Some thoughts on the Presentation of Christ in the Temple

The presentation of Christ in the Temple.

Luke 2:21-38.

(Please note, much of the historical background here comes from Barclay, Daily Study Bible).

These verses deal with the time when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to present him to the Lord. Mary was also required by the Law of Moses to go through a purification rite as all woman, after childbirth, were considered ritually unclean. While at the Temple, they met an old man called Simeon, who had some interesting things to say about their child Jesus.

Verse 21 tells us of how Jesus was circumcised. Every Jewish boy was required by the Law of Moses, to be circumcised eight days after his birth. This ceremony was considered so important that it was even permissible to perform this rite on the Sabbath, if that turned out to be the eighth day. We read in Galatians 4:4:

... when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law so he could set us free from the law, and we could become God's children.

Notice secondly, verses 22-24 tell also of the obedience of Mary and Joseph. In obedience to Exodus 13:2, they were publicly acknowledging that their first-born son was sacred to God. By doing this Jews remembered back to the time when all first born males were spared when the angel of death passed over Egypt before the Exodus. The Law laid down that parents needed to give their child to God by presenting him at the Temple, and buy him back from the priests for the sum of five sheckles - about 70p. The blood of earthly lambs ensured the salvation of the first-born males in Egypt; the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, can save all those who come to him. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 5:7:

... Our Passover lamb is Christ, who has already been sacrificed.

Peter also writes in 1 Peter 1:19:

You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb.

Mary had to go through a cleansing ritual. When a woman had given birth, if it was a boy she was considered ritually unclean for forty days, if a girl, for eighty days. She could go about her household and do her daily work but she was not allowed to enter the Temple or share in any religious ceremony. At the end of this period of waiting, the mother was required to sacrifice a lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon for a sin offering. Because this was expensive Leviticus 12:8 records that if one was unable to afford the lamb, the mother was permitted to bring a second pigeon in its place. The offering of two pigeons was called 'The offering of the poor'. Mary could only afford the offering of the poor. This reminds us of the fact that Jesus was brought up in a very ordinary home, where there were no luxuries and where every cent had to be spent wisely. Jesus was a member of a family that knew all about the difficulties of making a living and the insecurities of life on this earth.

In verses 25-35 tell of the encounter of Mary and Joseph with Simeon. We are only told that the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen Christ, the Lord. When Mary and Joseph entered the Temple, the Spirit told Simeon that the time was now. This meeting between Simeon and Jesus is loaded with significance. Remember Simeon's first words: ‘Lord, I am your servant, and now I can die in peace ...’

Because Simeon met with Christ he no longer had any fear of death. He knew that God would send the world a saviour and when that saviour came, even though he came in the form of a baby boy of poor people - Simeon believed and so could die in peace.

The gospel of Jesus Christ brings true wisdom and understanding. Jesus can equip all people everywhere to understand the meaning of life. The reason why the world is in such a mess is because it has rejected Christ and his Word.

From verse 34, Simeon prophesied about the work and fate of our Lord. He stated that many in Israel would fall as a result of Jesus. Many Israelites as well as gentiles refused and even today continue to refuse to accept Christ. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 1:23:

... we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross [so that people might be saved]. Most Jews have problems with this, and most gentiles think it is foolish.

Jesus never forces people to fall. People fall when they stubbornly and deliberately choose to refuse Christ's offer of grace. Still today Simeon's prophecy is being fulfilled. But more importantly, Jesus enables many to stand. They have been filled with his Spirit and know fullness of life on this earth and like Simeon also have no fear of death. Jesus lifts many people out of their old lives and gives them the gift of a new life where sin no longer dominates and where Christ fills our lives with dignity and wholeness.

The light of Christ causes people to face the truth about themselves. Therefore, Jesus acts as a warning sign to people. But many people do not like what they see, so rather than face reality, they reject him.

In verse 36, we meet Anna. Nowhere else in the Scriptures do we encounter her. The details about who she was are not important. Anna provides us with a beautifully human example of a Godly person. All Christians are required to imitate Christ and Anna, like John the Baptist and Simeon and others, provides us with a testimony of how ordinary everyday people can draw close to God.

After seven years of marriage Anna had lost her husband. Today her plight might not seem too serious but in these times it was considered a great shame. We read in Isaiah 54:4 that widowhood was considered by some, a curse. While the Scriptures condemned the poor treatment of widows, the norm of ancient society was generally one where widows were condemned to a life of loneliness and poverty. Only a few were fortunate enough to re-marry as society considered widows as inferior to virgins or unmarried women.

Anna had spent the remainder of her life after the death of her husband, alone. By the time we meet her in Luke's gospel, she was about 84 years old. We have no precise details about Anna's predicament, but we can safely deduce that she had known sorrow. It is however; also equally obvious that she had never grown bitter.

All of us have known sorrow. Sorrow can do one of two things: it can make us embittered, hard, resentful and rebellious against God; or it can make us kind, softer and more sympathetic and loving towards others. It can make shipwreck of our faith or it can make our faith stronger. Anna, despite what she had to go through in her life, obviously had a wonderful life, a whole life, a fulfilling life.

One of the reasons why Anna did far more than just cope with her circumstances was that she had her priorities right. She knew that she could not cope with life alone. She knew, as we all know today, that if she was to survive - more than that, still enjoy life and get the most out of life - she would have to stop relying on her own strength and become totally dependent upon God. And so she set about relying on God. We read how in verse 37:

Night and day she served God in the temple by praying and often going without eating.

Firstly, Anna was regular in worship. Luke records that she was to be found in the temple both night and day. In our times this would mean that Anna would have attended all the services in the church.

Nobody should come to church out of a sense of duty. We should all come to church because we know that we want to be here. While we can meet with God at any time and in any place - God meets with his people in a special way when they come together as his family to worship him. Christians therefore come to church because they want to and because they need to. God has promised that when his people gather together to worship Him he will bless them. We read in Psalm 84:4-5:

How happy are those who live in your temple, always singing praises to you. How happy are those whose strength comes from you, who are eager to make the pilgrimage to Mount Zion.

When people are in trouble, they find comfort in coming to the house of God. We read of the example of king Hezekiah when he heard that they were about to be attacked by the Assyrians in Isaiah 37:1:

As soon as King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes in grief, put on sackcloth, and went to the Temple of the Lord.

Coming to Church is also a place where people receive instruction from the Word of God. The focus of Christian worship is the Word of God - where we learn about who we are, who God is and how we ought to live. We are reminded of this in the prophecy of Micah 4:2 where the people said:

Let us go up the hill of the Lord, to the Temple of Israel's God. For he will teach us what he wants us to do; we will walk in the paths he has chosen.

William Barclay states:

We rob ourselves of a priceless treasure when we neglect to be one with his worshipping people.

Anna was able to cope and experience a full life because she was regular at worship with the people of God. Here she received comfort and instruction from the Lord and met with Him in a deep and significant way.

Notice also that she is described as one who prayed. Public worship is fantastic and an integral part of the Christians life and well being, but nothing can replace a regular private prayer life. Some people think that if they come to church regularly, that is enough. It is not. We cannot draw close to God, we cannot discover his will for our lives, we cannot know his peace in all circumstances, unless we regularly spend time with him in prayer. The years had left Anna without bitterness. Anna obviously led a full and contented life because day by day she kept in contact with God. Coming to God daily gave her strength to take each day as it comes.

Prayers are absolutely crucial for all Christian people. No person can ever hope to discover meaning in their life, no person can discover direction in their lives, no person can ever know true peace - that peace of God which passes all understanding (Philippians 4.7) - unless we spend time speaking and listening to God. There needs to be a time in every person's day when they are absolutely and completely alone, away from all others, when they can be quiet and commune with God. Remember that well known teaching of our Lord on prayer as recorded in Matthew 6:6:

... When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.

Many people feel that they cannot pray because they do not know what to say. But the words one uses are not really that important. The beauty of the words used and perfectness of the grammar has nothing to do with the effectiveness of our prayers. I am often flattered when people come to me and compliment me for what they think was a 'beautiful' prayer that I might have said as part of worship. But the prayers of all Christians are as beautiful and can be as effective if one gives ourselves over to the Lord and if we open ourselves to the leading of his Spirit. Praying is easy. All we need to do is go to a quiet place, relax and open ourselves to God, give him our thoughts and allow him to inspire us. Remember those wonderful words in Romans 8:26-27:

In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is there to help us. For example, when we don't know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God's people.

When we are able to spend time being quiet, allowing God to organise our thoughts, when we spend time meditating or listening to God, then we will be blessed in ways that we cannot imagine, we will come to know God more intimately than we have ever dreamed possible and we will be enabled to start experiencing what it means to have meaning, purpose and direction in our lives. We will also be enabled to accept who we are and who we will be as God transforms us and renews us. We will experience life in all its fullness. (John 10.10).

The depth of spiritual experience that we see in the lives of people like Anna is available for all people. You do not need to be an academic or a well read person to be able to experience God in the same way as the great heroes of the faith. Mary was a simple, poor young lass - yet she was close to God; Joseph was a carpenter - yet he was close to God. David was a shepherd - yet he was close to God. Peter was a fisherman - yet he drew close to God. Anna, despite the cruel blow she experienced early in her life, did not let what had happened wreck the rest of her life. All too often people whose lives are a mess, have excellent reasons for the problems in their lives. So many alcoholics can look back into something that happened in their childhood that they believe has caused them to be in the state they are in; child abusers, criminals and others can do the same. The world is in fact made up of people who are past masters, experts in making excuses for their failures. While our past might enable us to better understand ourselves, we need not be enslaved to it and its consequences. Anna was not. She was freed from the trauma of her past and lived a full and glorious life filled with joy and hope. Paul was also a man who had every excuse to be a grovelling wreck. He had been an accessory to murder, he had persecuted the people of Christ - he was guilty. Paul knew that he was forgiven and so could be freed from his past and its consequences. He writes in Philippians 3:12b: ‘... I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead.’

What is ahead for all Christians is a closer and more intimate walk with God. What lies ahead is a more glorious life, getting better all the time because we are becoming more and more like Jesus. While our bodies might be getting older and weaker, our spirits and souls can be continually renewed, more refined and made more beautiful. Be regular at worship, be regular at the sacraments, be regular in prayer and the other spiritual disciplines and you will be renewed, draw closer to God and experience the joy and wonder of life in Christ.

Week of prayer for Christian Unity

Corinthians 12:12-31 (New International Version)

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by[a] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[b]? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire[c] the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

Some of my thoughts today on this section come from a commentary by The Rev'd Steve Lewis.

In the first part of this chapter the apostle Paul had explained that even though there is a wide variety of spiritual gifts and ministries and effects, all of these come from the one Holy Spirit, are energized by Him, and are given only as He decides. The Corinthians were focusing on a few of the more spectacular or showy gifts, and they were looking down on believers who did
not manifest what they considered to be the greater gifts. In the last section of this chapter, the apostle Paul is going to illustrate the importance of the unity of the members of the church by giving an analogy comparing a healthy church to a properly functioning human body.

Where did the analogy of the body come from?
The first place in this letter that we see a body referred to in this way was 1 Cor 10:16-17, where the apostle Paul was discussing the Lord's Supper. He said, "We who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor 10:17). It seems that Paul had more to say about this idea of becoming part of the body of Christ, so in this chapter he proceeded to expand on this illustration.

"Even as the body is one and yet has many members" . The apostle Paul had been explaining
that the different manifestations in the Corinthian church were all the result of the working of the one Holy Spirit. Here he is saying that this is similar to the way a human body is a single organism but is composed of many different parts. Even in a single unified body, a diversity of members is required for it to function properly. "And all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body" . Here Paul states the same truth in the reverse. Even though there is a diversity of members, they all must work together for the proper functioning of the one body.

These phrases give us a mini-summary of this entire section of chapter twelve -- they show the flow and movement of thought that Paul is going to follow in this concluding section of the chapter. "So also is Christ" We would almost expect Paul to have said: "...so also is the church." After all, that is the organization that Paul wants to apply these truth to ultimately. But instead of identifying the church here, Paul actually opens up an additional set of truths that can also be applied. Individuals become part of the Church only because they first have been placed in Christ.

"By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body" (aorist passive) body. Anyone who puts his trust in Jesus Christ becomes a full-fledged member of Christ's body at the moment he or she comes to faith. There are no partial Christians or partial members of His body. This miraculous event is accomplished by the one Holy Spirit through a special baptizing ministry.

"Whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free". Here Paul explained the meaning of the word all in the previous phrase: All means every believer, and believers come from every nationality, every cultural background, every social class, and every economic status. The church as an organism consists of believers from a wide diversity or cross section of society.

People have always be fascinated by the way the different parts of the body co-operate. Long ago Plato drew a famous picture of the body in which he said that the head was the fortress or castle of the body; the neck was the isthmus or narrow strip on land connecting the head to the body; the heart was the fountain of the body; the pores the lanes and the veins the canals of the body. Plato also pointed out that we do not say "my finger has pain" we say "I have pain". There is an "I", a personality which gives unity to the many and varied parts of the body. What the "I" is to the body, Christ is to the Church. It is in him that all the diverse parts find their unity.

Paul goes on to say that "You are the body of Christ". There is a wonderful truth here. Christ is no longer in this world in the body; so if he wants a task done in the world he has to find a person to do it. If he wants a child taught, he has to find a teacher to teach the child; if he wants a sick person cured, he has to find a doctor to do his work; if he wants a story told, he has to find a person to tell it. A voice from the fourteenth century, St. Teresa of Avila, reminds us that WE are God's hands.

"God has no hands but our hands to do his work today;

God has no feet but our feet to lead others in his way;

God has no voice but our voice to tell others how he died;

and, God has no help but our help to lead them to his side."

The body is healthy and efficient only when each part is functioning perfectly. Paul mentions three things which aught to exist in the Church, the body of Christ.

1. We ought to realise that we need each other. Far too often we become engrossed in the bit of the work that we are doing and how important it is that we neglect or even criticise others who have chosen to do other work.

2. We ought to respect each other. In the human body there is no question of relative importances. If any limb or organ stops working it throws the whole body out of gear.

3. We ought to sympathise with each other. If one part of the body is affected. all the others suffer in sympathy because they can't help it. The church is a whole. When we can't see beyond our own organisation or our own congregation or our own family circle, we have not even begun to grasp the real unity of the Church.

At the end of this passage Paul speaks of various forms of service in the Church.

a) At the head of everything he puts the Apostles. They were the greatest figures in the Church and their authority was not confined to one place. Why? The qualification for being an Apostle was that they must have accompanied Jesus during his earthly life and they must have witnessed his Resurrection. As far as we know, Jesus never wrote messages on paper, he wrote on men and women. They were the Apostles.

b) Then Paul adds teachers. These were the men who had to build up the converts who had been won by the preaching of the evangelists and apostles. They had to instruct people who knew literally nothing about Christianity. The first gospel was not written until about 60AD or 30 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. So we have to think ourselves back to a time when printing did not exist and books had to be hand written and were very expensive. When ordinary people could not hope to ever possess a book. So the story had to be handed down by word of mouth. This was the teacher's job. Now today we have the Internet and books but it is still through people that Christ's love is spread.

c) Then Paul speaks of helpers. Their duty was to help the poor, the orphan, the widow and the stranger. From the very beginning Christianity was an intensely practical thing. A person may not be able to stand up and speak to a group but it is open to everyone to help.

d) Administrators. The Greek word is very interesting; it refers to the work of a pilot who steers a ship through the rocks to harbour. This is essential work for the Church. Yes, the preacher and the teacher hold the limelight but they could never do their work without the day to day administration.

There are parts of our bodies which are never seen but whose function is more important than any other. But now Paul goes on to speak of a greater gift than all the others. The danger is that those with different gifts will be at variance with each other and hinder the work of the Body. But Love is the oil that keeps the parts moving smoothly and binds the Church into perfect unity.

In this week of Prayer for Christian Unity we give thanks for the progress made in so many areas of Ecumenism and we pledge ourselves to working for even greater unity.

The Gospel for the 4th Sunday of the Epiphany

Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV)

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
¹⁸‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
²⁰And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’

My text this morning is written in Luke 4:16:

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.

After his experience in the desert, verses 14 and 15 remind us that Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere. He taught in the Jewish meeting places, and everyone praised him.

As these verses state, news about Jesus spread everywhere - including Nazareth and so we can imagine the excitement in this village when the people heard that Jesus was to visit them. The people would have flocked to the synagogue on that Sabbath, because they knew that Jesus would be there. We can therefore almost sense the atmosphere of expectation.

In verse 16 we discover a simple yet important truth. We read:

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.

Notice Luke's almost unconscious use of the words 'as was his custom'. Let us never forget who Jesus was - the perfect Son of Almighty God. This local synagogue would not have been a place where profound teaching took place. Rather it would have had many aspects that would have left much to be desired - yet Jesus, while living in the area - went there faithfully every week. Jesus could quite easily have argued that the religious system of his day was corrupt and grossly imperfect. He could also have claimed that there was nothing that any rabbi anywhere could teach him because he knew everything - because he did. Instead, every Sabbath, Jesus went to the house of God to pray, hear the word of God read, receive instruction and draw close to his Father. Jesus' example was followed by the early church. In Acts 2:42 we read:

They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

God has appointed these things as the channels through which he blesses his people. These are the ways in which people draw close to God and receive his blessing. People need all these elements, but because God has decreed it in his word. We should all therefore take every opportunity to place ourselves in the pathway of God's grace and blessing. We will never know the depth of God's blessing unless we take every available opportunity to meet with Him and experience his grace. If anybody did not need to be regular at worship and with the family of God it was Jesus - yet worship became 'his custom'. The commentator in the Life Application Bible writes: '[Jesus'] example makes our excuses for not attending church sound weak and self-serving'. We should commit ourselves to worship and study because we know that we cannot survive without it.

Secondly this passage gives us a glimpse of what truly Godly worship is like. Leon Morris reminds us that this passage is the 'earliest description of a synagogue service we have, so that this passage is of critical importance for the study of the synagogue'. Barclay explains: In the synagogue service there were three parts: The first was a period of worship in which prayer was offered. The second was the reading of the Scriptures. Seven people from the congregation read. As they read, the ancient Hebrew that few people understood, was translated by the teacher into Aramaic or Greek. The third element of the service was the teaching part. There was no professional ministry, nor any one person to give the address. The president would invite any distinguished person present to speak and discussion and talk would follow.

Central also to Christian worship is the word of God. It is only God's word that is timeless and infallible. Human wisdom is worthless because it is fickle and more often than not wrong. God knows what is best for us and therefore Christian ministers need to share that and only that with the people whom attend worship, applying biblical truths to our present circumstances.

Thirdly notice how the people of Nazareth responded to the truth of Christ's message.

The people of his home town were eager to hear his teaching and see some of the wonderful miracles he was reputed to have performed. So Jesus was asked to read the Scriptures and deliver the teaching that Sabbath in the synagogue. He read Isaiah 61:1-2 which the Jewish teachers interpreted as referring to the long awaited Messiah. They might well have been shocked when Jesus stated that it spoke of Him. But most of the people were impressed and amazed by what Jesus said. Verse 22 records:

All the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said. They kept on asking, "Isn't he Joseph's son?"

The way Jesus could have convinced them that he was who he claimed to be - would have been for him to have performed a few dramatic miracles. Miller suggests that the connection between this incident and Christ's temptation is clear. In the desert Jesus had theoretically been tempted to do the right things at the wrong time. Now came the practical test. Miller writes:

What could be better designed as a test than the situation here? Jesus, the obscure son of a small village carpenter, has suddenly become famous. ... Now he returns to his home village and speaks in the synagogue. ... They expect something wonderful from him, some sign that will demonstrate to them what has made him famous elsewhere. ... If Jesus was ever tempted to deny the decision made at the Baptism to be the obedient Servant of God, it was here!

If Jesus was the Messiah, the people of Nazareth would expect him to liberate all Jews from their Roman oppressors because Jewish scholars interpreted Isaiah in this passage read by Jesus, as speaking about the deliverance of Israel from captivity in Babylon.

The reference in verse 19 to '... the year the Lord has chosen' is of significance. In the Year of Jubilee all debts were cancelled, all slaves freed, and property went back to the original owners according to the law in Leviticus 25. This happened every 50 years. The main purpose was to balance out the economic system: slaves were set free and returned to their families, property that was sold reverted to the original owners and all debts were cancelled. 'The land lay fallow as man and beast rested and rejoiced in the Lord'. So we can understand why this was considered 'good news to the poor'.

Jewish scholars also pictured Isaiah as referring to how the people would be delivered from oppression in Babylon. The captives would be set free and could return to their homeland. But even when the people left Babylon and returned home, this prophecy had never been completely fulfilled. The Jewish people were still oppressed, conquered and broken. Isaiah had therefore spoken of more than the people's physical liberation. He referred also to the coming of the Messiah and the time when the sin that had caused the people to be taken captive, could be dealt with. What Jesus brought was the good news of salvation to bankrupt sinners and healing to broken-hearted and rejected people. As Wiersbe puts it '... it was a spiritual "year of Jubilee" ...'

The people of Nazareth wanted to hear about their earthly liberation from Roman oppression. They became angry when Jesus revealed the truth to them - that the Gospel did not introduce an era of a perfect earthly kingdom - but a spiritual kingdom that was for all people and not only the Jews. This really angered them. They refused to accept the fact that God's Year of Jubilee, God's salvation, was not only for the Jews - but for all who would come to Christ. Jesus explained this in verses 25-27. Once more we see that people are not always happy to hear the truth. The people should have rejoiced at the stories of Elijah and Elisha because they revealed that God loves all people and that God does not make any distinctions on the grounds of class and race. Caird writes:

... the suggestion that Gentiles could be admitted to God's kingdom produced and outburst of nationalistic fervour which would have ended in the death of Jesus had the crowd not been overawed by the sheer majesty of his commanding presence.

God loves all people. Let God love you and bless you by taking every opportunity to receive his grace by worshipping regularly, private and group bible study, public and private prayer, fellowship with other Christians and participation in the sacraments. And finally we need to be willing to accept the truth of the Scriptures and allow God's Spirit to use his word to transform us into the people He intends us to be. For this is the example set for us by Jesus our Lord as Luke explains in 4:16:

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.

John 2:1-11 (New International Version)

Jesus Changes Water to Wine
1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[a]
7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Let’s start with this observation, we are told in the eleventh verse....

"11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him."

There are legends which teach that when Jesus was a little boy living in Egypt he would make little birds out of clay and then would miraculously make the clay figure come to life. This record makes it very clear that He did not perform miracles in His childhood in Egypt; or in His adolescent and adult years in Nazareth — but that His first miracle was at Cana of Galilee.

Verses 1 and 2 tell us that Jesus is invited to a wedding. This is an amazing moment! Here is the Word, the One who is in the beginning with God, and is God. He came out of eternity. He was made flesh and for His first thirty years lived in Nazareth taking care of His widowed mother, scratching out a living as a carpenter in land filled with rocks and stones. Now he is going to walk over a hill to attend a wedding in Cana. In this moment He is going to for the FIRST TIME manifest His Glory.

First occurrences in the Scriptures are of tremendous importance. First things are important. They make big impressions. They inform what follows. IT IS SIGNIFICANT that Jesus chose to begin His ministry on this earth at a wedding. Because He will conclude it, as far as the Church is concerned, with a wedding. At the marriage supper of the Lamb the Church will be presented to Him as a bride. IT IS SIGNIFICANT that Jesus chose to begin His ministry on this earth at a wedding. Because the very context of His first sign / miracle tells us how Jesus viewed the covenant of marriage. Here is the Creator of man and woman (Gen1 / John 1). Here is the One who is the author of the lifelong, monogamous, heterosexual marriage covenant. He has become man and has stepped into human history.

Jesus deliberately chose to begin His public ministry at a feast celebrating the covenant of marriage. Jesus deliberately chose to perform the first sign that would identify Him as God Incarnate at a feast celebrating the covenant of marriage in order to bless, validate and endorse that covenant of marriage.

By the way, when invited, Jesus still comes to weddings. He wants to live in the centre of marriages. IT IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT that Jesus chose to begin His ministry on this earth at a wedding. Because in it we discover that Jesus, God Incarnate, was not a recluse or a killjoy! He accepted invitations to social events. We find later his enemies tried to use this against Him -
Luke 7:34 "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’"

God wanted to be with us! (Emmanuel - God With Us). When He became a man he did not hide from us, or retreat from us. He wanted to be with people when they laughed and were glad at a wedding, when they were sorrowful and broken at a funeral, when they were sick and needy. Jesus entered the very Real and Normal Experiences of Life, but Sanctified them by His Presence!

While Jesus wanted to be with lost humanity, many Christians want to isolate themselves from the real world. We are never to imitate this lost world, but we are to permeate it and integrate with it. Bishop J.C. Ryle points out that “A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry.” (Eccles. 10:19.) Our Lord, in the passage before us, approves both the feast and the use of wine. Of course this is a difficult and delicate subject. We all have to be on our guard. Each must know his own strength and natural temperament, and act accordingly. One Christian can go without risk where another cannot. Happy is the person who can use his or her Christian liberty without abusing it!

As you know, a wedding feast in the day of Jesus would go on for days. For a Jewish feast wine was essential. We find in the Old Testament that wine is associated with joy and the blessing of God! Because hospitality was so huge in Middle Eastern culture, to run out of food or wine at such an occasion was embarrassing. In fact, a family guilty of such a “Crime” could actually be fined (according to Jewish Law).

William Barclay says “Without wine there is no joy.” It was not that people were drunken, but in the East wine was an essential. Drunkenness was in fact a great disgrace, and they actually drank their wine in a mixture composed of two parts of wine to three parts of water. At any time the failure of provisions would have been a problem, because hospitality in the East is a sacred duty; so for the provisions to fail at a wedding would be a terrible humiliation for the bride and the bridegroom.

This is a “Jesus moment”. A moment in which we get a tremendous insight into the heart of Jesus. The first sign / miracle in the public ministry of Jesus was not done on a huge public platform. The first time that Jesus exercised His divine power it was out of sympathy, kindness, and understanding for a Galilean family. Jesus — the Lord of all life, and the King of glory — would point to His divine nature by saving a simple Galilean groom and bride from humiliation.
4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

The key question here is, why did Mary approach Jesus? She would have had to be very close to the bride or groom to have known this shortcoming before the other guests found out. The answer of Jesus tells us something about Mary‘s request. Remember, Jesus had probably been living with his widowed mother for nearly 30 years. And for those 30 years she had carried the stigma of becoming pregnant with Jesus before she was married. Mary’s request appears to be aimed at Jesus miraculously saving the day for this couple. And in so doing to prove that He really is the Son of God, which would prove that she really was a virgin when she conceived Jesus.

Interesting, after 30 years, Jesus never vindicated His mother. Yet even at this moment Jesus seems to say, “This is not the occasion. I’ll clear your name, but not here.” "My hour has not yet come". In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ “hour” is the time of his crucifixion, at which time his saving work is accomplished in his atoning death . It would not be until after the cross and resurrection that Mary could say to each of those disciples, “I told you that He was the Son of God!” Rom 1:4 “. . . declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead”
5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Mary doesn’t have a lot of words recorded in Scripture. Here in John 2:5 are the last words recorded by Mary, and they are great words. The mother of J.Sidlow Baxter wrote on the inside of the Bible she gave to him as a gift on his 16th birthday, “Do whatever He tells you”. What a wonderful life-motto for a teen-ager. What a wonderful life-motto for ALL of us! Mary’s words to the servants show that she was willing to allow her Son to do as He pleased. They show that she trusted Him to do the right thing. In fact, the words of Mary to these men give to us a concise handbook on what our obedience to Jesus should be like.

An interesting way to think about any passage in the Bible is to look for levels of meaning. Wittgenstein used to say that swimming is a useful analogy for the human mind. He said that we are naturally buoyant and therefore we tend to prefer to float at the top. It is very difficult to swim down to the bottom. We have to really fight our way down! So too with thinking deeply about things.

Well, this passage has, I think, much deeper significance than simply the miracle (or sign) the embarrassment of the young couple at the reception, the fact that Jesus was willing to attend a social occasion and questions about the way Jesus spoke to his mother. Of course we have so much to learn from these simple and superficial elements but let's go deeper.

What does the passage say about Jesus? First, Jesus honours marriage. It was the first public thing he did. Of course God made sex and marriage and, even though Jesus probably was not married, he is going to be married to his bride, the Church. At the moment we are engaged to him. That is to say, we have the first fruits of the real thing - the Church, The Holy Spirit, fellowship with one another, the gifts of the Spirit etc. Second, Jesus helps people when they are in trouble. We have all experienced this in our lives from time to time. Third, Jesus rewards obedience. Mary says, "Do whatever he tells you". And it must have been hugely risky for the servants (slaves)! Imagine being a slave who could be killed in a heartbeat and having to take tap water to the guests - not knowing whether it was going to be turned to wine or not. I'm not sure I would have done it. Fourthly, Jesus blesses abundantly. Jesus always spoke of God's blessings like buying corn in the market place where you take your own basin. A good merchant will press down and shake together until it's running over.

Mark

Epiphany 3 - Sermon on the Epistle reading

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (NRSV)

Spiritual Gifts

¹²Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.⁸To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

This passage takes me back to the time of my conversion at the height of the Charismatic Renewal in 1978. It seemed then that God was doing wonderful things in the power of the Holy Spirit. Barclay records how this sort of thing was happening at the time of the early Church and that ‘… in an age of ecstasy and of enthusiasm there can be hysterical excitement and self-delusion as well as the real thing …’

There is no doubt in my mind that much of what we experienced was the real thing – but even at the time, there was also much that caused great disquiet.

There are two important statements that help to find true experiences of the Spirit of Jesus. (i) Let Jesus be cursed: At this time, this statement was required by some of the Jewish religious leaders. In synagogue prayers, it was common practice to curse all apostates, and at this time Jesus would have been named among them. Jewish law laid down that “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree …” As Jesus had been crucified – some would have cursed him in this way. It is also likely that those who converted to Judaism would have needed to curse Jesus, or face expulsion. St Paul explained to Agrippa that in his day of persecution of Christians he ‘… often punished them in every synagogue and I forced them to blaspheme …’ (Acts 26:11) History also tells us that later on in the days of the Roman persecution of Christians, people were forced to curse Christ or die. Sadly there have been occasions in modern times when this has also been true. Let us give thanks to God that we can worship our Lord in peace and without interference.

But there is also the other statement (ii) Jesus is Lord! If the early Church had any form of creed to begin with, it would have been : “Jesus is Lord!” Barclay reminds us that the word for ‘Lord’ is kurios. This was the word that was used to express the name of Jahweh (God) in Hebrew when translated into the Greek, and was used in the Septuagint; the Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures (Tenakh).  It was also the official title of Caesar. Still today, I believe that this is not something that we can find out for ourselves; it is a truth that needs to be revealed to us. It is therefore only when the Holy Spirit enables us – that we can say these wonderful words and mean them.

The Church is the Body of Christ and every part of it – like the human body – performs its own function for the good of the whole. There are different gifts and different functions, but they all come from the same Spirit and are designed, not for the glory of the individual, but for the benefit of the whole.

Paul explains that the Spiritual gifts (charismata) come from God and therefore must be used for God’s purposes. All too often, people think that the gifts of the Minister are the most important, and so they expect the Minister to do everything! But when one thinks of it, we need the gifts of all, not just in church services, but as a community. Especially in these difficult weather times, perhaps one of the most widely prized gifts are those of the plumber. A Christian plumber, who works for the glory of God and so does a superb job and charges a fair price, is a wonderful gift to a community, especially the vulnerable. And the same is true of others, doctors, teachers, traders – you name it – all working for the common good.

But here, Paul focuses on the Spiritual gifts and this in itself is of vital significance. We do need Christians to whom God has blessed with practical and other gifts, but in order to survive, we also need the Spiritual. It is not true that one can be a good Christian and not need to go to Church on a regular basis. I was amazed at a recent dinner for ministers where the controversial work of J A T Robinson was eulogised. This is interesting because his book, Honest to God, claimed that a supernatural God is no longer important. There is a truth that we do need to be grounded in the reality of the here and now, but we also need the transcendent – the Spiritual. Robinson also claimed that traditional Christianity including worship, was not really necessary. And this was preached from pulpits around the UK. Why then are people amazed because Church attendance has declined? Ministers, Priests and even Bishops taught that coming to Church was no longer necessary. I realise that this is somewhat of an oversimplification of Robinson’s work, and in many respects I think he made a vitally important contribution to the development of Christian theology, but this is what people heard. So, while there is much in his writings that I concur with, but here I disagree. We need to be grounded in this world and not live in a world ‘above’ alone, but we need both.

We also need wisdom as well as knowledge. The Greek word for wisdom is Sophia and refers to the knowledge of things human and divine, and of their causes, or in Aristotle’s writing “… the striving after the best ends and using the best means.” This does not come only from thought, but from union with God. Knowledge (on the other hand) gnosis is a much more practical thing; and I believe we need both. The place where we discern both is in the Church and this is why we need to be a worshipping people.

But is the Church searching for both? Without wisdom, knowledge just becomes a relativist matter of opinion. We need to discern the mind of God. If the Church does not do this, I will not blame people for staying away. Our world desperately needs wisdom, for without it, so many people are without hope, because they are without God in the world.

John Wesley makes the important point that there is unity in the Body of Christ (especially if one reads further from verse 12 onwards) even though there is great diversity in those who are members of the ‘Body’, and the gifts that are exercised within it. It is not that those of us who have the privilege to be ordained to the Word and Sacrament are any better than anyone else – we are just different. Laypersons are also included and contribute to the body’s unity through the gifts and graces used in leadership as well. Wesley nurtured lay leadership in small groups called classes. Leaders visited class members to discern spiritual wellness and need, to give guidance and comfort, to teach, and to receive offerings for the poor. If the body of Christ is to be effective in our world, we need all the gifts of all the people. I’m afraid, as a Methodist, that I am saddened that very little of this powerful recipe for growth is practiced anymore. There is therefore little mystery why my beloved Church is dying. We too have become (in many places) institutions where the minister does the work, and Methodism is also often a place where meetings happen on Sundays only. But this is not true here in Loughborough! Our Churches are busy, there are countless small group meetings going on all the time, and every time I drive past the church I see something happening; little wonder why it is such a lovely place to be, even though I (through my particular ministry as a School Chaplain) am somewhat on the fringe of things. But whenever I have the privilege of taking services, the Churches are good places to be!

Wesley explained that “Spiritual gifts, though varied, all flow from one fountain, the Holy Trinity.” Paul gives examples of nine gifts, beginning with two – wisdom and knowledge; he ends with another two – tongues and their interpretation – that were the focus of trouble. Spiritual gifts are designed with the ‘common good’ in mind (verse 7) and deployed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (verse 11). ‘Tongues’ was causing a problem because they were not being used in this way. Because people thought that they were evidence of the direct influence of the Holy Spirit on the individual, they were considered to be ‘better’ than the other gifts. But often the people were no better off, because the ‘tongues’ meant nothing to them because they could not be understood. I treasure those heady days of the Charismatic renewal in the 1970s when tongues were so much part of our experience; but I also remember their abuse.

Nevertheless, we have a picture here of the Corinthian Church that was vividly alive; things happened – astonishing things happened. There was nothing dull and ordinary about this Church. The Spirit of Jesus was alive and active and many gifts were being used by all, for the benefit of the Body of Christ.

Epiphany 2: The Baptism of Jesus

Luke 3.15-17, 21-22 (NRSV)

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ 

John taught with authority and it was obvious that he was a God ordained prophet. People were attracted to his message because they knew that he was telling the truth. Verse 15 records their response. Everyone became excited and wondered, "Could John be the Messiah?"

John hastens to tell them that he is not the Messiah and gives two important reasons. Firstly, he points out that he is nothing like the Messiah. Verse 16 explains:

¹⁶John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

In sheer power, Jesus was mightier than John. In addition, John claims that he was not even worthy to untie the Messiah's sandals. We know that this task was usually reserved for the lowliest people of society. In this way therefore John makes it clear that the Messiah is far greater than he. Secondly, he points out that his baptism is with water and the baptism of the Messiah is with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The baptism of the Messiah is therefore more than just a cleansing ritual; it is also like fire which purifies precious metals. The Holy Spirit transforms people and deals decisively with the sin in their lives. In addition, the Holy Spirit empowers and strengthens people to fulfil what they are called to do. Miller explains:

Water cleanses the outside alone. Fire penetrates to the deepest recesses and purifies the inner life.

Verse 17 is John's warning. The Messiah also comes as a judge. Those who refuse to obey and turn to God and allow themselves to be used by God will be discarded like the useless outer husks of grain because they are worthless. On the other hand, those who turn to God, believe and accept the Messiah - Jesus Christ - into their lives by faith, have great worth because they begin a new and productive life working for God's glory on earth. In verse 18 Luke records how in this and 'in many different ways John preached the good news to the people'.

John told the truth and invariably, when one tells the truth somebody is going to rebel against what they hear. He rebuked Herod for his sin and told him to repent. Herod refused and had John imprisoned and finally killed.

Have we all turned back to God? Or are we only going through the motions. Are our lives worthless husks that will be destroyed by the fire of judgement or will they be purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit?

I do not think there is any need from the context to think of the fiery judgement in literal terms, as this seems to be typical ancient hyperbole. It is also an utterance of John and not Jesus, but the metaphor of destruction or purification is a lovely challenge similar to that of St Paul when writing to the Corinthians refers to our lives being like building we construct – and those of gold and silver and precious stones last when met with the testing fires.

Earlier in the Gospel we are reminded that John was baptising people as a sign of repentance. Being baptised was therefore the people's way of saying that they had turned away from their sin and had turned to God. But we all know, because the Scriptures leave no room for doubt, that Jesus was completely sinless. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we read simply yet unequivocally that 'Christ never sinned! ...' In 1 Peter 1:19 we read: 'You were rescued by the precious blood of Christ, that spotless and innocent lamb.' In Hebrews 7:26 the author states: 'Jesus is the High Priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners ...'

Jesus must therefore have been baptised for some other reason because he definitely did not need to be baptised because he was completely and utterly without sin - he was perfect in every respect because he was no mere man - he was God who had taken on the form of a man.

Jesus was baptised for the sins of others. To stress this point, Luke couples Jesus' baptism with that of the people in verse 21:

After everyone else had been baptised, Jesus himself was baptised.

This truth is linked to John's use of Isaiah's prophecy about Jesus and specifically to verse 6. Jesus' life, including his baptism was so that '... everyone will see the saving power of God'. Jesus, through his baptism, therefore identified himself with sinful people. He was baptised for our sake and not his own. It is therefore plain to see, right from his baptism, the beginning of his ministry, that Jesus was headed for the cross - that Jesus was the 'Suffering Servant' who had come to provide a solution for the sins of all people of all time. What Jesus did symbolically in this act of baptism, he did in reality on the Cross.

Verse 21 continues, 'Then as he prayed, the sky opened up ...' It was the experience of Jesus that great and wonderful things happened when he prayed. Prayer was a central feature of our Lord's life - how much more should it be a central feature of our lives. When Jesus healed people he prayed. In Luke 5:16 we read:

But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.

Before Jesus chose his Apostles, he prayed. Luke records:

About that time Jesus went off the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night there.

Before asking his disciples if they realised who he was, Jesus prayed. Luke writes:

When Jesus was alone praying, his disciples came to him, and he asked them, "What do people say about me?"

The true glory of Jesus was revealed in prayer. Luke records:

About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray. While he was praying, his face changed, and his clothes became shining white.

These are but a few examples. Suffice it to say that Jesus prayed and when he prayed, God did fantastic things. When Christians pray today, God still does fantastic things. When Jesus was baptised and prayed, the heavens opened up.

Verse 22 continues:

... the Holy Spirit came down upon him in the form of a dove.

We know that Jesus had the Holy Spirit before his baptism because he was born of the Spirit. Remember Luke 1:35 where the angel said to Mary:

"The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God's power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God."

We know that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are inseparable - a mystery that we know is true even though we will never fully comprehend it. On the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus, Luke writing in Acts indicates their closeness by referring to the 'Spirit of Jesus'. Paul also explains:

The Lord and the Spirit are one and the same, and the Lord's Spirit sets us free.

The Spirit coming upon Jesus in this special way at his baptism can possibly be God's way of showing us, mere mortals with finite understanding, that the Son was being empowered to go forth and fulfil his ministry as the 'Suffering Servant' in obedience to the Father's will. He must go forth from this point, being strengthened by God's Spirit, to bear the sins of many upon himself, so that those who believe in him might be saved.

Verse 22 continues:

A voice from heaven said, "You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you."

Jesus, unlike the rest of humankind, was acceptable to God. Jesus was unique because he was the only one that the Father could say that he was 'pleased with'. These words are taken from Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42. Psalm 2 proclaims the accession of the anointed King who is to rule the nations and Isaiah 42 is the first in a series of prophecies about the servant of the Lord who was chosen to carry true religion to the gentiles. At this point, if not before, Jesus must have realised the significance of what the Father was calling him to do. Throughout his childhood, Jesus would have progressively come to realise who he was and what his mission was. His baptism marked the end of a long period of preparation and development and of study and meditation upon the Scriptures. And Jesus could achieve the salvation of the world, because he was the only person in all history, of whom the Father could say 'I am pleased with you.'