A Sign of Glory

Isaiah 62.1-5, Psalm 36.5-10, 1st Corinthians 12.1-11, John 2.1-11

Today’s set of readings provides some good source material for reflecting on New Year revolutions. There is resolution in the words given to Isaiah in the first reading, but today’s gospel sounds much more like a revolution: something actually happens, and it changes lives.

Do we have any New Year resolutions or revolutions to share? Mine tend to fall into two categories: those that I was going to do anyway, and those that I have no chance of doing. 1st Corinthians 12 might have a word for me about that, with its reminder that the same spirit insists on dishing out a variety of gifts, but not all to the same person.

On the surface, it’s simply the story of a wedding feast rescued from disaster, at which the best tasting wine is brought in at the last moment, and in an unexpected way. Similar stories are found in other ancient sources. Some find it easy to believe, others rather less so, but concentrating on ‘what actually happened’ at an event which is well beyond further investigation won’t really change anything.

What is clear, among the intriguing illustrations of Jesus’ relationship with his mother and his friends, is that a source of renewal is present. Should we focus on the instruction to the servants, or on the vessels they used, or should we just stay close to Jesus and see what happens next? Jesus’ glory went un-noticed by the vast majority of those present. The vital thing is that those who didn’t notice felt the difference, and the few who did notice had their eyes opened to a new world.

Epiphany

Isaiah 43.1-7, Psalm 29, Acts 8.14-17, Luke 3.15-17, 21-22

Epiphany, meaning ‘a showing’, is traditionally associated not only with the visit of the Magi to the holy family, but also with the baptism of Jesus. Hence, today, three readings and a Psalm replete with water imagery that can be associated n various ways with baptism.

In the words of Isaiah, water symbolises life-threatening events and experiences through which God will be with us. In Psalm 29, the power of water is sued as a backdrop to the greater power of God. In Acts 8, water remains in the background: it must have been part of ’baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus’, but the real story is that there is more to baptism than the Samaritan converts had experienced.

It’s as if they had prepared for the voyage of discovery that we call Christian life, but had not quite set out. John the Baptiser would have been familiar with the idea: he was well aware that he was merely preparing people for something greater.

The story of Jesus’ own baptism concludes with a mention of heaven being opened. Looking at the different gospel accounts, it’s not clear whether everybody saw what Jesus saw, but the point is that baptism opens up a whole new perspective on life. We should, at least sometimes, expect to see ‘heaven in ordinary’, and humanity ‘well-drest’. We might well see it before it is obvious; perhaps even before we are justified in seeing it. Perhaps, in some situations, hope can only be justified by faith.