Third Sunday of Epiphany1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a Luke 4: 14-21Cast your minds back to the good old days of school or college. You sat in rows or behind desks for what seemed hours and hours, learning about a variety of subjects. Some of that information would have actually sunk in to be remembered for years to come.There was a potential hazard to this system. If the speaker had a boring, monotone voice, a static approach, or nothing to maintain your attention, then they were on a hiding for nothing. The knowledge they were imparting was meeting a blank wall.A teacher who is animated and with a varied speech tone is more likely get their message across. We heard of how Jesus was in the synagogue. As was the custom there were plenty of people present. It was the turn of Jesus to read. He stood up and as he did so a silence filled the synagogue. Everyone wanted to hear what he was going to say. He was obviously well known as a good speaker.It is so important that those who read in church do read well. All may be forgiven for tripping over the tongue trying to pronounce some of the names that appear before you in your reading. The people and places can be quite adventurous to pronounce, they are foreign after all. There are publications that show the true pronunciation, but the squiggles, loops, and lines used are almost a language in themselves. They are given to help us. It is important to pronounce correctly for it is the word of God that we are speaking.Standing up, in front of a congregation, can be daunting enough. If it is a small congregation, one that we know each member well, it is more comforting and homely. The threatening feeling is not so apparent. It is possible you settle down into your reading quite quickly. However, standing up in front of a large congregation can be quite different. A goodly number of them sat there, all looking at you, may be unknown to you. For all you know there may be a retired bishop sat there, or someone who is very familiar with the words of the Bible. It is when they come up to you after the service and say, “That was interesting”, that your mind goes into hyperdrive as you wonder what it was that you said.It is the word of God that you are speaking. It is so essential that its true meaning is imparted. For within those words can be found great comfort to the troubled soul, support when feeling weak, encouragement when uncertain. All of these sentiments can be found in the word of God. They help us through life.They act as pathways along which we may tread. The readings we hear, or if it is our turn, speak, are like signposts. Within them may be found answers to questions that have been on our lips for some time. With them answered we continue forward, head held up high.The Bible is a repository of information. It contains books of every nature. From history to law, from songs to dreams, even humour, all may be found within its covers. All of it the word of God handed down to us and recorded, written down, translated and printed.As Jesus stood up in the synagogue to read and impart the word of God to be heard by the assembled congregation, we too have that same privilege of standing up and proclaiming the word of God to the congregation sat in front and listening to our every word.Last week the gifts of the Holy Spirit were the subject. Prophetic utterance was one of the gifts of the Spirit. The ability to read in church, clearly and distinctly, is not for everyone. But for those who can they are using that gift of the Holy Spirit as intended. A gift given, not just for our own benefit, but for the good of all. We are proclaiming the love of God, a love given to everyone. A love which contains within it reassurance and hope, a light where there is darkness, the comfort of the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is at our side.Collect for the Third Sunday of EpiphanyAlmighty God,whose Son revealed in signs and miraclesthe wonder of your saving presence:renew your people with your heavenly grace,and in all our weaknesssustain us by your mighty power;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Second Sunday of Epiphany 1 Corinthians 12.1–11 John 2.1–11Today the all the readings are about discovery. In the gospel reading we share in the wedding at Cana of Galilee with Jesus and his disciples. It's a well-known story of running out of wine and the miracle of changing wine into water. In the epistle reading we're looking at gifts of the Holy Spirit being given to us all at the wish of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift to be used for the good of all people.Back to Cana in Galilee. The wedding rights were longer affairs. All together much longer celebrations than we are used to in the church. They were also attended by many more guests than we are used to. To drink their way through the organised and purchased wine and then make a start of, potentially 20 or 30 gallons (160 to 180 pints of wine) is some drinking party. One can only assume that the alcohol content was not very large as it is quite probable that wine was the daily drink.This wedding was the launching point for Jesus as he performed the first of his signs revealing his glory. It was through this revelation that the disciples believed in him, believed his true nature.Turning to the epistle reading the actions of the Holy Spirit are being explained. We may go through life happy in the knowledge that we are particularly good, adept even, at playing the piano. How, if put in front of a piano, we can be the life and soul of a party as we bash out well known and loved tunes for people to sing to or dance along to.It is good to be able to look at how others are especially good in other ways. One may be especially gifted at public speaking whilst another may be skilled in predicting what will happen in the future. All of these are manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Given just as the Holy Spirit chooses. We cannot go through life and select a gift as if it were on a supermarket shelf. The gift is given to us. It is up to us to recognise that gift and to use it to the best advantage, not of ourselves, but to everyone. It is these gifts that strengthens the Church. We are all different, we have our own individual likes and dislikes. The Church is the Body of Christ. As members of the Church, we are also members of the Body of Christ. Each of us, in our own individual ways, brings that individuality into the Church. We lay ourselves down before God. In doing so we are bringing before God the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit. Together, all of these gifts are granted to us, not for our own glory, not for us to place ourselves upon some pedestal. But they are given to us for the good of the whole of mankind.As these gifts are given to us by God then it is only right that we should use them in his service. The list of gifts given in the epistle reading are all very admirable in their own way. But that list is not exhaustive. Many are the trades and skills of people the world over who become especially proficient in what they do. They have their special gift, given by God, which enables them to forge ahead, to display a mastery in their field.The gifts spread among us are for us to discern. We do not have them given to us with a label attached. When we have developed and recognised a particular skill then it is to be used to the glory of God. In using that skill to help and assist others is demonstrating that love of God.Collect for the Second Sunday of EpiphanyAlmighty God,in Christ you make all things new:transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,and in the renewal of our livesmake known your heavenly glory;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
First Sunday after EpiphanyActs 8: 14-17 Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22The ChristingleA Christingle service has formed part of the church’s calendar for many years. The service is often held in the weeks leading up to the Christmas festivities. But it also lends itself to being held in the season around the Epiphany. Whenever it is held, the format of the Christingle itself changes little. An orange has a red band around its circumference, rather like an equator, four cocktail sticks each with fruit or sweets on them pushed into the orange, and a candle with a foil sleeve pushed into the top of the orange.The orange represents the world. But this is all too simplistic. The world is complex. It has continents all very different from each other. Some are freezing cold whilst others are at the other end of the spectrum by being baking hot.If we look under the surface of the orange there is the pith. Every part of the orange has pith associated with it. This is the population of people which may be found in every land. To maintain the sanctity of the pith it must remain whole. Likewise, for the world to function we all must work together for where there are factions the wholeness is broken.Delving deeper into the orange we find the segments. Here we see the individual countries which together make up the earth. Each country is complete in its individuality, yet each depends upon its neighbours to maintain the whole. Within each segment are the individual pockets containing the juice. They are the lifeblood of the orange. They give it its own unique flavour. No two pockets are the same. They are like the people on earth. We are all different. Can you imagine what it would be like to have two or more ……. Then we have the pips, the life seed of the orange. They, if allowed to grow would produce more trees from which more oranges Could be harvested. The pips can be likened to the world leaders and governments. They carry the responsibility for the progression of the world. Remove the pips and then the orange has no future. Remove the people who form governments then the population would wander through life aimlessly.Into the world there are four sticks with fruit on them. Here we have the seasons that give us the variation in life. The fruit on the sticks represents the harvests for each season. Each season has its own fruit. Whilst it is true that some countries grow particular food according to the season the whole earth depends upon the harvested food being distributed and shared. Looking in the shops it is possible to buy bananas, for example, anywhere and at any time, yet there are not many bananas grow in Scotland in the cold winter months. The fruit and food we have we share to enable people to be fed.The red band encircling the orange could be argued to be holding it all together, like a safety belt. It is there to protect us. The red band represents the blood of Christ spilled out for all people regardless of who they are or where they live. On that Good Friday Jesus was nailed to the Cross and died. By his death he saved mankind from its sinful ways. That sacrifice was made in love. It is a love that is around the world. It is there for us all. We just have to reach out for it is there to grasp.The candle is Jesus. He is over the world. The flame is the light of Christ. It shines in the daytime and it shines in the darkness. The light is the love of Christ. That love is there for everyone. The foil at the top of the orange is the crown. The candle and the paper are together as Jesus wears the crown of his Kingship.Holding the Christingle in your hand you are, in effect, holding the world. Then future of the world is in your hands. You have Christ to guide you and lighten your path before you. You have God’s creation. We have been entrusted with its care, and the care of the people who populate the world.Collect for the First Sunday after EpiphanyEternal Father,who at the baptism of Jesusrevealed him to be your Son,anointing him with the Holy Spirit:grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
EpiphanyEphesians 3: 1-12 Matthew 2: 1-12Christmas has happened. The infant child, Jesus, has been born and is lying in a manger being attended to by his parents Mary and Joseph. At some time after his birth the peace of the Holy Family was disturbed by shepherds coming off the lands to seek out the baby as had been told them by the angels. Their visit over, the shepherds have now returned to their flocks. Peace and quiet returns to the Holy Family.But not for long. Magi from the east arrive on the scene. Just who or what are the Magi? From foreign lands they had become a tribe of priests. They were teachers and instructors of the Persian kings. They became men of holiness and wisdom, skilled in philosophy, medicine and natural sciences. They were soothsayers and interpreters of dreams. They would also have been followers of Astrology and believed that they could foretell the future by looking at the position of the stars at a person’s birth.The course of the stars in the heavens had been disturbed by some brilliant star. It looked as if God was breaking into his own order and announcing some special thing. Indeed, he was, the birth of his Son, Jesus Christ. It was the Magi’s knowledge of the stars in the heavens that told them of the birth of a king. At this time there was a feeling in the world, an expectation that something was about to happen.Here we see the first sign of what Jesus was to achieve. Up to now people had been waiting for God and in their hearts they had a desire for God. It was to this waiting world that the Christ child came.In our world of today we see about us many signs of unrest. From the fighting in the Middle East and civil unrest in other parts of the world to the gun crimes in countries with much laxer laws than we have. We see riots and public disorder in towns and cities and we the rise of domestic abuse all around us. It is as if we have, once more, a world waiting for a peacemaker to come among us, a return of the Son of God.The second coming of the Son of God will happen. But that way is being prepared for that coming now. Through baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. A gift that we have with us for all time. As we travel on our way through this world we do so in the company of the Holy Spirit. Our belief in God and in his Son, Jesus Christ, gives us the opportunity to repent of our sins, our wrongdoing. With this cleansing of our soul a pathway is cleared. It is as if a giant rubber has erased our sinfulness. If all Christians repented then huge swathes of sinfulness will be cleared. It will be like a huge eraser being used to clear away the wrongdoing in the world. Epiphany means an awakening or realisation. With the birth of Jesus the world is being woken to the presence of the Son of God. His coming among us has brought us all closer to God through his teaching. By his death on the Cross our sins have been forgiven. The slate is wiped clean. We have a marvellous opportunity to encourage others to do likewise, to turn to God, to work for peace. Peace in the world and peace in our hearts. That is our goal. Bringing the world to recognise that Christ came to save us all, to bring us closer to God, and to love our neighbour. If we abide in that love then peace will come upon us.Collect for EpiphanyO God,who by the leading of a starmanifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:mercifully grant that we,who know you now by faith,may at last behold your glory face to face;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
