Sermon: Epiphany II (B)
Sunday 14th January 2024 – St Mary Magdalene, Outwood
Well, we are still in the season known as Epiphany – that time of wisdom and wonder….
At home, we still have our Nativity display out, with the little people going about their business…
The Magi heading off to another part of the living room by a different route….
The shepherds gathering with the, now redundant, angels for a chat, accompanied by donkeys of various sizes…
And of course the human occupants of the stable….
Actually I’m not sure why they are still there… scripture aside, one imagines that the stable was a temporary arrangement.
Anyway, they will all remain until Candlemas on February 2nd, after which they will be packed away until next time, with all the other seasonal reminders of The Incarnation.
What is it that ‘makes’ Epiphany for us, I wonder?
The Gospel readings have all moved on from the Nativity story…
Yet when we mark our church calendar with the ‘Epiphany Season’, the actual word “Epiphany” might still evoke images of stars, gifts and camels etc.
Yet surely, these few weeks at the start of the calendar year, are not the only time in which we consider the idea of things revealed – our discoveries about God, our journeys towards the Christ….
Aren’t such things for every day, throughout the year?
Not only has the narrative moved on, but John’s Gospel now introduces some key themes, as we encounter the adult Jesus gathering His disciples; and as we begin to discover who Jesus is.
We are still in Chapter 1.
It begins with the Prologue – so familiar to us -which describes the Incarnation….”In the beginning was The Word….”
This is followed by the testimony of John the Baptist to the coming Messiah… which we heard during Advent.
And then…. “The next day….”
And John the Baptiser encounters Jesus and testifies to His divinity.
And then…. “The next day….”
The disciples begin to recognise and follow Jesus.
And then…. “The next day….”
Seriously, it’s what it says….! Go and read it again, if you don’t believe me!
“The next day….”
And here we are with Nathaniel and Philip….
What follows is an exchange that reveals so much to us about Jesus.
A light-hearted opening scene where Nathaniel is told by his friend Philip about how the Messiah is here and that he comes from Nazareth! Yes, the village just up the road ….! Nathaniel is not impressed…!
Yet Philip has already met Jesus – has already moved beyond doubts and suspicions – the cynicisms and prejudices that get rooted over time between neighbouring communities.
“Come and see” (46), he says….
What did Jesus then ”see” in Nathaniel?
Truly an Israelite…. under the fig tree….
Does Jesus see someone in whom there is no falsehood, whose words are truth?
Or is He chiding Nathaniel as someone who has fixed views on God.
The fig tree is traditionally considered a place where Rabbis study and teach the Torah.
As a rabbinical teacher himself, did Jesus intend his response to reflect this, a tone of respect, perhaps?
Regardless, Nathaniel’s excitement at this connection with Jesus is apparent!
He calls Jesus “Rabbi”, “Son of God” and “King of Israel”, all in the same verse!
These acclamations – used by others before and after this moment – are downplayed by Jesus in another moment of lightness and revelation.
He encourages Nathaniel to look beyond this moment…. To keep looking for what is to come…
Greater things will happen….
Angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man!
John is connecting with the passage in Genesis, with Jacobs dream, in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it (28:12). Jacob names this holy place Bethel – the House of God.
Yet here, God dwells in Jesus, and the Son of Man will be lifted up on the cross.
There is an encouragement throughout this first chapter of John’s Gospel to “Come and you will see”.
Open your eyes and be ready….
Don’t place human limitations on God, in whom all things are possible….!
To me, it’s a bit like the the star saying: ‘saddle up those camels, you have a long way to go…’!
We bring our own misconceptions, prejudices and presumptions about God and the Kingdom.
Often we struggle to “see differently” because we cannot make the adjustments necessary.
Whether it’s our self-awareness that needs a reboot….
Or the attitudes we have in our communities: in church or elsewhere.
Maybe our world-view has become a bit clouded.
There will always be something that holds us back from seeing the true Christ and all that God is revealing.
How do we get past that?
How can we go around or remove those obstacles to seeing God and different ways…
To walk with Jesus on a different path….
To encounter the Holy Spirit with a refreshed soul….?
I don’t know about you but I don’t find it easy to make life choices.
The ones that affect, or are influenced by other people, or money or health etc.
The sort of decisions that need a fair bit of thought and time.
I will pray about such things, and hope to be guided by the Spirit.
Yet I know that it will be all of the other influences – those of the world around me – that will shout the loudest and push to the forefront of my consciousness….
And the world has influences we don’t always want.
One would have to live on the moon – obviously a lifestyle with its own distracting challenges – to not be aware of our world on fire.
I believe that we are all called to make journeys of trust….
To have our own existence illuminated by a different kind of light.
To be able to see differently, we need to be ready for anything.
That’s easier said than done, without help.
Epiphany is the season of revelation and response.
This is a time for us to pray that we might discover the truth of Jesus.
Epiphany is a time for us to respond to all that it means to be a follower of the Christ, who has already seen all that we are, and yet still calls us to be his friends.
Perhaps this year will be different, for you and for me.
I pray that the Spirit will rest with us anew.
That God will find you and bring you closer.
Our road to Discipleship begins in this way.
We are called to follow…. To Come and to See….
And we must…!
Maybe it will be something you do, or engage with, or read or watch or listen to… perhaps you might allow more silence into your busy life; or maybe you will spend time with strangers and look for the face of God amongst them.
So, this week, let’s be intentional about listening to God’s call.
Let us be present in the Epiphany that God invites us into every day.
May we hope to still be surprised and amazed at what God shows to us, shares with us.
We will need to be ready to come and see.
We could be like Nathaniel, changing our perceptions of where a person comes from … and proclaiming the Messiah…. Because we can!
We could also be like Philip… excited to tell our friends that we have found someone so amazing that our lives are transformed! That they too should come and see!
Now that’s a revelation…. That’s mission…. That’s an Epiphany!
Amen.
Gospel: John 1.43-end
Image: SB