Month: January 2025

Epiphany 3: One for the Home Crowd

Patrick Comerford

26/1/25
Epiphany 3

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21

O God, we give you thanks because, in the carnation of the Word, a new light has dawned upon the world, that all the nations and peoples may be brought out of darkness to see the radiance of your glory.

Today is the final Sunday of the Epiphany season. You may be relieved to know that there are still a few threads to pull! Over the last three Sundays we have been looking at some key moments in Jesus’ life: the arrival of the Wise Men with their gifts, his baptism as an adult in the Jordan River and the wedding in Cana where bath water became a Grand Cru. The meaning of each event remains significant; the Wise Men proved that the message of Jesus is for everyone (not only the Jews), in his baptism Jesus was revealed as the Son of God. The wedding in Cana that Jesus comes when no one is looking and provides more than enough.

What does Epiphany mean? ‘A moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation.’ Epiphany moments are not always dramatic affairs. They can happen in a quiet moment and you know that something has changed in your mind or heart. However they come to us, these moments are significant. The Epiphany experiences of the people we meet in our Bible readings are the stories of revelations and realisations of God the Father and Jesus the Son.

In our Gospel reading for today the whole synagogue in Nazareth has something of an epiphany when Jesus stands up to read the scroll from what we know as Isaiah 61. It could have been a normal sabbath day, worship as usual in the Nazareth synagogue. What is the big deal?

Luke has Jesus returning to Nazareth after being away for an unknown amount of time; maybe months or even years. Jesus returns differently to when He left. Jesus comes back after being baptised and tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and stands at the cusp of his ministry which boldly begins in the synagogue in front of the home side. A bold start that gets even bolder. Jesus is handed the scroll that not coincidentally was Isaiah, the Old Testament book containing more prophecy about him than any other. He is about to begin fulfilling some prophecy.

Like the guests at the wedding, the congregation in the synagogue was not looking for anything that day. The Jewish people had long been waiting for the Messiah to come; this is what the people being baptised with Jesus expecting. The good people in the relative backwater of Nazareth were waiting for Messiah too; but not expecting him that day in their midst. Not only that, how could Messiah be from the family of a local poor carpenter?!

But He was and is.

If you replace me in verses 18 and 19 with Jesus, it is difficult to see how anyone else in all of history fills this position.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (Jesus),
Because he has anointed me (Jesus)
To bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me (Jesus) 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.

This is Jesus’ chosen description of his mission; this is what He came to do. When Jesus said, ‘today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’, the meaning of ‘fulfilled’ here is ‘to fill a vessel or hollow place’. How many of us know what it is to have that hollow place? He wants to fill it now; not tomorrow or next year or when we feel better or life is back to normal. Jesus means now.

Preach the good news to the poor. This is not referring to the financially poor. These poor are those in ‘utter helplessness, complete destitution, the afflicted and distressed.’ This has wider implications than finances alone. Jesus does not want us only to subsist but thrive. Until we let Him fill our cups daily, we will only subsist.

To heal the broken-hearted. Broken-hearted means ‘to break, strike against something, to break the strength or power of someone’. This is more than a little romance gone wrong or love unrequited. This is a big break; when everything appears to be taken and hope is dwindling.

The Hebrew translation of heal ‘to mend by stitching, repair thoroughly, make whole’. Total breakage needs total healing. One stitch follows another, it takes time and can be painful.

To proclaim freedom for the captives. Notice that Jesus proclaims freedom, he did not impose it. The door of the cell may be opened but we have to walk through it. This is not just people in a physical prison; this is anything: addiction, behaviour, situation that prevents healing and captive to it.

Recovery of sight for the blind. There are many incidents of Jesus physically restoring the sight of many blind people. This is a different kind of blindness, a more serious kind of blindness. Blind here means ‘to envelop with smoke, be unable to see clearly.’ This is about clouded vision; not being able to see the light of gospel or the glory of God. Jesus came to clear our vision so we can see him clearly.

To release the oppressed. To be oppressed is to be treated harshly or unfairly by someone in authority. This release is about breaking the chains of unhealthy attachment.

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. That day in that year and at that time, those gathered in the Nazareth synagogue witnessed the embodiment of the Lord’s favour. His blessed gift of grace and love, Jesus. Year here means ‘any definite time’ and not a calendar year.

Paul is also responding to the needs of now. The first letter of Corinthians is Paul’s reply to the letters sent to him from members of the Corinthian church. They are contending with things like: a church divided over its leaders, what it is to be an apostle, how to deal with incest, lawsuits among believers, sexual immorality, married life, food sacrificed to idols, how to conduct communion, spiritual gifts, love, worship and resurrection of the dead.

Paul is making an impassioned plea to get the church to think in a completely new way. Paul wants them to move from only thinking about themselves and their individual needs and rights to thinking of themselves as one entity, one body, whose health and life depends on cooperation and connection.

Paul is reminding us that we are the body of Christ and we have been called to take up our roles. We may have different gifts and calling but all are as important as the other. All are needed just as all parts of the body are needed. We are part of the one Spirit, one baptism and we all have gifts to share; things to strive for.

There is an urgency in both of these passages. The invitation to what God is offering is available now. Right now. As it is an invitation it can be refused. We might decide to wait until things get better by ourselves or we just need to try a bit harder. Maybe we like struggling under our own steam. Or we can go to him now. This applies to us as individuals but also to us as the church.

Maybe this is our epiphany moment this morning: we do not have to wait until things get better or the stars align. In the Nazareth synagogue of his childhood Jesus proved that was the fulfillment of the old scriptures. He came with the Spirit of the Lord upon him to bring the good news to the poor in spirit, proclaim release to the prisoners and freedom to the oppressed who want it, recovery of sight to those who had lost vision of God and to usher in the time of the Lord’s favour. Available to all until He comes again. This day is holy to the Lord. Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. May it be so.

Epiphany 2: Wedding with a Difference

Paolo Veronese – Wedding at Cana (1440’s)
19/1/25
Epiphany 2

1 Corinthians 12:1-11
John 2:1-11

O God, we give you thanks because,
in the carnation of the Word,
a new light has dawned upon the world,
that all the nations and peoples may be brought out of darkness to see the radiance of your glory.

The Wedding at Cana is one of the great epiphany stories that is included in the lectionary for Year C. An Epiphany is to have ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation’ as I have mentioned over the last two Sundays. The Year C epiphany set features Jesus. First as an infant/toddler at the time of Wise Men’s visit. This first epiphany was to the Gentiles; all of those outside of the Jewish faith. The masses down the ages; millions and billions of people. Epiphanies need witnesses.

The second epiphany involving Jesus was at his Baptism when he was revealed as God’s Son. This was witnessed by those standing on banks of the River Jordan immediately following their own confessions, repentance and baptisms. Jesus is washed in the same waters as those He came to save. This too is a witness for all those baptised after Jesus including us that we are significant as called by name by God.

The third epiphany is the sign at the wedding of Cana. It is a familiar story and has many threads on which to be pulled. Many sermons highlight the scarcity and humiliation the lack of wine would have brought on that family. Jesus’ miraculous provision protects and covers the couple from shame. Some focus on the relationship of Mary and Jesus as the mother pushes son into acting despite his initial resistance. What did Mary know about Jesus that the rest of us do not? Others go for the miracle of the water into wine, serving the best first instead of last.

Unlike the Wise Men and the crowds at the river, no one at the wedding is searching for anything. Except for maybe a good time! The preparation for the banquet is done and festivities are underway when the potential problem arises. Only one person directly witnesses this epiphany: the steward.

It only took the chief steward a mouthful to know that he was drinking something magnificent. The symbolism here being of course that God takes what is ordinary and makes it extraordinary. We are told that a faith the size of a mustard seed is all that is required.

The steward then calls over the bridegroom to taste the new wine and praises him for serving the good wine. And the party goes on.

Where is the bride? There is no mention of the bride at this wedding. There had to have been one. Before we get hung up on another voiceless woman in the Bible; note that the bridegroom is not recorded as having said anything and only his presence.

There is another symbol here: there are references in the New Testament that refer to Jesus as the bridegroom. Taken on its own that might mean that Jesus signifies celebration, fulfilment and new beginnings. Yet Paul in Ephesians argues that the marriage relationship could be understood as the model of relationship between Jesus and his Church. Jesus the bridegroom and the Church is the bride.

Jesus went to the wedding to find his bride: not the bride at Cana but people needing redemption by his blood. Water and wine together pointing to the Eucharist. Jesus’ overflowing love is signified in the water becoming wine was lavished upon his Bride, the Church.

The Church as the Bride is not always very well behaved! The Church of England is going through an anxious, strange and confusing time. Many people can become disenfranchised by the corporation, the lapse in integrity, compassion and understanding by senior leaders. An unwillingness to listen and change. A loss of trust in the leadership at the highest level. How are we doing as the ‘Bride of Christ’ in Charlwood and Sidlow Bridge?

Jesus still seeks out his bride and calls her home in the water and the wine. The waters of baptism and in the wine of the Eucharist. Baptism is a one time event but the Eucharist is to be repeated and shared over and over again and is new each time we celebrate together.

Back to the wine, Jesus uses six stone water-jars which each hold 20-30 gallons each; let’s say 150 gallons. That is a lot of wine and it was good wine; not the plonk served when the wits of the guests had been numbed. Jesus provided an abundance of wine; probably more than was needed and this is where this story goes from scarcity to abundance. There will always be enough, Jesus as the bridegroom will always provide. He comes looking for us.

In this epiphany season, we consider the Wise Men and the message of inclusion to all. The baptism of Jesus and the revelation of being the Son of God. The wedding at Cana and the epiphanies that come when no one is waiting or looking, Jesus comes as the bridegroom with enough water and wine to care for us all. Maybe Mary was on to something when she told the servants to ‘do whatever he tells you’. May we do the same.

Baptism of Christ: Into the Deep

Piero della Francesca (1430’s)

12/1/25
Isaiah 43:1-7
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

In this season of Epiphany (which lasts until the end of January) we will be looking at the epiphany experiences of Jesus and some of the people around him. Epiphany means ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation.’ I am not sure if you have had an epiphany moment but they are quite extraordinary!

Those moments when some new idea, knowledge or thought blows through your mind and you suddenly and sometimes drastically see the world, people, and a situation in a totally new way. Epiphany moments can cause a fundamental change in one’s life. Epiphany moments are not always dramatic affairs. They can happen in a quiet moment and you know that something has changed in your mind or heart. However they come to us, these moments are significant.

So it feels somewhat awkward to ask you: when was the last time we felt truly insignificant? I heard a great Epiphany sermon from a Lutheran pastor while on a family holiday a few years ago. He started the sermon on this particular Sunday with that question. When was the last time we felt truly insignificant? It kind of took me by surprise.

Earlier in the week I had considered my insignificance while sitting and watching the waves of the Pacific Ocean pound the beach. Over and over again, day in, day out. There was nothing I could do about it. I could not stop it or control it. I did not have the power. I could not even begin to begin to try. Little old me, sitting on a beach (not even considering the number of grains of sand I was sitting on) on a dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean watching water. Insignificant or what?!


Actually I am and I am not. Same for you. We are all significant and insignificant.
How do we know this?

The Lord is addressing all of Israel in chapter 43 as He offers reassurance, ‘He who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’

This was meant for the whole nation of Israel; all twelve tribes. This is also very personal too; ‘I have called you, Sarah, Heather, Peter, etc’. You and I are not insignificant because He has called us by name. The Lord will also be with you; ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.’

Notice the ‘when’ and not ‘if’. Expect the waters, they will rise. Yet we will not be overwhelmed because He is with us. It does not always take a lot of water to be overwhelmed. Something that seems relatively minor can overwhelm us. When this happens we are to go or return to the Lord. He will be with us.

The next sign that we have to disprove our insignificance is found in the baptism of Jesus which is what we are remembering today. For many of us baptised as babies we may not see our baptisms as a moment of epiphany. Yet it is! We can hopefully find that moment in the baptism of Jesus for ourselves.

The crowd who were listening to John the Baptist that day were full of expectation. They questioned whether John was the Messiah. Notice that Luke adds the detail that the questioning came from the heart. There was a deep need for the Messiah to come. People were needing hope and a future; they were hungry. John answers the crowd with the reassurance that one more powerful is coming who will baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. John had been preaching about repentance; the need to turn around, walk away from the sins that separates us from God.

Jewish law dictated that the people had to perform ritual washing when they had been defiled. This was the religious practice after normal bodily functions, like menstruation and childbirth for women, ejaculation for men or contact with a corpse. Bathing was required to remove various impurities.

John’s baptism of repentance transformed the ritual washing for physical impurities to moral impurity; those things that water cannot wash away. Baptism took place publicly as those who witnessed became responsible for helping the baptised to live the life that baptism signifies.

John had previously referred to his listeners as a brood of vipers. He was not preaching a message of fluff and ‘just be a good person’, or ‘as long as you don’t hurt anyone else’. John was preparing them not for salvation but for repentance, he was preparing them to encounter Jesus, the only one who could bring them salvation.

Picture that scene for a moment: the crowd of people have confessed their sins and go down into the River Jordan to be baptised. Then Jesus comes along and stands with his cousin on the bank. In the next moment Jesus and John are standing in the water too. Jesus is baptised; drenched in the same waters where they had confessed their sins. This is all about symbolism but do you see Jesus almost wearing the sins they had confessed in those waters? In the waters of baptism our sin is washed away through the work of the Holy Spirit.

This is the baptism that Jesus offers us. There is power in the water of baptism. Do we live like there is? What an amazing privilege it is to be baptized. We never have to feel insignificant again. We are called by name into the deep waters of baptism where He is always with us. He took on our sin and paid the price for us.

After Jesus was baptised heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. The voice of God ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ This little glimpse of heaven! Jesus was about to be taken into the wilderness for his 40 days of temptation. I would like to believe that the sound of that voice stayed with him.

In the vastness of space and time, in the brevity of life we are insignificant yet we are called by name. We belong to God. The voice that called down from heaven is the same voice that calls our name. God is with us when we pass through the waters and the rivers and in the deep waters of baptism. We are significant to God and to each other.

May our prayer be to walk into our significance as God’s chosen children. Baptised in love and grace; knowing full-well that we are His beloved and with us He is well pleased.

Epiphany: The Arrival


Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12

O God, we give you thanks because,
in the carnation of the Word,
a new light has dawned upon the world,
that all the nations and peoples may be brought out of darkness
to see the radiance of your glory. Amen.

Despite our Gospel reading this morning, the Christmas season is about to come to an end as Epiphany begins. This new season begins with the arrival of the Wise Men which may be decidedly Christmas in our heads. Over the next couple of weeks we will see epiphany moments and stories in the baptism of Jesus, the wedding in Cana and as Jesus begins his public ministry.

This morning I thought we should have a slow-read through the first Epiphany story. It is only Matthew who includes the visitation of the Wise Men or Magi from the East.

What does Epiphany mean? It is ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation.’ I am not sure if you have had an epiphany moment but they are quite extraordinary! Those moments when some new idea, knowledge or thought blows through your mind and you suddenly and sometimes drastically see the world, people, and a situation in a totally new way. Epiphany moments can cause a fundamental change in one’s life.

Epiphany moments are not always dramatic affairs. They can happen in a quiet moment when you know that something has changed in your mind or in your heart.

I grew up in the church: Sunday School every week, my parents were very involved in the church, I sang (badly) in the choir, and was in various youth groups. I knew about Jesus but I did not know Jesus.

A major epiphany moment occurred as I was eating lunch in a dry field on a very hot July day at Ephesus, in Turkey. A few hours before this I was struck by the understanding that St Paul had been at Ephesus and had written the letter to the Ephesians. I was where the Bible was. I had always seen it as a book, a story; but to be where the Bible took place blew me away! I began to think that if the Bible happened in a real place then maybe God and Jesus were more real than I thought they were.

By lunchtime, with all these thoughts rolling around my head, I had this sudden wave of peace and a sense of relief from all the grief and anger that I had been carrying around from the previous year and a half. I walked out of Ephesus that day totally different from how I walked in. I have never been the same since.

Matthew begins the Epiphany story ‘in the time of King Herod.’ If you are a fan of the soaps like Corrie or East Enders, you will love The Herod’s. This family played an important part in the political setting of Jesus’ ministry. Several of them are mentioned in the Gospels along with a group known as the Herodians.

The Herodians were from a region that was forcibly converted to Judaism about 127 BCE. The male Herod’s were a talented bunch; they were political power-players who won favour with the Romans. They were also gifted at military strategy; Herod’s father held the post equivalent to Chancellor of the Exchequer.

This Herod became the military governor of Galilee when he was 25, his skills and talents made him friends with the likes of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Caesar Augustus.

These relationships brought him more land and his kingdom grew. Herod’s reign (for part of it) was a time of stability, prosperity and splendour. He founded cities, buildings and most notably rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem.

When we meet Herod in Matthew chapter two, he is about 70 years old and roughly two years away from his death. Herod is in a state of emotional and psychological deterioration as he became increasingly paranoid and mistrusting; so much so that he had 3 of his 15 children executed. These 15 children came from the 10 wives he had. Herod is said to have died a painful death from kidney disease and gangrene.

This is the Herod that the wise men from the East met when they arrived in Jerusalem. Where did they come from? Persia, Babylon or maybe Arabia. Not sure. They are presumed to be Gentiles (so not Jewish) and come to represent the best wisdom of the Gentile world; they are the spiritual elites.

Herod is frightened by the arrival of the Wise Men. The news of a new ‘King of the Jews’ has rocked his world. Herod had had this inscribed on his coins and to claim this title was treason. The title ‘King of the Jews’ was also on the cross of Jesus at the crucifixion. Herod had the title on his money; Jesus on the cross.

Who do you think the real king is here? This is Herod’s epiphany moment; he is not the real King of the Jews! Herod sends the Wise Men to Bethlehem with his made-up story that he wants to pay homage too. Herod is making an attempt to destroy Israel’s true king by employing foreign magi (oh foreign workers forever causing problems!) but they only bring honour to the king’s rival – Jesus.

The Wise Men were obedient. This was a new thought to me. They followed the star even though they did not know where it would take them or what it meant but they followed it anyway. It made me think about what and who I follow.

Am I fully obedient to what God is calling me to do? Even if I am not sure where it will lead? How far out of my way do I go to meet Jesus? Would I follow a star?

We know that the star that went before the Wise Men and came to rest over the place where Jesus was born was not an ordinary star. Sometimes you need some imagination to help picture these things. This star does not stay still but moves as a guide.

Finally, the epiphany moment comes, notice it starts to happen before they even lay eyes on Jesus. Simply the promise of him seems to be enough. It is when the star stops moving, Matthew tells us the Wise Men ‘were overwhelmed with joy.’ When was the last time you were overwhelmed with joy?

Does the thought of Jesus bring you joy? If not – why not? What is missing? Maybe at the start of this new year it is time to ask for your own epiphany?

The Wise Men entered the house, overwhelmed by joy and knelt down before Jesus. They opened their treasure-chests and offered him gifts.

Gold – to show He was a king.
Frankincense – to show He deserved to be worshipped.
Myrrh – this is a strange gift to give a baby. Myrrh was used at the time when someone died. Jesus was the baby who would grow up and rescue us by dying in our place.

These were gifts of substantial financial value and the Wise Men expected to find what they were looking for at a royal court. Perhaps win favour there, but they were not disappointed with what they received.

What do we bring to God this morning? The Wise Men brought the best of what they had. Do we present our best? The best of our time, the first of our money, the greatest of our love, the first of our thanks? This is not to point out any deficiencies as I often get the order wrong myself.

The whole of the Christmas story from Mary & Joseph, the birth of Jesus, the message of the angels to the shepherds and their arrival at the stable to King Herod and the Wise Men – is a story of Epiphany. Great moments of realisation that do not leave us the same.

When we present ourselves to God, remember this is the most valuable thing we have and this is the only thing that He wants. You are more precious to Him to gold, frankincense and myrrh. When we encounter God we are never the same again. Thank God for that!

Amen.