Sermons

Epiphany 2
Sunday 14 January at 8am and 6.30pm

Lesley Ashton
Readings: Isaiah 62.1-5; John 2.1-1

The first miracle in Cana in Galilee is so packed full of symbolism and signs that we must turn to it again and again to understand the meanings contained within the text.
This morning I want us to think about the 3 't's that have stood out for me as I read this passage, time, turning and transformation.

'My time has not yet come.' the words of Jesus to his mother when she approaches him about the wine. The response is curt, the words resonate with rebuke.
In John's gospel the time or the hour relates to the hour of the Cross where the reconciliation between God and humanity is accomplished. Jesus reminds Mary that his time is yet to come.
Yet despite the rebuke, Jesus quietly and without fuss or attention instructs the servants to fill the jars with water and in his presence the contents become the best wine yet tasted at this marriage feast. What takes place is the opposite of what is expected, the timing of the best wine, comes after the ordinary has been served.
It may not be the ideal time for Jesus to work this miracle or for people to experience this new wine of God's kingdom but nevertheless he gives those present a foretaste of the wine that they can experience when they have been fully reconciled with God through his death.

Mary turns to Jesus. This is her son and yet she already knows that within him there is something more, something different. For Mary the time has come for her to turn to him, it might not have been the right time for Jesus but she knows that this man is able to accomplish something that is beyond her help. We have been reminded in readings over the last few weeks that Mary pondered many things about her son within her heart, she had some sense that son of hers was to be used by God, how and when she did not know but there is in this story a sense of her moving away from her place as his mother and turning to him in his capacity as God's son. A letting go of the past and a turning; a turning towards a new relationship with Christ the Son of God.

The water then is transformed from its original form into wine, not just any wine, but the best wine. It has become something other than what it was. And notice, it is only the servants, the ones who listened to Mary and who obeyed Christ that have the knowledge about what has taken place, to the others it is a mystery. Transformation came from a stated need, an acceptance that the human capacity for resolving a situation no longer existed, the recognition that there needed to be a turning away from self and a turning towards Christ. This pattern of transformation speaks of the trinity of relationship, of community, of trust and of engagement.

Time, turning and transformation are also all part of our faith journey with God.
In Isaiah the God of all time, who will not be silent until Jerusalem is saved, still calls to us, and gently woos us, urging us to turn towards Him. And we can make that turn towards God and stand before Him, because of Christ. The timing for us is not always convenient or planned, it sometimes creeps up on us unawares; but sometimes it comes when we recognise that deep need within ourselves for something more, something other than what we can supply for ourselves. And this is the meaning of conversion, this turning towards God. Some can name a date or specific time but for many if not most of us, it is an ongoing journey if not a day-by-day deliberate turning towards God, it is an act of will, a choice that we make over and over again.

And in the turning we begin to experience the transformation, the taste of new wine instead of water. Transformation comes through reading the scriptures, through the sacraments of bread and wine, through prayer, through finding Christ present in those around us, through turning to Christ rather than to ourselves.

We begin to experience transformation, in many ways as it comes in those tiny sips of wine when we realise that we have begun to love those who condemn us or try to make our life difficult, when we find that our hearts are set upon working towards reconciliation rather than revenge, when we want to use our money for those less fortunate than ourselves, when we seek to become more like Christ in all we say and do.

And as water is transformed into wine, we too are being transformed into the image of Christ, for as we turn towards Him, we become like Him.

In the words of Isaiah

'He who formed you will marry you and as a groom is delighted with his bride, so your God will delight in you.

Amen

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay