The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
Last week, we began wearing our "Epiphany glasses." We looked at the meaning of the word Epiphany. You will remember that the word epiphany is Greek and means showing forth. We noted that the Epiphany season is usually thought of as being the time when Jesus showed forth to the people of his time, the fact that he is and was God the Son. He did this through many miracles, using powers that only God could use, and this was proof that Jesus is God. And then we began to wear our "Epiphany glasses" and look for epiphanies, God's showing forth of himself, in the Old Testament and then in our own everyday lives. This week we will continue with this idea as we look at the Bible readings for today.
The first reading today is from Isaiah, and God proclaims through the prophet Isaiah that he, God, intends to show forth his power by making Jerusalem, or the nation of Israel, of which Jerusalem was the capital, victorious. This would be a really impressive demonstration of God's power, wouldn't it? He intended to make this tiny nation, which is about the size of Rhode Island, victorious over huge nations with immense military resources, such as Babylon, Assyria and Egypt! This miracle will not only demonstrate God's power, but it would also demonstrate God's great love for his people, the nation of Israel which he choose to be his own special people, whom he would use to show the world the infinite power of God! And this was no pipe dream. Stop and think: Is Babylon still surviving? Is it still powerful? What about Assyria? We know that Egypt is still a nation, but is it a world-class leader nation now? And aren't the headlines still pretty full of stories about Israel, that tiny nation that all the world leaders loved (and still love) to look down on and criticize? It certainly seems that with the re-establishment of Israel as a nation, God's power was demonstrated, wouldn't you think? It doesn't matter whether you support Israel's intentions and goals or not; the sheer fact of its existence today is an epiphany of the power of God.
Today's reading from Paul's letter to the church in Corinth gives us a discussion of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, who is also God. God generously distributes his power and his gifts among his people, and Paul is talking about this fact. But, of course, when we use the gifts and powers God has given us, we are actually providing epiphanies for the world, so that other people can see and understand something of God's power. That is why we are told that the gifts of the Spirit are not for our own selfish uses, but for the building-up of the Church. We are given gifts and talents so that people can become aware that God is working through us, and when that is known, the church gains credibility through the things we do as we use God's gifts. It may seem to us that the things we do every day are simply "normal" and "ordinary" parts of life. But in actual fact, when we take time to listen to someone's troubles and give them a hug or a pat on the back, or a check or an introduction to an agency that can help, we are using the gift of encouragement...the same gift that God gave Isaiah to give to the Jewish people long ago, in the first lesson we read today. When we spend a few hours helping in a soup kitchen we are showing forth God's love for people and his care and protection for those who cannot care for themselves, just as God showed that for the Jewish folks who escaped from Egypt with Moses. When we promise to pray for someone, we are calling on God's great power to help that person through a difficult time or a crisis. You and I are ministers of God's epiphanies, just as Isaiah and Paul and the others we read about in the Bible are....just as the saints of God are. (That's one reason Paul often addresses all Christians as "saints." I would like to add a small comment here.) I once visited a church where, painted over the altar, I saw this pledge: Requests for our prayers are taken very seriously here! That would be a good motto for all of us, I think.
And now we come to the wedding at Cana, the Gospel reading for today. Many people use this reading in arguments about whether or not Christians should drink. That is NOT the point! The real, important points of this reading are quite simple:
- Jesus, God the Son, cares with all his heart about such a small thing as a bridegroom being
embarrassed by running out of wine for his wedding. He cares just as much about the small, and big, troubles in our own lives.
- All Mary had to do was ask Jesus. And, of course, all we have to do is ask Jesus when we need his help.
- Jesus showed forth the fact that he is God the Son by changing the molecular structure of water into the molecular structure of fine wine. God, after all, has the power to do anything. As Scripture tells us over and over again,
Nothing is impossible for God.
- Another way this miracle demonstrates that Jesus is God the Son is that it fulfills the Old Testament prophecies about the Day of the Lord. Several of the prophets said that when the Day of the Lord came, God would provide a great banquet for his people, with plenty of fine wine. In the act of changing the water into wine, Jesus showed that HIS day, the Day of the Lord, had come, and that he is and was truly the Lord.
So: our Epiphany homework has expanded! Last week's assignment for our Epiphany homework was to look for God's epiphanies in our own daily lives...a smile, a letter or phone call from a friend, a flower or a sunrise, or an unexpected kind act from someone. Of course we need to keep on doing that...it's part of the Christian's attitude towards life, after all, to look for God's work around us, and say "Thank you, Lord!" when we find some. But now, we have found out a few more things, and one of them is that we need to take very seriously the request "Please pray for me." Most of us will say, "Sure, I will" but now it seems that we must be very careful to actually pray for that person who asks, and pray also for the needs of others. It doesn't matter how impossible our prayer sounds to us; nothing is impossible to God. But it does matter, and it matters very much, that we pray as hard for others as we do for our own needs, and that we have complete confidence that God hears and will answer our prayers.
Amen.
