Jesus' example says celebrate life's joys
Joe Miller Jr.

John 2:1-11

Yes, Jesus really made wine for a wedding party. If you think today's weddings have developed into extravagant events, in Jesus' day it was customary for wedding feasts to last for seven days.

Two things made for a successful wedding feast. The wedding feast should be well attended by important people, and the food and drink should meet a certain standard. If the groom ran out of wine, and none of his close friends or family could furnish some, the shame could last a lifetime or longer. A conversation may have gone something like this; "You know who I'm talking about... he's the oldest son of that guy who ran out of wine at his wedding?"

For some unknown reason, Jesus' mother decides to become involved, and she turns to her oldest son for help. Jesus resists but accedes to her motherly plea for assistance.

This story of Jesus and the wine has caused a lot of consternation over the years, especially in a modern day culture that associates alcoholic beverages with drunken drivers, abusive husbands, and sinful behavior. We tend to puzzle over the fact that Jesus would make and/or drink wine.

Yet, the Bible tells us that he made a large quantity of good wine…so good that the steward was amazed by its quality. Our consternation is caused because we tend to read scripture from our own context rather than Jesus' context. Obviously, wine was not a big issue then.

What was a big issue was whether Jesus should use his capabilities to make wine when he was preparing for his own mission and passion.

"My hour has not yet come." In other words, "I have important things to do, and the time has not yet arrived for me to reveal my glory. While this social issue for the groom might be important, it pales into insignificance compared to the future. I cannot be bothered with the trivial things of this life when there are more important things ahead."

Yet, he ended up making the wine and revealing his glory to his disciples who believed in him.

Perhaps all of life is not dead seriousness. Jesus had an incredibly important mission ahead, but for the moment, he could enjoy the fun and excitement of an everyday event in the lives of ordinary people and celebrate with them by helping out.

Just maybe it is okay to stop in the midst of planning and prayer for the future and savor a glass of wine (metaphorical wine, of course). Being a Christian does not mean that we have to be serious all of the time. It is okay to laugh and have fun. Jesus did.

I hope and pray that you have a very blessed and prosperous 2007… and now and then, some fun! Email me at newtonumc@valornet. com with your thoughts.

Joe Miller Jr. is pastor of Newton United Methodist Church