Day 4
John 2:1-11
2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
I watched a movie/documentary on Amazon Prime the other day about The Jonas Brothers called "Chasing Happiness". It was named this appropriately because it chronicles their "ascent" from three adolescents learning to play instruments and writing silly songs in the basement of their parsonage (They were PK's) to sold out concerts worldwide, 4 platinum albums, movies, TV shows, with girls screaming everywhere they went. However, somewhere in the midst of it they lost their happiness and the movie brings us to the brothers, all married, reunited after estrangement, trying to figure out where they lost happiness and if they could just reunite one more time, maybe they could find it again. It's true that like most teen idols, their fame was a flash in the pan, yet they were still worth $150 million, two of the brothers had successful recording careers, all were happily married and one had a reality show- so these things were still not supplying the happiness they longed for.
In the above passage, isn't it interesting that the first miracle Jesus does - the initiation of His public ministry - is Him saving a couple teenagers from social embarrassment? He kept a party from ending early, big deal! John, nearing the end of his life, after familiarizing himself with the other three gospels, realizes there are somethings not included by the others and this miracle is one of them. What does he want us to realize? Maybe it's that Jesus brings the fun to life! Often when wine is mentioned in the Old Testament, it has to do with party, celebration, and happiness The Jonas Brothers aren't the only ones looking for happiness, this could be the title of the documentary of the human race. America was founded on Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's interesting, in the movie, the time when they were happiest, they were part of a youth group at church, singing and leading worship at church, wearing purity rings with a tight knit body of believers around them. Something happens, which I will discuss in the next blog, but they distance themselves from all that while seeking fame, money, girls and lose all their happiness. Somehow they miss that leaving "Christ" behind, they left the joy behind. Jesus came to give joy. He came to start the party!
If you polled all the people in your community who aren't in church on a given Sunday morning and aske, "Why?", many would say," it's a bore"."I've got better things to do on my day off." "I did that when I was a kid because my parents made me and I hated it." Isn't that sad? Jesus never meant for following Him to be a bore. How did it get to that? Are you bored with your faith? Maybe you are doing the religious things like washing your hands in clay pots, so to speak. Jesus did away with that. Come taste the New over flowing abundant wine of happiness that Jesus brings. Seek Him, not church. Follow Jesus, not a religion and have the time of your life!
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