Last week we had a
baptism and this week we have a wedding. As much as people try to personalize a
wedding, there is still a pattern and a ritual to each wedding. Sometimes
weddings are great fun. Sometimes they are a little strange. Sometimes family
and friends get along and sometimes it can be a little stressful. I've seen
many weddings. Usually, they are fun and the people gather to celebrate love
and to have a good time.
Weddings in our time
are very costly and they require a lot of planning. People take years to save
money and get everything arranged. The day of the wedding, there might be some
gatherings of the wedding party and a series of opportunities for pictures.
Eventually, everyone gathers at the place of the wedding. The wedding party
processes in, with the bride arriving last, usually on the arm of her father.
The service consists of an exchange of vows and rings. There might be prayers,
and there might be musical offerings. The bride and groom leave - perhaps to a
reception line or straight to pictures. Then everyone goes to the reception.
There might be several types of snacks to keep everyone busy until the meal.
Then there is dancing and the formal end of everything is the wedding cake.
There are
variations, but most weddings are a one-day event. People travel great distances.
Everyone spends an awful lot of money. Why do we do weddings this way? We want
to express love. We want to gather as witnesses to this important event. The
couple seeks support from family and friends. They seek to express their love.
They seek to share joy.
Weddings are a time
of great change. Much of the ritual involves giving away. There are exchanges
of gifts. Parents give away their child to another. The couple gives themselves
to each other. This is the beginning of a new relationship. To make room, old
relationships are being re-negotiated. This is where we get the stress. We
don't really know what will happen. We trust and hope. We try to help a new
couple begin a new life.
In Cana, Jesus is at
a wedding. The rituals are quite different. There is the same fundamental
change in relationships. Two people leave their childhood home and begin a new
household. The gathering is different. It is likely that the whole village is
in attendance. Jesus, and his mother Mary, are probably related to the couple
in some way. The celebration lasts for days. People recline on couches and
feast and converse for hours. Then the wine gives out. How can the celebration
continue without wine? There is a little exchange between Jesus and Mary, and
Jesus orders servants to fill some purification jugs with water. When the
servants draw the water out, it has become wine - the best wine. The chief
steward (literally, the master of the three couches! - this is one of my
favorite Greek words) is surprised that the host has saved the best wine for
last.
Why does Jesus
become a bartender? Why is this his first miracle in the gospel of John? Jesus
will become known for his power and his mercy. He starts his ministry by
keeping the party going. We think of Jesus the miracle worker. We remember his
acts of compassion and healing. He casts our demons. We silences the religious
authorities. He even walks on water! Do we stop then to wonder why? We assume
it's all about showing us his strength or his difference from us. Maybe Jesus
isn't proving anything. Maybe he's just doing what he came to do.
The purpose of
miracles isn't a proof. This is the work. Jesus is always acting to restore
people to right relationships. He is healing what is broken. He is putting back
together what is divided. Even when he argues with authorities, he is really
trying to bring them together. He doesn't want to cast anyone out. He wants to
bring us together. Even at a wedding. The wine is a small thing but the party
is important. Jesus wants the good thing to keep on going. The village is
gathered to celebrate love and to participate in a couple's intention to create
a new life together. That's why Jesus is here.
In a way, that is
why we are here. Every gathering is not a wedding. Every Sunday is a kind of
feast. In this feast too, Jesus changes wine and bread and makes it something
that unites us. We are invited to commit to common work. We are invited to work
together, using our God-given gifts, to create something better than what we make
on our own.
For the next few
weeks, we will hear familiar passages from Paul's letter to Corinth. We will
even hear a favorite wedding passage in the poetry about love. But first we
hear the set up. We start with what we have. The Holy Spirit has given each of
us gifts. These gifts are not all the same, and we don't always recognize them.
Nonetheless, these gifts are given for a reason. God intends that we help each
other and support each other. We do God's work together. We are not alone.
There is no personal quest or private faith. We are called for each other and
we are meant to serve together.
This should not
surprise us. The church isn't here simply for our personal benefit. We are
called here so that we can be empowered to go out. Jesus saves the world and Jesus
wants us to join in the work of reconciling the world. The work may begin here,
but the direction and end of all our work is out there.
It sounds hard, may
be even daunting. It is not at all clear that the world wants our help or would
even appreciate it. But remember, Jesus didn't just show off. Jesus made wine.
He meant for us to enjoy the work. What we do isn't simply toil. Jesus invites
us into a celebration. The change we seek is to create something new. We are
called to proclaim love and to help everyone else commit to acts of love and
mercy. It is great news. It is joyful work. Like a good marriage, it keeps
getting better with time.
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