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Epiphany III 2025

ONE of the wonderful things about living in this part of the country is that we can celebrate the new year twice. Once on January 1st and then again on January 13th for Hen Galan. It is good to celebrate new starts, new beginnings, and important milestones. Two of today’s readings focus on this theme. The reading from Ezra describes a religious assembly which takes place on the first day of the seventh month. In the Hebrew Calendar this corresponds to early September. It is this time when Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah, or the New Year. 

Two weeks ago we celebrated the Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan, and last week we celebrated His first miracle — changing water into wine at a wedding at Cana. Jesus begins His public ministry in Galilee. He starts on home turf, where He has grown up, among the people and places that He knows best. Our Lord is full of the Holy Spirit, and there is a great deal of excitement regarding His teaching. He goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath, where He is invited to read a passage from Scripture and to comment upon it, just as Ezra did in the first reading this morning. Jesus is given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and He recites:

“Y mae Ysbryd yr Arglwydd arnaf, oherwydd iddo f’eneinio i bregethu’r newydd da i dlodion. Y mae wedi f’anfon i gyhoeddi rhyddhad i garcharorion, ac adferiad golwg i ddeillion, i beri i’r gorthrymedig gerdded yn rhydd, i gyhoeddi blwyddyn ffafr yr Arglwydd.”

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Lk 4:18-19)

This prophecy is taken from the 61st Chapter of the prophet Isaiah. It expresses the people of Israel’s hope for a Messianic future: a hope of healing, freedom, and restoration. This is similar to the idea of the Jubilee, when every fifty years all debts were cancelled, all slaves were freed, and all land was returned to its original owners. However, jubilees were proclaimed by the King of Israel, so here Jesus is announcing the fact that He is a Prophet, a Priest and also a King. As declarations of intent go, this is certainly a strong one! 

In today’s Gospel, we hear the announcement of the Kingdom of God, a new way of living, which can transform us, and our world, for the better. The Kingdom of God is to be a place where all are cared for, and where our needs are met. The good news of the Gospel is for those who know their need of God, those who are aware of their spiritual poverty. That means each and every one of us. Jesus will later go on to say, in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God’ (Lk 6:20). We all need God’s love in our hearts, and our lives, so that we can be transformed. We cannot transform ourselves, this is something that only God can do. But only if we let Him, and co-operate with Him. 

Christ offers the world both freedom and vision. The opportunity to see what others cannot, and the experience of true freedom. God gives us life in all its fulness, so that we can be transformed by this love, into people who are loving, and who will the good of others. By living lives characterised by love and sacrifice we can be truly alive. After having read from Isaiah, Our Lord says:

“Heddiw yn eich clyw chwi y mae’r Ysgrythur hon wedi ei chyflawni.”

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:21)

This is a huge claim to make. If the Scripture has been fulfilled then this means that Jesus is the Messiah, plain and simple. What the prophets point to in the future has now become a reality in the person of Jesus Christ. The Word made flesh is the fulfilment of the Word of God: Jesus fulfils the Scriptures. This is what we believe as Christians, and it is the reason why we read the Old Testament. The New is prefigured in the Old. Just as the New Year has its roots in the Old Year The Scriptures point to Christ, and they find their fulfilment and true meaning in Him. What Israel has hoped and longed for has arrived in the figure of Jesus. This means that the Kingdom of God is not something abstract, but rather someone concrete. It is a person, Jesus of Nazareth. The reconciliation of God and humanity happens in and through Jesus Christ.

The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The words spoken in a synagogue in Nazareth two thousand years ago are as relevant today as they were then. God continues to invite humanity to know Him, and to experience His love. This is a cause for celebration, one envisaged by Nehemiah in our first reading:

“Ewch, bwytewch ddanteithion ac yfwch win melys a rhannwch â’r sawl sydd heb ddim, oherwydd mae heddiw yn ddydd sanctaidd i’n Harglwydd; felly, peidiwch â galaru, oherwydd llawenhau yn yr Arglwydd yw eich nerth.”

‘Go on your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Nehemiah 8:10) 

Christians celebrate the proclamation of the Good News within a Eucharist. This is the Thanksgiving which Our Lord entrusted to us, so that we can be nourished by Him, and with Him, with His Body and Blood. So that we might be transformed. And so that, nourished by Word and Sacrament, we may invite others to share the joy of the Lord and give glory i’r Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. Amen.

James Tissot: Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue (Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre) Brooklyn Museum
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Advent II – Repent!

ONE of the most important tasks for anyone bringing up children involves teaching them right from wrong, encouraging good conduct while avoiding bad behaviour. Children and adults alike learn by example, and we need people to teach us. The prophets of Ancient Israel take on this role, showing the people of God where they have gone wrong, and what they should do. John the Baptist is the last of the prophets, and points people towards the Messiah, Jesus. John is the last person to call Israel to repentance, and the first to proclaim the Kingdom of God, which finds its fulfilment in Christ. The Baptist looks back to the prophetic tradition of the Old Covenant, and forward to the New Covenant. Like the prophets of earlier generations, he educates God’s people and announces the reality of God’s saving love. Prophets can be divisive and unsettling figures because they speak with clarity and urgency. They tell it like it is, and are convinced of the importance of their message, because it comes from God.

Our first reading this morning from the prophet Isaiah is joyful and optimistic. Through the prophet, God speaks words of comfort to His people. Today we go back to the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. Here we find the words of Isaiah are quoted because they look forward to the coming of the Messiah:

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)

Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of biblical prophecy. In Him the glory of the Lord is revealed. Mark also quotes from the prophet Malachi:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1)

Mark includes both of these prophetic texts in his Gospel to show us that, from the beginning, prophecy is being fulfilled in Jesus. John the Baptist is the messenger, preparing the community for the coming of the Messiah: Jesus, who is God.

From his first appearance in the wilderness, John proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Such a rite of initiation was usual for people converting to Judaism, but not for those who were already Jewish. It looks something like a revival: people are encouraged to take their faith more seriously, and to live it out in their lives. John then positions himself at a point where the busy road from Jerusalem crosses the River Jordan. There he challenges all those he meets to change their ways. The Baptist calls people to repentance, to turn away from sin and to turn back to God. It is good to be reminded that God’s love and mercy are available to all of us, even when we fall short of what Our Heavenly Father wants us to be. This is why the story of Jesus’ public ministry begins with His Baptism in the Jordan, and at the same time points to Golgotha. The place where Christ will die taking our sins, and those of all humanity upon Himself. Christ’s Death demonstrates God’s love for us and His mercy towards us. It is hard to comprehend how God could love us that much. And yet Christ gives us Himself in the Eucharist, so that His Body and Blood can transform us, so that we can share in His life on Earth and in Heaven.

John the Baptist is the last of the prophets and the voice crying in the wilderness of which the prophet Isaiah spoke. He has a challenging and uncompromising message: repent for the Kingdom of God is close at hand. This may not be what many people today want to hear, but it is, however, what people need to hear. Those who flock to him are aware of their sin, and aware of their need of God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. The Baptist’s message may not be an easy one, but it is actually Good News. Our prayers are answered: that for which we hope, for which our soul deeply longs can be ours. Through our own baptism, we share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and we are washed from sin and given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is difficult to make a proclamation similar to John’s in today’s society, where the Church is increasingly marginalised. Yet our message must still be ‘Repent!’. This is because the world needs to repent, to turn away from sin and selfishness, and back to a God of love, who longs for us to have life in all its fullness.

Repentance is both an event and a process. It is something that we need to do continuously, and do together. This is the life of faith which Christ calls us to live. Repentance is the work of a lifetime, we need to keep turning away from sin and turning back to God. The season of Advent is a good time for repentance. As we prepare to meet Jesus, we need to return to the God who loves us. As the prophet Isaiah wrote:

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isa 40:11)

We have been given clear instruction in how to live. The prophets tell us to return to the Lord. They too look forward to the coming of the Messiah. As we prepare to meet Him, let us prepare our hearts, our souls, and our lives. Let us, along with John the Baptist and all the saints, sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot – The voice in the desert (Brooklyn Museum)