More wine, please!

John 2:1-12

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

12After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there for a few days.

What sorts of things should we pray for?  Maybe you're like me, maybe you're not, but I've heard a lot of rules over the years about things you should and shouldn't pray for.  One person might say "you can only pray for your daily bread."  Another might say "pray for anything you want, and God will give it to you!"  Each of those views reflects a different way that we look at God, doesn't it?  

In the midst of those questions, I find this passage telling.  What does God want for us?  This is Jesus first miracle and it's very telling of the direction that he's going to go.  He gets a request from his mother.  Having spent time in an Italian family, I can totally see how that one would have played out!  The request might seem odd to us: provide the bridal party with more wine.  How does this fit our preconceptions of what we should and should not pray for?

I think it goes back to the question of how we understand God.  God wants good things for us.  God wants us to live lives of joy.  God celebrates when we celebrate and this whole earth is God's creation.  There's many things God wants for us, but one big thing I think God wants is for us to fully live into and experience our humanity.

Maybe even more telling was Jesus was there with them.  Can you picture it?  Jesus enjoying a wedding with friends, drinking wine together, laughing and telling stories?  Jesus was incarnate: God in the flesh.  Jesus was God with us.  Jesus put on the flesh and blood and bone and ate and drank with us.  

I don't know that God wants us to pray for another glass of wine.  But I do think that God wants us to live lives of Joy, just like he did.  But we need to think like Mary.  She sees an every day, difficult situation, and she asks Jesus to help her.  Do we stop to pray about the little things?  There are people in our lives who need a little more joy.  Maybe they need encouragement, maybe they just need some help.  But between you and Jesus, maybe you can work together to help them see the God who is with us.

Prayer:

Father, Son, and Spirit, help me to live fully into the person you made me to be.  Help me to live a life of joy, but also a life of calling.  Help me to be a faithful disciple in every moment, and help me to see your face more clearly every day.  

Rev. Jason Clapper