Sermon, Second Sunday after the Epiphany: “Who are you, Jesus Christ?”

“Who are you, Jesus Christ, Word of God?” The season of Epiphany in the Gospel of John is quite different to that in Matthew, Mark and Luke. No annunciation, no birth narratives, we do not observe the worship of the Magi nor the presentation of the young child in the temple. Instead, we have a series of extraordinary encounters that reveal the identity and mission of Jesus as he begins his ministry. First there is a meeting with John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah. This great prophet defers to Jesus – “I am not worthy to untie his sandals”. He highlights the supreme, high-priestly mission of Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And he draws attention to the harmony of heaven and earth that is uniquely personified in Jesus: “I saw the Spirit come from Heaven and abide on him. I testify that this is the Son of God.” 

The next day Jesus calls the first disciples – “Where are you abiding?” they ask. He replies, “Come and See” (which inspired the name of the Diocesan lent study course: https://oxford.anglican.org/come-and-see). On the third day (which is of course a significant phrase in its association with the glory of the Resurrection), the disciples and Jesus arrive at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, where he miraculously reveals his glory. This is the pattern throughout John’s Gospel. There is no holding back, John lays it all on the table. His whole purpose is twofold: to make plain the revelation of Jesus and to urge readers/listeners to receive his call. The identity and invitation of Jesus are first proclaimed in the prologue, the glory of the ‘eternal Word made human flesh, full of grace and truth’. He is the one ‘who gives us the right to become children of God’. All that follows is an epiphany, a series of encounters, events and discourses that further reveal this good news. And John concludes his Gospel in 20.31: ‘Jesus did many other miracles which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’

Lecturing in Berlin in Jan 1933, as Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was aware of the urgency of this message. At the heart of Christian theology, he said, is the question: “Who are you, Jesus Christ, Word of God?” Bonhoeffer knew the profoundly personal and political implications of this in the context of a nation whose soul was in danger of being tied to the national flag. Two days after Hitler’s appointment, Bonhoeffer courageously delivered a radio broadcast arguing against the Fuhrer Principle and the abnegation of moral responsibility to the religious rhetoric and will of a seemingly all-powerful leader. The broadcast was cut off mid-sentence. “Who are you, Jesus Christ?”, is a question that affects all of life: our understanding of what it is to be human, to live in society, what we believe about evil and the possibility of transformative hope. 

The miracle at Cana in Galilee was a sign of this; it also brought instant transformation – the finest wine, perhaps comparable to that produced today in the Beqaa Valley just a little further north. Like all the encounters in John’s Gospel (and the best wine), it’s a multi-layered story, with immediate interest yet lingering depth. First notice the presence of Jesus at a wedding. It was clearly a full-on party and he joined in! All the stories of Jesus’ ministry portray a man of deep emotion: tearful, angry, joyful, a man who offered life-giving friendship across social barriers. I’m particularly challenged by his gift of offering a supreme level of both empathy and sympathy, an inspiration for priesthood today. Alongside this profound humanity, there is more than a hint of divine consecration in the command to fill the water jars, in the offering and the distribution. David Ford, in his recent commentary on John, emphasises the divine nature of the simple phrase, ‘water that had become wine’ – the word ‘become’ is used repeatedly in the Prologue: ‘all things came into being through him’ – ‘the word became flesh’ – he gave ‘power to become children of God’. Humanity and divinity embodied in Jesus. The divine presence amongst us, the presence of the one who both creates and transforms. ‘Thus he revealed his glory’.

No wonder ‘the disciples put their faith in him’. Are you able to echo this statement? In his book, ‘The God of Surprises’, in which he outlines the Ignatian practices of scriptural meditation, the Gerard Hughes describes a very religious young man who was learning about prayer. Asked to picture Jesus in this story the man could only envisage Jesus sat on a hard-backed throne frowning on the celebration. Whether through too much religion or too little, whatever you have heard or absorbed about Jesus, are you able to see him for who he is, to hear his invitation to put your trust in him? Faith may come through an Epiphany moment, a blinding flash of light. Or it might be the gradual dawning of a new day. Whatever our route, John encourages us to take seriously this spiritual enquiry – both for ourselves and in service of our communities. 

This is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. I encourage you to pray for the integrity of the church, that we may all allow the practice of our faith to stem from this central question and be willing to offer one’s whole life in response to the redeeming love of Jesus - the ‘costly grace’ exemplified by Bonhoeffer. Our invitation is to receive the overflowing generosity that stems from God’s heart; our calling is to ‘abide in him’ ourselves and to reveal the presence of Jesus through companionship and compassion, sharing the ‘plenteousness of God’s house’ (Ps 36); this is what Christians do day in day out in the community, offering gifts of the Spirit for the common good. But for now, as we approach the sacrament of the Eucharist, the effective sign of our communion with God and each other in Christ, let us ponder once more the glory revealed at Cana...