Epiphany 3: Hard Work of Water into Wine

Veronese’ Wedding at Cana

21/1/24
Epiphany 3

Revelation 19:6-10
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.

Since being ordained I have had the great pleasure, privilege and legal responsibility to officiate many weddings. A few weddings have been small affairs; others have been huge with many in the medium range. Some couples had to save their money for a long time, others had the means (or the parents) to foot rather large bills. All couples wanted to ensure that they had the wedding they dreamed of. It can be an epiphany to discover how much these dreams can cost!

When I meet with engaged couples to discuss their weddings, I make it clear that I am more concerned about their marriage. This is not to downplay the significance of the day or treat it as ‘just a party’. Absolutely not. As without the wedding ceremony there is no reception afterwards. The wedding itself is the continuation of their story, the beginning of a new chapter.

I said last week that the meaning of Epiphany is ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realisation.’ Those moments when something new blows through your mind; you see the world, people, a situation in a totally new way. Epiphany moments can cause a fundamental change in one’s life. They are not always dramatic affairs; they are simply a moment when you know that something has changed in your mind or in your heart.

The Wedding at Cana is an epiphany story for everyone involved. It was here that Jesus performed his first public miracle urged on by his own mother to the delight and astonishment of his disciples and wedding guests. This is also a story of scarcity and abundance, honour and shame, obedience and belief.

Scarcity & Abundance
Scarcity frightens many people. The beginning of lockdown saw a run on loo roll and pasta which proved this point. We do not like to be without. Those of us who were born after the war have not experienced (until lockdown) what scarcity is. Even though it did not last for a particularly long time or run as deep; it was still unsettling for many people.

Mary was the first one invited to this wedding; it is amusing that Jesus and the disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Was Jesus on the B list – surely not? Mary is the one who happens to notice that the wine had given out. She then utters the words that would freeze any hosts’ heart, ‘they have no wine.’ Scarcity.

The essayist Debie Thomas writes about this story, ‘They have no money.” “She has no cure.” “He has no friends.” “I have no strength.” Mary’s line is a line I repeat daily, in endless iterations, for myself and for others. It’s the line I cling to when I feel helpless, when I have nothing concrete to offer, when Christianity seems futile, when God feels like he’s a million miles away. It’s the line that insists against all odds on the mysterious power of telling God the truth in prayer.’

Mary goes to Jesus who is the one who can do something about the situation. Where do we go when we run out of time, patience, love, energy? When we have nothing left to offer and the wine has run out, do we go to the one who can give us an abundance of life? Do we take up the invitation?

The Revelation reading speaks of the blessing for those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. That is one invitation we do not want to miss; we are part of that great multitude.

Jesus was invited to the wedding, He accepted the invitation and something amazing happened. When we invite Jesus into our lives, He does amazing things, beyond what we could ever ask or imagine.

Honour & Shame
The wedding of Cana is incredibly rich in meaning and symbolism and we could be here all day digging around. Yes, Jesus starts his ministry here on the third day (reference to the resurrection). He takes what is common, weddings and water, and makes them extraordinary.

We see Mary’s high expectations and belief in her son become public. The disciples go from unbelief to belief and then circle back repeatedly as they follow Jesus.

At the heart of what Jesus is doing at this wedding is protecting the groom, the bride and their families from shame. Hospitality is at the heart of Middle Eastern culture and always has been. To run out of wine at a wedding would be beyond humiliation; bringing disgrace on the family. There were few things worse than failing to provide for one’s guests. Jesus, by providing wine for them, fulfils the need they have in that very moment. Jesus protected them from shame and disgrace in front of their community. He does the very same for us: Jesus covers our shame and our sins. He covers us in his love at the very moment we need him to. Jesus can change your life, He can change your day and He can also change that very moment you find yourself in.

Many people are struggling right now and some for a very long time. Too long. People are losing jobs and relationships; some are unable to feed their children and themselves. Many medical staff feel they cannot provide the care that they desperately want to for the sick and the dying in front of them. My suspicions are that high levels of shame and embarrassment abound for many people.
Jesus covers that shame and embarrassment when we let Him. Whatever situation you are facing that you find shameful or embarrassing, please know that you are covered in the love of God. Please seek help if you need it.

Obedience & Belief
Mary is expecting Jesus to do something about the lack of wine at the wedding in Cana. The exchange between Mary and Jesus is somewhat amusing. Mary is concerned about the lack of wine and Jesus is saying ‘Oh Mother, mind your business!’

Mary is having none of this; she is the one who notices the problem and persists in doing something about it. She is absolutely confident in Jesus’ ability and his generosity; so much so that she does not wait for Jesus to even decide what or how he will solve the problem. Mary immediately involves the servants to do ‘whatever he tells you to’.

We can surmise that the servants would have been terrified at the prospect of running out of wine. They might have been desperate for a solution to prevent the shame that was coming. Mary and Jesus seem to be the first miracle those servants needed.

Filling up those jars would have been a lot of work for the servants. There was no running water, the jars were large so many trips to the well were likely required. This was a new thought to me! Obedience and belief are hard work; and yet we do not have to negotiate or beg or plead with Jesus to act on our behalf. We may have to persist, there are often many other factors at play that we do not know about or see.

It is hard work to hold to the promise of God’s abundance in the face of scarcity, pain and loss. They have no wine. I/we/they have no… At the end of it, I am so glad that His ways are not my ways. I know that Jesus will do something, even if I need to be reminded repeatedly. We can be the ones to notice, name, persist and trust when we find scarcity and are unable to do anything about it. We can pray, seek and ask the wine-maker to fill the jugs once again. We can invite others to obey the wine-maker that we have come to know and trust. God is good and loving and generous.

Christmas 1: Happy New Year!

Details


Christmas 1
31/12/23

Isaiah 62:10-62:3
Luke 2:15-21


Lord Jesus, Light of light,
you have come among us.
Help us who live by your light
to shine as lights in your world.
Glory to God in the highest.
Amen.


Happy New Year Church Family! Blessing on your 2024. How are we feeling about the turning of the calendar? None of us can be too certain about what 2024 holds. That is either good news or bad news depending on how great your need for certainty is. The world and its various governments are not proving to be much help. Mother Nature is adding to the chaos. We have personal challenges and situations that can make life difficult.

On New Year’s Day 2020 I posted this quote from the American bible teacher and writer Beth Moore on Facebook: ‘We have no idea what the coming year holds but this I can promise you based on the unsurpassed authority of Scripture: our God’s going to be faithful. He’s going to be good. He’s going to love us and be our light in the darkness. He’s going to keep His word. He cannot do otherwise.’

This is still very much true as we head into 2024. Many of us have no idea what is coming. We can be sure though that God will be faithful, He is going to love us, He will be our light and He will keep his word. Amen!

While we may be straining at the lead into 2024, I was rather pleased at the Gospel reading we have this morning. Have we not just heard this story?! We might want to move on and look ahead; it is New Year’s Eve after all! The lectionary wants to keep us grounded in the Christmas story for one more Sunday. What might Mary and the shepherds have to say to us on the cusp of a new year?

Luke in his Gospel, writes about the people who respond spontaneously to a divine message with trust and unselfconscious enthusiasm. Mary is the most supreme example of this. Mary has already been visited by the Angel Gabriel and given birth to Jesus. Mary knew that her baby would be special and different; probably not that special and different until the shepherds appeared.

She is likely beginning to understand all that she has been told and there is much more to come. The arrival of the shepherds forces her to ponder what it all means. What she was told in private is now being made very public.

There is something in how Mary accepts the news she is given; I do not think it was automatic ‘this is amazing!’ Her pondering and reflection indicates that we too, probably more than we should, can ponder and reflect on what God is saying to us. We must live out our faith so that it is evident to those around us. This takes some pondering, reflection and prayer.

The shepherds at first are afraid of the angels. This is the common experience of those fortunate souls who encounter angels. It would probably take a big shock for a shepherd to become fearful; they lived in the outdoors and protected the sheep from predators that sought to kill and eat them. They lived in a constant state of uncertainty. Shepherds would not expect a sky full of angels.

The initial fear of the shepherds is quickly turned into excitement and energy. We learn about them from their reaction: they did not question or disbelieve, or react with cynicism, or drag their feet or ponder. They take the message and they act on it.

How do we act on the Good News of Jesus?

The shepherds hurried to see the baby. Are we in a hurry to tell people about Jesus? The shepherds became the first witnesses as they told everyone in earshot what they had seen and heard. It was as simple as that. There was no great theological debate or treatise. No lectures or sermons. Just a report of what they had experienced. Telling people about Jesus does not need to be anymore complicated than that.

In the world (most broadly) and in many lives (most specifically) there are many people living in darkness. The Good News of Jesus is needed more now than ever before. What difference does Jesus make to you? This might be the question to ponder as we move into 2024. What difference do you want Jesus to make to you in 2024?

Christmas is a time of hope, hope that lasts; hope that is beyond what we can imagine and it overcomes our limited vision. Jesus is the light of the world that overcomes the darkness.

Isaiah 61 is talking about a time when God’s favour will come and a messianic figure (the Messiah – Jesus) will bring freedom and health to his people. There is a vision of a future where every nation shall see the glory of God. God will do great things not only for his people but for the whole earth.

John Pritchard, former Bishop of Oxford wrote, ‘Christmas is that wonderful time when we enter into another world. Just temporarily we bask in a different glow, and old hopes are reinstated, and the world is a little less chilly. But if it’s true that at Christmas we enter into a different world, it’s also true that for Christmas to be authentic another world has to enter us. ‘Where meek souls shall receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.’

As we take a last look at the Christmas story may we know the hope and salvation in the baby Jesus as told to the shepherds by the angelic host. Hold onto that hope and share the message of salvation.

I hope that for New Year’s 2024 we want the dear Christ to enter in. Let us pray to overcome fear and complacency, cynicism and lack of faith. Let us continue to pray for peace and justice in those places where it is so badly lacking.

I will finish by reading Psalm 148 which is set for today…

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!

2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!

4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.

6 He established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.[a]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,

8 fire and hail, snow and frost
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!

10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!


12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.

14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

Christmas Day: Comfort in the Manger

25/12/23

Christmas Day – Set 1 

Isaiah 9:2-7 

Psalm 96 

Titus 2:11-14  

Luke 2:1-20

Lord Jesus, Light of light,

you have come among us.

Help us who live by your light

to shine as lights in your world.

Glory to God in the highest.

Amen.

It is good to hear that story again! We can read it any day of the year of course. But somehow it feels better, maybe more real on the day.

There are so many moving parts: 

  • The Government: those with power making those without power move around to be registered like cattle, 
  • The loyal and devoted Joseph and the young, heavily pregnant Mary awaiting the birth of their firstborn son
  • The inn and the innkeeper (probably a family home) with no empty space
  • The shepherds living in the fields, watching over their flocks by night
  • The angel of the Lord and the great multitude. Glory to God in the highest heaven indeed!
  • The wisemen came a bit later so don’t get a mention today – this isn’t a bad thing! It helps us to remember that Christmas is a season and not just one day.  

I am not sure which parts of this story warms the cockles of your hearts the most.

Mary & Joseph & Jesus 

I love this little line tucked into verse 6: ‘the time came for her to deliver her child.’ The time came. Again, we can receive Jesus at any time and anywhere, but he was grounded in a time and place. 

Mary and Joseph did not have an easy time but they remained faithful despite all the uncertainty they faced. They believed the angel who visited them to tell them about the baby. They travelled to Bethlehem on the orders of the Roman government. 

We don’t know if they travelled on a donkey or not – but it is a nice idea!     

I do not think that any parent could imagine that the description of their child would include: ‘For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Most babies are cute, good eaters, bad sleepers, or take after mum or dad or great aunt Beatrice. 

The baby born unto us has come to bring us hope and is the tangible sign that God really is with us. Not against us or indifferent to us – but with us. God with us brings us hope. 

With the coming of Jesus to earth, God has ceased to be distant and removed and too awesome to encounter. Instead, with Jesus’ arrival God becomes intimately involved in his creation and in our lives too. And when God is with us then there is hope. 

Angels & Shepherds

I love to picture the angels and the shepherds in the field. The Good News coming to those on the margins, the outsiders first in a burst of light better than any firework display we could imagine. 

There was nothing subtle about this announcement. It was a dark, probably ordinary night for those shepherds. Nothing but a few baas here and a few baas there, the stars for light, each other for companionship. 

Then this great angel appears with the glory of the Lord shining around them. Utterly overwhelming! When was the last time you were truly overwhelmed by something good? 

I know people who have been utterly overwhelmed by bad stuff – at home and abroad. War & violence in Ukraine & Russia, Gaza & Israel. It was sad not to see a Christmas Tree in Manger Square today. Rather a nativity made of rubble. Unemployment, sickness, divorce, death. Many people at Christmas find themselves utterly overwhelmed by the darkness of this world – more than usual. 

Christmas is a time of hope, hope that lasts; hope that is beyond what we can imagine and it overcomes our limited vision. Jesus is the light of the world that overcomes the darkness.

John Pritchard, former Bishop of Oxford wrote, ‘Christmas is that wonderful time when we enter into another world. Just temporarily we bask in a different glow, and old hopes are reinstated, and the world is a little less chilly. But if it’s true that at Christmas we enter into a different world, it’s also true that for Christmas to be authentic another world has to enter us. ‘Where meek souls shall receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.’

Wherever you find yourself in the Christmas story this day – spend some time at the manger, bow a knee and gaze again at the baby who came at the right time and in the right place to bring us hope and be with us.  

Candlemas

29/1/23

Psalm 48:1-7
Malachi 3:1-5
Luke 2:22-40

Candlemas reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world. This is the message that we and the wider world needs right now. There is light in the darkness of the current age and that light is Jesus. This is the same opening that I used last year! Not that I expect you to remember that.

The world sadly remains in very much the same position; darkness, violence, oppression in many places, etc. We wait, not always patiently, for things to get better or at least to be less bad.

The prophet Malachi speaks to the time when, ‘The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.’ This is partly fulfilled when the baby Jesus arrived at the temple in the loving arms of his parents. Mary and Joseph, being good Jewish parents, bring Jesus to the temple as was the custom of the day. This was to be expected as part of custom and fulfilment of Jewish law. Any presentation was a three-step process: circumcision, redemption and purification.

Circumcision is first commanded in Genesis by God. It would serve as a sign of the covenant (a promise) between God and Abraham. The rite of circumcision was God’s way of requiring the Jewish people to become physically different, by cutting off because of their relationship to Him. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day of his young life.

The Rite of Redemption was a reminder to the Jewish people that ‘the Lord brought them out of Egypt with his mighty hand’ (Exodus 13). God had redeemed His people from their slavery in Egypt. Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem in obedience and thanksgiving to God for having redeemed His people.

Thirdly, the Rite of Purification. It is an act of cleansing for the mother after giving birth. When this time was over (33 days for a boy and 66 days for a girl), the mother was to bring offerings to the priest. The required sacrifice was a lamb plus a turtle dove. However, if the mother could not afford a lamb, she was to take two turtle doves. They brought the least and were given the greatest.

In these rituals, Jesus is presented to the people he came to save and redeem. This is where Simeon and Anna fit. They were at the temple the day that Jesus was presented. They are proof of the faithfulness of God. Simeon got himself ready through devotion, worship, prayer, watching and waiting. Anyone wanting to experience the glory of God, want to deepen your relationship, strengthen your faith – be like Simeon and work at it!

The faithfulness of God also features in Anna’s story. I don’t think you can talk about Simeon and then ignore Anna. She was the next person Jesus is presented to. Anna has lived a life of patient hope as she spent 65-ish years in the temple. She didn’t waver, didn’t give up but daily lived with faithfulness and expectation until the day the Messiah arrived.

On this day of presentation, we are reminded again of the ultimate faithfulness of God. We see the examples in the lives of Joseph, Mary, Simeon & Anna. We experience God’s faithfulness in the life of Jesus. We also have to trust in the unseen faithfulness of God, the faithfulness to come. Jesus is the light of the world; even when we cannot or choose not to see it.

We will all be presented to God one day – hopefully well into the future. We have to work at having pure and clean hearts and hands. Between now and then, may the faithfulness of God to us and our faithfulness to him be evident to all.

Advent 4: Joseph

Christ in the House of His Parents (‘The Carpenter’s Shop’) 1849-50 Sir John Everett Millais

Advent 4 – Year A
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25


I can’t believe that it is the Fourth Sunday of Advent! It has gone by way too quickly! I am reassured that there is still another week to go.

The Gospel readings for Fourth Sunday always revolve around Mary as she completes the picture of our Advent journey. It seems that at this time of the year, we Protestants are okay to talk about Mary and even have a statue of her in church without great resistance!

I was looking back over the lectionary to see which stories of Mary are used on this particular Sunday. Year B has set Luke 1 which is the Annunciation; when Mary was visited by Gabriel who brings her the good news that she will bear a son. Year C has also set Luke 1; the Magnificat in which Mary proclaims the greatness of the Lord who has looked with favour on her lowly self.

But every third year, the Gospel reading switches primary focus from Mary to Joseph with Matthew’s account and tells of the birth of Jesus. Matthew seems to focus his attention on Joseph much more than on Mary. You might not have noticed but Joseph never speaks.

We never hear his voice in any of the accounts. Mary speaks and there is great focus and attention on her. In comparison, we know very little about Joseph and there can be a temptation to push him to the side-lines. I want to take the opportunity to look a little closer at Joseph. Without him the whole Christmas story would have faltered.

Recently in the Tuesday afternoon Bible Study, we watched a version of the nativity story over 3 weeks. While it took some liberties with the dialogue as having been written by a writer from EastEnders, it was thoroughly enjoyed. Joseph was portrayed as a responsible but passionate younger man who was deeply in love with Mary. When Mary returns from visiting her cousin Elizabeth with a very obvious baby bump, Joseph is devastated, angry, grief-stricken, embarrassed. As viewers, we were confronted with a range of emotions and conversations between Mary and Joseph that were likely experienced but are not mentioned in the biblical story.

In Matthew’s account, Joseph is told about Mary’s baby and in a breath decides to quietly divorce her and save her from public disgrace. Here we see the loyalty and dignity, faithfulness of Joseph.

It is not until the angel appears to Joseph in a dream to explain the whole situation that he believes Mary’s story when he wakes up.

We would make a mistake to sanitise Joseph’s consent as being an easy decision to come to. We diminish his humanity by overlooking his humiliation and doubt. In a culture and religion that was bound by rules, Joseph would have been in a lot of pain. We so often want to separate ourselves from the pain of other people, we can feel so helpless in the face of it. In Joseph, we see that God’s favour is not always a shiny, happy thing.

Whatever thoughts Joseph had about his family’s future were upended. His ideas of fairness, justice, goodness and purity are shattered. Being chosen by God is not always so attractive.

Joseph’s story is one that can give us hope. Many of us will know what it is to struggle to do what has been asked of us, sometimes the decisions are difficult and the choices are limited. Joseph struggled. He was prepared to do the honourable, arguably easier thing but that was not what was asked.

So he struggled more and came to the decision that was far harder but the right one. He woke up and did what the angel commanded him.

Little wonder that the angel’s opening line was do not be afraid. Joseph was needed as it is through him that Jesus’ connection to the House of David is made. If you read through the opening verses of Matthew chapter one, it is a cabaret of characters who did some interesting things.

Debie Thomas wrote, ‘Interestingly, in the verses that immediately precede our Gospel reading, Matthew gives us a genealogy of Jesus’s ancestors. He mentions Abraham — the patriarch who abandoned his son, Ishmael, and twice endangered his wife’s safety in order to save his own skin. He mentions Jacob, the trickster usurper who humiliated his older brother. He mentions David, who slept with another man’s wife and then ordered that man’s murder to protect his own reputation. He mentions Tamar, who pretended to be a sex worker, and Rahab, who was one. These are just a few representative samples.

Notice anything? Anything like messiness? Complication? Scandal? Sin? How interesting that God, who could have chosen any genealogy for his Son, chose a long line of brokenness, imperfection, dishonour, and scandal. The perfect backdrop, I suppose, for his beautiful works of restoration, healing, hope, and second chances.’

Not only was Jesus born into a messy world, but a messy family.

Joseph helps to remind us that what God asks of us is often messy and unexpected. We should however expect to have our own ideas upended and challenged. Yet do not be afraid. I hope as we come fully into this Christmas season and new year that we are not afraid to love more deeply, pay more attention to what God is doing or asking of us. It might be messy.

Do not be afraid of the mess. It is in the mess that Jesus our Saviour was born.