When I say the word "revelation" what do you think of? I expect most people think of the last book of the Bible, The Revelation to John. But "revelation", of course, may be used in many other ways besides simply as a book title. It is one of those words that has become so often used in one context that we forget its general usage, or even its other specific usages; its like the word "transmission". When I say that you all probably think of that thing in your car that shifts gears; or what about that other automotive term "differential", that refers to the rear axle. Both "transmission" and "differential" are words that have become, by common usage, nouns referring to specific types of machinery. But they actually have much more generalized uses and meanings. "Transmission" means simply to transmit or send something. In the car it sends power to the rear wheels. In telephone or radio it means the sending of messages. "Differential" refers to the existence of a difference between things. In the car it refers to the fact that the two driving wheels are powered in such a way that they can revolve at different speeds. We can use the same word to talk about the difference between any two or more objects, as in the weather differential between here and Saint John, for example. "Revelation" is just that kind of word. While we most frequently associate it with the last book of the Bible, it has many other uses. In fact, the last book of the Bible was for many years referred to not as Revelation, but as The Apocalypse, because it is the revelation, or revealing, of how the apocalypse, or the end of the world, will take place. And that in many ways is a more fitting title, partly because it then frees the word "revelation" of its specific connotations.

           The entire Bible is the record of revelation. It reveals God's ongoing relationship with humanity. It reveals his plan for us. And one of the very important doctrinal issues related to this word "revelation" is the principle that with the coming of Christ into the world, and his death, resurrection and ascension, God's revelation is complete. The Idea of new revelations from God, new information, after those events is not to be considered. So anything that suggests that there are new revelations after Christ, whether they be from Mohammed, the book of Mormon, or the Bahai, are in error and are not to be accepted by the Christian.

           The point of this discussion of this word Revelation is to make clearer what this season of Epiphany is about. We talk about the epiphany of Jesus, when he was made manifest. In the hymn Songs of Thankfulness and Praise we sing about how Jesus was "manifested by the star" and how he is "God in Man made manifest". And the last verse we pray that "we like to thee may be at thy great epiphany". All this is nonsense, gibberish, if we don't know what the words manifest and epiphany mean. All they mean is revealed to us in the word revelation. Jesus was revealed as the son of God by the Star that brought the wise men to him. And in the last verse of the hymn we pray that we may become as pure as he was revealed to be when he was revealed to the world as the Son of God. In other words, Epiphany means the revealing, and to be made manifest means to be revealed. And today's Gospel lesson shows us, reveals to us, more about Jesus. It shows him as the possessor of divine power.

           Miracles are extraordinary events, events that defy what we normally consider the laws of nature. And only God can work outside the laws which he himself established for creation. We don't know how often he does these things, but its probably not too often or creation would not be the orderly thing that it is. Nor do we normally have any idea what reasons may be behind the miracles that do take place. But we do know that when Jesus performed miracles he did so for very specific reasons: they were signs intended to point us toward some important truth. In turning water into wine Jesus is showing us in a most graphic way that he is Lord over creation itself. He, being God, is not bound by the physical nature of things. In turning water into wine he reveals to us his divinity in yet one more way. As Saint John concludes this account:"This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his Glory; and his disciples believed in him." This miracle shows us that Jesus is the Christ of God who bears within himself the divine power. It is also a sign of his coming passion, and the sacrament of the altar that he established for us which in turn is a sign of the heavenly feast that he offers us.

           Now each of these divine traits of Jesus that we see revealed in this season of Epiphany did not leave us at the time of Jesus' ascension. They are evident in Christ's body, the Church. Thus Saint Paul exhorts us to an imitation of Christ so that he may be made manifest (revealed) in us. Divine power is made manifest in the ordered life of the Christian community, in the way that our natural talents are transformed for spiritual purposes. And all the diversity of talents that we have been given are unified, cemented together in the bonds of charity, Christian Love.

           The word "epiphany" has the connotation of something being revealed suddenly and dramatically; a curtain drawn aside, or the light suddenly turned on so that something can be seen. The epiphany of Jesus was certainly that, signaled as it was by the brilliant star that appeared in the sky. Christ comes into our hearts in much the same way he entered the world: humbly and in the most unexpected ways. But when his presence is announced by the changes in our lives, our thoughts, our souls, when He manifests himself within us, when we know that the Light of Christ has come into our lives, and his glory becomes our glory and his light shines out of our hearts, we then are sharing in his epiphany, and he is revealed to all the world through us. May the light of Christ shine forth in you and may the blessing of God the father and God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be with you now and always. Amen.