Rev elations

Jesus turns water into wine, the wedding at Cana John 2:1-11 Like the feeding of the five thousand, this sign shows us that God’s action in the world is one that is about generosity, grace, abundance: there will always be enough of what God is offering. God is always thinking about feeding us, and in this instance not only feeding, but giving us great wine to drink! Perhaps this is the most Jewish of signs, one quite difficult for us Christians in 2013 to understand. What do we know of Jewish marriage feasts and culture? What can we understand from this Gospel reading? There are such odd things about this reading, Mary’s appearance, for instance, unlike the image that we have become so familiar with over Christmas and over the years – the young women – obedient and accepting. Here, to me she seems much older, familiar with her son – he’s a grown-up after all. Used to referring to him for help – ‘they have no wine’; expecting that he has the answers/solutions: ‘do whatever he

T he Baptism of Christ, Epiphany 13th Jan 2013 The wise men offered gifts of great value to the Christ child and they travelled from afar to make that offering. On the second Sunday of Epiphany, we celebrate Jesus' Baptism and th e gift of the Holy Spirit, which is given to all believers at baptism.    Through the gifts of the Spirit we are enabled to live as Christian and therefore the gifts of the Holy Spirit are really important for our common lives as Christians. They are given by grace and not for our own credit, but to the glory of Christ and for the building up of the whole Christian community. Unlike talents that are so celebrated today to the glory of celebrity, and the individual - gifts are given so that all may take their part in the kingdom of God . It is our duty then as Christians to stir up the gifts within us that we have been given and in turn offer them for the health of the whole community of Christ of which we are a part. As Christians each one of us

‘And the word became flesh and dwelt among us’ …… If anyone has seen a child come into the world, they will know something of the magic of seeing the moment when what was not becomes what is. The moment when new life takes on flesh in the external world and is made known to its parents, is a revelation. This new creature, suddenly alive, embodied is a whole new reality. What was only a heart beat, a rounded belly, black and white sketches on a scan becomes a real creature with a face you can touch: it is the magic and mystery of life itself. The moment of Jesus’ birth was just the same, except what was coming into being at that moment, was not only another human life, but it was a divine-human life. Christmas is a celebration of God’s birth – His birth into our world, a world where things come into being – take on shape and form and live – a world different from the divine world. The two worlds mixed – and Jesus was born. Some cynical voices, some agnostic voices, some at