perform many signs in Nazareth. Jesus got into trouble because he exposed prejudices towards himself. He was a poor person teaching the well educated, well off leaders of the synagogue. He told them what was in their heart. He said, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!” Jesus recognized that the people in the synagogue were not good news to the poor or him. They looked down on him, expecting him to conform to their image and expectations. Their authority meant they decided who should receive good news. Because Jesus didn’t conform to their Jewish vision of blessedness, he was considered sick and in their opinion needed to put his own house in order Jesus exposed their reason for inviting him. They wanted him to perform miracles. They requested he did the things they had heard he did at Capernaum. Jesus couldn’t be good news to them because they were self –righteous, believed they had no need of a Saviour and didn’t want change. Jesus also got exposed failures in the way scripture was interpreted in the synagogue. Liturgy, scriptures and traditions were used to confine and control God and exclude those considered unworthy. Jesus is good news for everyone, including Gentiles, Moslems, Hindus, women, those considered untouchable and the poor. Jesus pointed out that Elijah was sent to minister to a poor woman who lived in Sidon, outside of Israel and that Naaman, the Syrian Leper was healed during the time of Elisha when many Hebrew lepers were not. This was inflammatory; like saying Jesus was anointed to be good news to Moslem terrorists. We are called to be good news wherever we find need, to those within our church community and those without. Jesus is still good news to the poor. He still performs miracles and lets the oppressed go free. He does it because he favours and loves us, not because we deserve anything from him. He doesn’t fit into our expectations. He moves amongst us as we respond to his Holy Spirit. We are also called to allow the poor to minister to us without prejudice. We are all equally God’s children, called to minister to each other. There will be those like the people in Nazareth who reject the sovereignty of Jesus. Prejudice, pride and religious traditions prevent needy people from receiving Jesus today. The Taliban in Afghanistan, for example, would rather see their people die of starvation than receive Western help. Like Jesus lets pray for the Holy Spirits anointing so that we can share his love with power amongst those ready to receive so that the blind see, the lame walk and the imprisoned go free. There may be explosions of anger from opposition, including the church but today is the day of salvation through Jesus. God’s Spirit is moving. “This is the day of the Lord’s favour.”
Jesus attended a Wedding in Cana of Galilee. The groom is thought to be related to Jesus' mother, Mary. There was a problem, the wine needed was not enough and they were rapidly running out. In some versions of this story, it says that without wine, there is no Joy. Mary came across to Jesus to tell him what had happened. His response was a little negative, "Why involve me?" “My hour has not yet come.” It is not the right time. This did not stop Mary expecting him to just do something. What was water like in those days and why would the wine be so good? Water, a most amazing inorganic compound is essential for sustaining life. Water is life giving. When you become extremely thirsty, usually water is the only drink which will satisfy. It seems to taste even better in these circumstances. On the day of the wedding, the water may well have been warm, not necessarily as fresh as we are used to when we simply turn on a tap. Like many of our weddings today, it is normal to serve wine as opposed to water. Wine at this wedding was certainly the preferred drink. The alcohol formed in the wine could serve to slow down the breeding of harmful bacteria. Jesus showed His majesty in part of the order of creation. The hosts filled up barrels with water, Jesus declared that the water is wine, and so it was. The guests reasoned among themselves, why did they keep the best wine until later, why was this not served first of all? There is clearly a difference in the quality of different wines. The process starts as the yeast in the skins of stored fruit starts to grow. It begins by consuming the sugar which is in abundance, so bubbling or fermentation begins. In the early stages, the juice is sweet and tingly as bubbles of carbon dioxide are formed. This is known as must. It is very low in alcohol. As the yeast takes hold, more sugar is consumed and the wine can eventually become quite bitter or dry. There also exists the complication later of bacteria eating into the alcohol and creating vinegar. Hence we have vinegar, which is essentially, sour wine. What Jesus did was best, it was really good. His Heavenly Father is not a God of disappointment. He knew how the wine should be and was ready to give it. This miracle is analogous of life itself. Water, is often described as tasteless and boring. Life can become dull and watery, that being hopeless, difficult and mundane. Jesus came to change all of this. Young forms of wine are beautiful, appetising, vibrant, refreshing and full of life. Wine is an ongoing process of growth, renewal and transformation. We drink the wine, representing the blood of Christ, we show our oneness with Him and each other. The work begun in our lives continues as we acknowledge the presence of Christ within. The spiritual wine is poured in so that we can give it out. It is of no use if stored for years in unsterile conditions and has turned sour or bitter. "Go to the lonely and the sad, give them the news to make them glad" as the hymn writer says. It's a story not to forget. There are periods where we seem so far from God, when the everyday worries of life seem to get on top of us and distract our thoughts. At this moment Mary knew who to turn to. She was not sure what the outcome might be but was confident enough to know whatever Jesus would do would be the right thing. Was Mary was surprised at the end result? This is part of the excitement of the Christian faith - the unpredictability of God. When we come to him with open hands and hearts rather than a wish list, His response may not always as we expect, but it will always be the right one. We have to be honest, go to him, admit that maybe we've miscalculated, made mistakes, whatever the problem might be - hand it over to him just like Mary was able to do. That's often the hardest part, handing over. New wine is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting on Acts 2, The crowds said, these men are drunk with wine, but No, they are filled with the Holy Spirit and their joy is immeasurable. In these last days, difficult and complicated days, the prophet Joel said that God would pour out His Spirit on all people. The widest outpouring of God in His full goodness is the best wine, saved for the great wedding feast, when we shall be united with Him forever.
