The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
The reading from Isaiah, like the collect for today, emphasizes the theme of
light. Most of the Sundays after Epiphany give us readings or prayers that touch
on the theme of light, drawing on the light of the Epiphany Star. We are being
encouraged to think about the different ways the idea of light affects us. The
light of the star guided the wise men to Jesus; Jesus, who had no sin, accepted
baptism so that he could bring the light of God's understanding and faith to the
people of Israel. Now, Isaiah is telling us that God made him to be a light or
the world, to draw the entire world closer to God, and this is also part of our
vocation or calling as followers of Jesus, who is the Light of the World. That
is, of course, why we have candles on the altar at Communion, reminding us that
the Jesus who comes to us in the bread and wine does so to enlighten our souls
and draw us closer to God and to himself.
Today's Psalm gives us some understanding about the nature and character of
God. You could almost say that the Psalm today sheds light on God for us. God
is, the Psalm says, loving and faithful to his promises. He is righteous and
just. He saves both people and animals, in fact, he offers salvation to all
living creatures, according to their kind and their need. He is generous. He
provides us with all that we need. He is the source of life, and in his light we
see light....that is, his understanding and knowledge provide understanding and
knowledge for us. This survey of what and who God is reminds us that we are made
in God's own image, and it is part of our responsibility as his creatures and
his children to show forth who and what God is, in our own lives. We, too, have
the responsibility of bearing God-light to others, in fact to the whole world.
Paul, in his letter to the church folks in Corinth, tells them how they are
to go about living as Christians in a very un-Christian culture. We, who have
exactly the same problem, would do well to pay attention to his advice and make
it part of our own lives. The details of the problems the Corinthians had are
not the same as the details of our own problems, but the advice Paul gives
applies to us just as much as it applied to them. We may not have problems with
food offered to idols, and the cultural traditions connected with how people
were to dress, but we do have problems living as Christians, which means living
for God and for others, in a society that is seemingly dedicated to
self-centered, hedonistic living which focuses on showing off our money, beauty,
bodies, and "smarts," and getting all the pleasure possible out of life...no
matter whom we hurt in the process. Living in such a way as to carry God's light
to others isn't the way most people live nowadays. We really need today's
reminders about centering our lives on God and carrying his light into the
world, don't we?
The well-loved story of Jesus' ministry at the wedding in Cana has been used
to preach everything from generosity to obeying one's parents to Jesus' approval
of marriage. But, strangely, most people do not recognize how John emphasizes
the themes of time and light, both of which show up in this story. There is also
a common theme in this story with Paul's letter to the Corinthians. The fact
that John emphasizes that the use of stone water jars or jugs was primarily for
the Jewish rites of purification, such as hand-washing before each course of the
wedding banquet, is important. For the Jews, especially in this time of
occupation of Israel by the Roman army, it was important to hold themselves
apart from the practices and cultures of other countries. They made a lot of
emphasis on being ritually pure, which was part of what John is talking about.
In this way they continuously reminded themselves and others of their obligation
to try to be as perfect as they could in their observance and copying of God's
holiness, and their obligation not to be like the non-believing other nations.
We find here echoes of the theme of carrying God's light to others, and of
holiness as a reminder of that light.
Then there is the emphasis on time. John does not follow the teachings of the
other Gospels which make a big thing of the final judgment. Instead, John
strives to show us that WE, rather than God or Jesus, are judging ourselves
every minute of our lives, by the decisions we make here and now. John is
telling us that we cannot live as we like most of our lives, and then make a
grand repentance as death draws near. We must make right and holy decisions and
judgments every minute of every day. John also likes to play with our sense of
time, telling us how many days each event in his Gospel happens before or after
another event...and very often it's "three days," as if he were preparing us for
Jesus' death and resurrection.
John also reminds us that Jesus' hour had not yet come. Jesus tells his
mother so, very clearly. Of course, Jesus' "hour" was the time when he would die
on the cross, and be resurrected again. And this is a reminder for us: we do not
know when our "hour" of death will come, so it is important that we treat every
minute, every hour, as if it were the last we would have. Our whole life, our
every decision, our every choice, is important...none of this "Well, just this
once...." stuff. The reaction of the steward of the feast underlines this idea.
He is surprised that the best wine is being served last, and of course that is
the wine that Jesus made from plain old water. Usually, the best wine was served
first, just as newly converted people "serve up" their best efforts to live as
Christians, in the first days and weeks after they are baptized. Then, inferior
wine would be served later, after the people were somewhat drunk on the good
wine....just as, when we have been Christians for awhile, we tend to become more
lax in our observance of God's laws, and give ourselves more exemptions from
Christian behavior. This, John is telling us subtly, is not acceptable. He feels
we need to be observant all our lives, in every decision and every choice.
You may remember that when John the Baptist was born, his father, Zechariah,
predicted that he would be a light unto the nations, and the glory of his people
Israel. That was true. And John prepared the way for Jesus. Zechariah's
prediction was even more true of Jesus. Now, you and I are called to walk in
their path, and continue their work of carrying the light of God to the people
of the nations. We do this, first, by trying to live a life of holiness and
light...not only for ourselves but as an example and a help to all others. This
is the great message of Epiphany, and it is up to each of us to figure out the
way we will each carry the God-light to the rest of the world. How will YOU be a
light to the nations, in your own turn? Amen.
