We are so accustomed to the story of Jesus appearing to his disciples that we might not stop to wonder what the fear of the disciples was like, how profound that fear was. Was it like the fear of people living in Ukraine not knowing when the next attack would come? Was it like the fear of those working in the hospital in Gaza wondering if they will be able to care for their patients in the hours that lie ahead? Jesus’ disciples know deep fear after his death and the strange stories that he might be alive. And then he comes. And stands among them and says, ‘Peace be with you.’

There are some days when, pondering the events in the world, we find ourselves shuddering, and we go out into the garden, perhaps, and look at the sky, and cry out, ‘Is there a word from the Lord?’ In our Old Testament reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, we hear the voice of the Lord comparing the word of the Lord to the rain that comes down from heaven watering the earth, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater. "So shall my word be ... it shall not return to me empty but shall accomplish that which I shall purpose," the Lord says.

Abraham, the wise man from the east who is called by God to the Promised Land and who leaves the Chaldees to journey to Canaan. This kind of continues the themes of the Epiphany season. It is a story about that desire to follow where God leads, not knowing what you will find. It’s fuelled by a desire to see God and know God. To befriend God. Neither Abraham, nor the wise men from the East, knew exactly what they were looking for, and nor did they know when or exactly where they might find it. But they had been prompted by God, and they responded faithfully to that prompting.

The term ‘dark night of the Soul’ derives from the title of a poem written by the C16 Spanish mystic, San Juan de la Cruz (St John of the Cross) which in Spanish was ‘Noche Oscura (canciones del alma)’. John of the Cross had been imprisoned in a tiny two by three metre cell with a tiny slit high up to let in a small amount of light; in this cell he wrote his ‘Spiritual canticles’ on paper smuggled into him by a guard. This famous poem, however, he wrote after his escape from the prison.

Making whole, whether a feast, a body, a mind, a spirit, a teaching, or a law was what Jesus of Nazareth brought to the world of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. God the Son, fills up the feast of life set before us with joy, finest delight, and it will never run out. Let him live in us!