Typically, this weekend is a weekend of big parties with family and friends. Hopefully, we won't see too many huge parties as we continue to fight the coronavirus in the U.S. and cases are on the rise. However, meditating on John 2 this week, I got to wondering "what kind of party guest was Jesus?" 

Jesus is at a wedding with his mother and the disciples. Weddings were often a week long affair in ancient times. We may have trouble picturing Jesus "cutting up the rug," but we know that Jesus took this time to be with family and friends and celebrate this wedding.

In the past I have unconsciously pictured Jesus in the corner of this celebration with a scour on his face, thinking that there were better things he could be doing than attending a wedding. But now I don't think this at all. I imagine Jesus fully present with the wedding guests, making every person he talked to feel like they were the most important guest there. I imagine that he felt all the joy of a wedding celebration and most certainly, he danced.

Yes, he is reluctant to take care of the problem his mother brings to him. "They have no more wine, do something," she urges. He responds that his "hour" has not yet come - "hour" in the gospels often refers to Jesus' death. He knew that there was a time for dying, but there was also a time for dancing. But she seems to ignore his argument and orders the servants to do what he says. He turns 6 jars (each holding 20-30 gallons of water!) into wine for the party, and not the cheep stuff! The guests are impressed with the quality of the wine that has been brought out this late in the game.

When have you expected the cheep stuff and gotten abundance instead?  Wine and weddings were both symbols in the Old Testament of the Messianic Age, the time when a Savior would come and deliver the people (Amos 9:13-14, Hos. 14:7, Jer. 31:12, Isaiah 54:4-8, Isaiah 62:4-5). The wine that Jesus created that day was more than they needed, more than his mother could have imagined, it was abundant both in quantity and quality. Don't settle for the cheep stuff when Jesus is offering you the finest. When we take the "wine" (grape juice) this Sunday we remember Jesus' hour, his death on the cross that created a new reality, one in which we can live in His abundant grace.

We are all in this together!

yours in Christ,