Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

When the time came for their purification 

according to the law of Moses, 

mary and Joseph brought him up to Jerusalem 

to present him to the Lord 

(as it is written in the law of the Lord, 

"Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), 

and they offered a sacrifice 

according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, 

"a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; 

this man was righteous and devout, 

looking forward to the consolation of Israel, 

and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit 

that he would not see death 

before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 

Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; 

and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, 

to do for him what was customary under the law, 

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, 

according to your word; 

for my eyes have seen your salvation, 

which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 

a light for revelation to the Gentiles 

and for glory to your people Israel." 

And the child's father and mother 

were amazed at what was being said about him. 

Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, 

"This child is destined 

for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, 

and to be a sign that will be opposed 

so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—

and a sword will pierce your own soul too." 

There was also a prophet, Anna 

the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. 

She was of a great age, 

having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 

then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. 

She never left the temple 

but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 

At that moment she came, and began to praise God 

and to speak about the child 

to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

When they had finished everything 

required by the law of the Lord, 

they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; 

and the favor of God was upon him. 

 Despite the church being closed for formal services, the childen in the Sunday School are still very active with tasks to do at home.

This week, the reading was about the miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. 

The foot prints are to remind us that we should try to walk in the footprints of Jesus.

 Collect

Almight God,

whose Son revealed in signs and miracles

the wonder of your saving presence:

renew your people with your heavenly grace,

and in all our weakness

sustain us by your mighty power;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.

Amen

A reading form the book of Revelation.

I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, 

like the sound of many waters 

and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, 

crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, 

for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 

and his bride has made herself ready; 

to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure"— 

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 

And the angel said to me, "Write this: 

Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." 

And he said to me, "These are true words of God." 

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, 

and the mother of Jesus was there. 

Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 

When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, 

"They have no wine." 

And Jesus said to her, 

"Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? 

My hour has not yet come." 

His mother said to the servants, 

"Do whatever he tells you." 

Now standing there were six stone water jars 

for the Jewish rites of purification, 

each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 

Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." 

And they filled them up to the brim. 

He said to them, "Now draw some out, 

and take it to the chief steward." 

So they took it. 

When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, 

and did not know where it came from 

(though the servants who had drawn the water knew), 

the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, 

"Everyone serves the good wine first, 

and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk.

 But you have kept the good wine until now." 

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, 

and revealed his glory; 

and his disciples believed in him. 

 ‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – SUNDAY, 17 JANUARY, SECOND SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY

Greek Orthodox Icon: The Calling of Philip and Nathanael

Dear Friends

As mentioned in last Sunday’s ‘thought for the week’, we continue to explore, during Epiphany, narratives from the Gospels which encourage us to reflect upon the ‘epiphany’ (unveiling, or manifestation) of the glory of God in his Son, Jesus Christ.  The Feast of Epiphany itself focuses upon the visit of the Magi to the infant Christ, and the presentation of the three symbolic gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, as recounted by Matthew.  Then, last week, the story of the baptism of Christ, which is to be found in all three synoptic Gospels, to a greater or lesser extent, depicts Jesus coming up out of the water after his baptism in the river Jordan, experiencing the Holy Spirit descend upon him, and receiving confirmation, through the ‘voice from heaven’ of his unique role as Son – it is one of the key instances in the New Testament in which the Trinity begins to be revealed (although the word ‘Trinity’ as such is not to be found within any of these documents).

This Sunday, the focus, in the narrative of the calling of Philip and Nathanael (John 1:43-51), is upon the way in which Jesus, newly anointed for his messianic role by the Spirit, begins to gather around him a group of disciples.  As so often in the Scriptures, it is a story which reflects the fact that God’s choice can be unexpected and frequently rests upon those who seem least ‘worthy’.  As one commentator has suggested, if you put yourself in Nathanael’s shoes, and your friend, Philip, comes to you with the outrageous suggestion that the One about whom Moses and the prophets have written is a denizen of Nazareth – a small village in the backwaters of Galilee, truly the back end of nowhere – it is perhaps not surprising that Nathanael’s reaction is at first incredulous, and even cynical: ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’.  It is not at all what he was expecting – Nazareth is ‘off the religious map’ and this is not what is supposed to happen when the Messiah comes!  Nevertheless, he responds to the invitation to ‘come and see’, and Jesus praises him for his integrity: ‘There, truly, is an Israelite in whom there is no guile’.  As a result, Nathanael finds himself the recipient of a promise that he will see God’s glory revealed in a way that will demand his lifetime commitment – God, through his Son, has made even Nazareth (and Nathanael) new.

The season of Epiphany is a time in which we, too, are especially invited – although at times we may feel as sceptical or incredulous as Nathanael – to offer our lives once more to be transformed and renewed, so that God’s glory may be revealed, even in us.

Fr Stephen

Almighty God,

in Christ you make all things new:

transform the povertyof our nature

one God, now and forever.

Amen.

A readinf from the first book of Samuel.

The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. 

The word of the Lord was rare in those days; 

visions were not widespread. 

At that time Eli, 

whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, 

was lying down in his room; 

the lamp of God had not yet gone out, 

and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, 

where the ark of God was. 

Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" 

and he said, "Here I am!" 

and ran to Eli, and said, 

"Here I am, for you called me." 

But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." 

So he went and lay down. 

The Lord called again, "Samuel!" 

Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, 

"Here I am, for you called me." 

But he said, 

"I did not call, my son; lie down again." 

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, 

and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. 

And he got up and went to Eli, and said, 

"Here I am, for you called me." 

Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, 

"Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 

"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' " 

So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 

Now the Lord came and stood there, 

calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" 

And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. 

He found Philip and said to him, 

"Follow me." 

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 

"We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, 

Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." 

Nathanael said to him, 

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" 

Philip said to him, "Come and see." 

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, 

he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" 

Nathanael asked him, 

"Where did you get to know me?" 

Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." 

Nathanael replied, 

"Rabbi, you are the Son of God! 

You are the King of Israel!" 

Jesus answered, 

"Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? 

You will see greater things than these." 

And he said to him, "Very truly, 

I tell you, you will see heaven opened 

and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Eternal Father,

who at the baptism of Jesus

revealed him to be your son,

annointing him with the Holy Spirit:

grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,

that we may be faithful to our calling

 

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

While Apollos was in Corinth, 

Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, 

where he found some disciples. 

He said to them,

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" 

They replied, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." 

Then he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" 

They answered, "Into John's baptism." 

Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, 

telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, 

that is, in Jesus." 

On hearing this, 

they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 

When Paul had laid his hands on them, 

the Holy Spirit came upon them, 

and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— 

altogether there were about twelve of them. 

Hear the gospel o our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, 

proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

And people from the whole Judean countryside 

and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, 

and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, 

confessing their sins. 

Now John was clothed with camel's hair, 

with a leather belt around his waist, 

and he ate locusts and wild honey. 

He proclaimed, 

"The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; 

I am not worthy to stoop down 

and untie the thong of his sandals. 

I have baptized you with water; 

but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." 

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee 

and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 

 And just as he was coming up out of the water, 

he saw the heavens torn apart 

and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 

And a voice came from heaven, 

"You are my Son, the Beloved; 

with you I am well pleased." 

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.

In the time of King Herod, 

after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, 

wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, 

"Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? 

For we observed his star at its rising, 

and have come to pay him homage." 

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, 

and all Jerusalem with him; 

and calling together 

all the chief priests and scribes of the people, 

he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 

They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; 

for so it has been written by the prophet: 

"And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; 

for from you shall come a ruler 

who is to shepherd my people Israel.' " 

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men 

and learned from them the exact time 

when the star had appeared. 

Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, 

"Go and search diligently for the child; 

and when you have found him, 

bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 

When they had heard the king, they set out; 

and there, ahead of them, 

went the star that they had seen at its rising, 

until it stopped over the place where the child was. 

When they saw that the star had stopped, 

they were overwhelmed with joy. 

On entering the house, 

they saw the child with Mary his mother; 

and they knelt down and paid him homage. 

Then, opening their treasure chests, 

they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, 

they left for their own country by another road.