The Second Sunday of Epiphany
18th January 2025
Greetings.
Tomorrow we hear the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2.1-11). It's a wonderful Epiphany story being a disclosure of Jesus' identity and purpose but it is too easy to be distracted by speculation as to the quantity of water turned into wine. All the story actually says is that the water drawn from the jars had become wine. It may have been in the act of drawing the water that the transformation occurred. This is somewhat reminiscent of Reformation arguments as to the nature of Christ's presence in the Eucharist. Is the bread and the wine substantially and permanently changed or is the grace of Christ's body and blood received in the act of faithfully taking, breaking and sharing the bread and wine? That much blood was spilled over such matters was an appalling travesty of the Christian faith. And it begs the question Why can we not be content to live humbly and faithfully before God and with one another in the face of a great mystery? We may think much progress has been made since those dark days of religious turmoil but, that Christians are no longer warring over such matters, is more an indication that worldly power has attached itself to other things. And of course Christians are as disunited as ever, though now it is not so much a matter of denominational strife over doctrine so much as dispute within Communions over social and ethical issues. It is a wearisome thing and as we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity I am heartened that it occurs within the season of Epiphany. For at this time we celebrate the unity of Heaven and earth, of God and humanity, revealed most mysteriously in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This is Ultimate Mystery, not one that the mind can resolve but one through which humble hearts are nourished by grace. May that grace be the source of all our joy and peace.
Every blessing,
Charles Booth
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