"A Square Peg into a Round Hole"
(Visual Gospel Reading)
I have been a part of
enough weddings to know that preparing for the big event is not too unlike
preparing for a rocket launch to outer space.
But if you think 21st century wedding celebrations require
tedious amounts of preparation, read a little about the wedding traditions in 1st
century Palestine.
All you fathers of daughters better
be thankful you were born in the 20th century. If you were a father in Jesus’ day, you would have to prepare for a seven day
party! Imagine trying to make sure you had
enough wine to keep the party going for seven days.
More to the point, the number seven
in our Judeo-Christian heritage is very important. The number seven is
representative of the fullness of creation, the number is representative of the
how God set the world in order. And a
wedding, particularly in the Jewish tradition, is symbolic of the coming of God’s new world order, the coming of the messianic era.
(The Jones' window given in honor of Mary Indiana Seawell Jones located in Parker Hall depicts Jesus' first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee)
So if we look at this lesson through this lens it
should come as no surprise that Jesus’ first of
seven signs in the Gospel according to John takes place at a wedding in Cana of
Galilee. It shouldn’t be that surprising that Jesus, the one who is the new creation, makes
his divine presence known first at a wedding.
Ultimately, this miracle is a sign that God’s new world order is
initiated through Jesus.
But what I find very surprising about this lesson is
the conversation that Jesus has with his mother. Jesus’ mother
notices that the wine is about to give out which would set off a master alarm
if we are still comparing a wedding party to a rocket launch. The wine giving out would essentially abort
the mission. This would not only cause
social embarrassment but also implicitly send the guests home.
Jesus’ mother decides to
take action. She knows just the person
who can save this family from social humiliation. I imagine that she looks to her son and with
the stare of a mother’s eye says to Jesus, “They have no
wine.” Jesus has seen this look before
and understands this seemingly passive statement from his mother as a direct
order.
Jesus does what any son might do in a social setting
when his mother asks him to do something.
In a “leave me alone mom” kind of way Jesus says, “Woman, what concern
is this to you and me? My hour has not
yet come.” There are several troubling
things here. One is more easily resolved
than the other.
Through a 21st century lens it would appear
that Jesus is being rude when he quips, “woman.” However, biblical scholars, including women
biblical scholars, assure us that Jesus is not being rude but simply distancing
himself from the familial relationship with his mother and setting up the truth
that he belongs to the entire human family.
The second issue is not so easily resolved. Jesus seems indifferent to help this family. He does not perceive that this is an issue
that he needs to attend to. Plus, he
tells his mother that his hour has not yet come. The latter part of this statement seems to
suggest that Jesus does not take orders from the human will but instead from
the will of his Father in heaven.
Jesus’ mother,
perceiving the direction of this conversation, looks to the servants and says, “Do
whatever he tells you.” Again, she makes
what seems like a passive statement but ultimately Jesus is called into
action. Jesus tells the servants to fill
the stone water jars used for rites of purification with water. And they fill them to the brim.
The pressing theological question here wonders, “Did
Jesus act based on the will of his human mother? Or did Jesus receive divine instruction to
fill the jugs with water?” More
generally, “Does God act because we tell God to act?” Or does God act because God sees that it is
the appropriate time to act?”
These might seem like questions that only seminary
students and professors should really care about. But these questions are crucial in
understanding what kind of relationship God is calling the human family to be a
part of.
The answer to these questions might lie in the
substance of the miracle itself. And
please note that I am going to start way out in left field and try to bring it
in. So hang in there.
Let’s look at
the miracle itself. Jesus points to the six large stone jars used for Jewish rites of purification. And then he tells the servants to fill the
jars with water. Finally, Jesus tells
the servant to draw some out and take it to the chief steward.
Notice what Jesus does here. He uses what is already at the party to set
the stage for the miracle. He uses human
and earthly objects to perform his miracle.
Even more, he uses people other than himself in the servants and the
wine steward to pour and draw out the water that has become wine.
And notice what is not used. There are no magic wands, no clouds of smoke,
no fireworks, no applause. And he doesn’t
run to the supermarket to pick another case of wine up. Simply put, Jesus uses what is already at the
party and speaks his word with authority.
The way in which this miracle is performed is another
clue that our God isn’t simply a cosmic being who set the world in motion. Our God is a God who is determined to be
intimately involved, to use his creation, the creation he called “very good” to
work out the plan of salvation.
Our God is determined to use the flesh of humanity to
reveal his glory in the world. God makes
us actors in the great story of salvation, and Jesus is the star performer who
makes everybody else look good.
I know what you might be thinking. Jack just went off one on of his tangents and
forgot to answer his own question! Don’t worry I didn’t forget
the question, but I am not sure you are going to like the answer.
I believe the intentions behind God’s actions are
found in the mystery of the relationship between the divine life of God and the
life of his creation he calls “very good.”
And the mystery of this life between heaven and earth very rarely leaves
us with answers that are black and white or yes and no.
The answer is sought in the deepening of the
relationship with the One who holds all truth, with the One who ordered
creation into being and gave everything a purpose. The answer lies in the One who has already
written, directed, and completed the story salvation. And the story is perfected through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
So what does all this mean? It means that the question isn’t so much
about the battle between God’s will and our will. It means that our relationship with God isn’t
a negotiation to be settled. It isn’t a
riddle to be solved.
Instead, it is more about how God is syncing the human
will with the divine will. This first sign gives us a taste of what it means
for God’s will to be worked out through human flesh. This first sign tells us that this tuning of
human will to divine will is a process, it takes human participation.
The discovery of our salvation isn’t simply a moment
in time. Remember that Jesus has six
more signs to perform and that doesn’t include his resurrection.
Going back to the rocket ship metaphor. In order for the Apollo 13 astronauts to
survive the master alarm that threatened to destroy the ship, scientists had to
figure out a way to fit a square peg into a round hole using only what the
astronauts had on the ship.
(Movie Clip from Apollo 13: Square Peg into Round Hole)
In order to rescue humanity from sin and death, God
had to figure out how to fit the perfect story of salvation into the
imperfections and limits of human will.
And God did figure out a way through the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ
our Savior.
And in today’s story, we see how God’s will in Christ
is worked out in the awkwardness of a mother and son relationship. God’s will in
Christ is revealed through something as ordinary as water and through diluted
religious traditions. God’s will in Christ is even enacted through unwitting
actors who find themselves as vehicles of God’s grace like the wine steward.
God uses what we have and transform what we have into something
extraordinary.
And once the seemingly awkward, embarrassing, and
ill-timed situation is resolved, the wine steward says, “Everyone serves the
good wine first and then the inferior wine once the guests have become
drunk. But you have kept the good wine
until now.”
In every act of God, no matter how
despairing the situation may seem, there is an intention to point to something
more, to something better; to point the perfect story of salvation, to point to
the ultimate hope we have in God’s new creation in
Christ.
In our world that is broken by sin
and death, this divine truth is worked out in the messiness of this mortal
life. And often times that means that
God’s eternal truth will take time to be revealed in our own lives.
It took God six days to call
creation into being before he rested on the seventh day. It will take Jesus giving seven signs before
he can sync the hearts of the disciples to the point where they can believe in
resurrection on the eighth day.
Because God’s ultimate wedding
banquet is being orchestrated through the flesh of human beings it is going to
take time for us to get to the point when we can truly celebrate. The good news is that God gives us moments of
hope along the journey. God gives us a
taste of the heavenly banquet in this mortal life. God gives us these moments to remind us that
it is God’s will that will lead us safely home and not the will of humanity.
The good news is that through Christ
God gives us the grace to see that the prophecy given through Isaiah has come
true. The feast of rich food and well-aged
wine is now. Jesus is the rich food.
Jesus is the well-aged wine. And
this feast will never end. Jesus is the
food and the wine that will never run out.
Jesus is the story that we can sync
our lives by. We can stop trying to
create the perfect story, the perfect life, the perfect party and instead live
in peace knowing that our lives are intimately and forever linked to the life
of God who has already prepared the perfect wedding banquet.
And it gets better.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see this eternal truth of
God. All it takes is the willingness to
come back again and again to this table to taste and see how God is drawing you
deeper into the mystery of life with the One who holds all truth and who will
set you free. Amen.
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