Pause for thought
As we pause today, we join with the praise of all God's people in these words from Psalm 23.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
(Psalms 23:4-6)
Bible Reading: John 2:6-10
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing,
each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, 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 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."
A Reflection:
I am fascinated watching our grandchildren eat their meals. Zachary, three years old, will eat the best bits first, such as sausages, and leave the boring bits, such as vegetables, until last. Melody, on the other hand, now five, eats the vegetables first and saves the sausages until last.
When Jesus turned around a hundred and fifty gallons of water into a hundred and fifty gallons of wine (equivalent to around 900 bottles) the master of the banquet commented that the bridegroom had left the best wine until last.
This is the first miracle that Jesus performed as he began his ministry here on earth and there is a lot of symbolism behind it.
In turning water into wine I am reminded that when we put our faith in Jesus, he turns our ordinary lives into the extraordinary. I wonder in what ways faith in Jesus has made your life richer.
In leaving the best wine until last I am reminded that, whatever the world has to offer, what Jesus gives us is always better, and that whatever struggles we have today, the best is yet to come.
At Can, Jesus is not the bridegroom but in the wedding banquet to come in heaven, Jesus is portrayed as the bridegroom and the Church as the bride. The best is indeed yet to come.
Pray:
Lord Jesus, please take the ordinariness of my life today
and transform it by the extraordinariness of your presence.
Amen
Our God (Water you turned into wine)