Red Letters – No Whining – April 8
RED LETTERS
April 8, 2021
No Whining
John 2:3-7, ‘When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to Him, ‘They have no more wine.’ “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” His mother then said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.’ (NIV)
There is nothing more coveted than to have the perfect wedding if you are female. From the time of toddlerism until light grows dim in life’s final stages, little girls to elderly ladies dream, plan, hope, fantasize, pray, remember, memorialize their weddings. Two-year-old girls toddle around in Mama’s high heels, bridal veil and fake pearls, while all through life, women pull out their Wedding Album to share snapshots of their wedding day. Parents, if they are wise, begin a separate fund to someday help pay for the weddings of their children and young men go into financial hardship to offer the most glitzy diamond ring and the flashiest wedding dress for their girl. And the bride plans down to the very last orchid and ribbon, every minute detail of the ceremony. Few remember that it don’t make you mo’ married; it just makes you mo’ broke, that is, to host the Wedding of the Century.
So we find a flashy wedding being hosted in Cana and Jesus and His followers are among the wedding guests, as is His mother. The reception has just run out of wine, however, and I can only imagine the whispers that begin to flow through the attendees, and the embarrassment of the wedding party. The gasp, ‘Did you really just run out of wine?!’ The disbelief, ‘You didn’t really just run out of wine!’ Incredulous, ‘Really? No more wine?’ Everyone wraps their assertion with skepticism like throwing a present in a brown bag. Guests begin to gather their belongings and politely move toward the exit, and the bride’s family glares at the groom’s family for their oversight; likewise the groom mumbles to his bride, ‘Why did you have to invite so many people?!’
Mary, the mother of Jesus, wrings her hands, feeling the discomfort of a beautiful ceremony beginning to tarnish. ‘Do something!’ she tells her son, knowing the capability He hides in His hands. She doesn’t know how He does what He does; she just knows He can, and even when He grumbles at her, she directs the servants to follow His instructions.
Is it odd to you that He takes janitorial clay pots to perform the first recorded miracle? I mean, if the Son of God is surreptitiously converting jugs of water into wine, wouldn’t you imagine He might use some Fuji water bottles or at least jugs of SmartWater? I wonder if perhaps Jesus chose as He did to demonstrate that He can take anything ordinary, custodial, average to perform premier purposes. Like me even; a plain wrapper, simplistic, a generic brand, to accomplish a fantastic design He had in mind for me!
Suddenly, the flow of fine wine replaces the drip of sarcasm and condemnation, as the wedding planner exclaims, ‘Every host I know serves his finest wine first, until everyone has had a cup or two and no longer cares; then he serves the cheap stuff! But you, my friend have saved the best for last!’
If you struggle with feelings of insufficiency and being left behind and inadequacy, remember your Miracle Worker can make something magnificent and surprising out of everyday, and He also saves the best for last.
I’ve been reading RED LETTERS all my life, but never with my heart.
During the month of April, let’s JOURNEY where JESUS journeyed,
and listen with our hearts to all He came to proclaim.
