The Best is Yet to Come

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."  John 2:7-10 NIV

This was Jesus' first miracle, performed only three days after he was baptized by John. For years, this water/wine thing has provided fodder for theological arguments. Did the 150 gallons of wine that Jesus made contain real ethanol and if so, was the wine 1% alcohol, 6% alcohol, or 10-15% alcohol like the wines of today. We do know that Paul admonished the church in Ephesus, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:18 NIV 

I think that when we dwell on the "proof" of the story, we miss the real message. In the wedding celebration, Jesus acknowledges that God created humans as social beings. We are meant to live in community with one another. As the saying goes, when we share our lives with one another sorrows are divided and joys are multiplied. Another part of the message is that Jesus desires to fill every corner of our lives. There is no request too small or too large for Him to fill. Whether we ask Him for a few extra gallons of wine, or for peace during a job interview, or for healing from metastatic cancer, He wants to provide what we need.

Finally, I believe that the most important part of the message is the promise that the best is yet to come. Those who remained at the wedding celebration after the first batch of wine was gone were rewarded with the best wine of the party. Many of you have heard the story of the woman who asked to be buried with a fork. As a child, she learned that whenever her mother or grandmothers told her to keep her fork after a meal, it meant that dessert was on the way, and for her dessert was the best part of the meal. Our lives in this world are not always easy or pleasant. In John 16:33 Jesus says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." The author of the letter to the Hebrews alludes to life in this world as a long race. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1 NIV. "Perseverance" is the key. It's not important who wins the race, but that we all finish. This perseverance comes from living in Christian community and from relying on Jesus to provide all we need. Then, as we cross the finish line, we can claim as Paul, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Keep your fork!

Sonblock

Recently I was blessed to be able to relax at a beach in South Carolina for a week. I've heard that God lives in the mountains, but vacations at the beach. Rob Bell says that our world is "drenched with God." Nowhere is this more evident than in the awesomeness of oceans and beaches. I love the beach, but while there I recognized that I had graduated to the "grandparent tagalong class." In watching all the young families I realized that, like the Gospel, the beach is new to every generation.

The fact that "God has no grandchildren" has never been more evident than it is today. The American Religious Identification Survey 2008 published in March 2009 revealed that the American population continues to self-identify itself as predominantly Christian, but Americans are slowly becoming less Christian. 86% of Americans identified themselves as Christians in 1990 and 76% in 2008. The historic mainline churches and denominations have experienced the steepest declines, while the numbers of non-denominational Christians have been trending upward, particularly since 2001. Membership in the Presbyterian Church (USA) fell by 69,381 in 2008, continuing a trend that began in the mid-1960's. The 2008 decline was the largest numerical and percentage net membership loss since Presbyterian reunion in 1983. The challenge to Christianity in the US does not come from other religions, but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion. One out of every five Americans failed to indicate a religious identity in 2008. The "Nones" have grown from 8.2% in 1990 to 15.0% in 2008. One sign of the lack of attachment to religion is that 27% of Americans do not expect a religious funeral at their death.

Why do we now have generations of folks who have never tasted abundant living through Jesus? I submit that it is because we "grandparents" have abdicated our responsibility to make the Gospel relevant to our children and therefore our grandchildren as well. So what can we do? As General Assembly Stated Clerk Grady Parsons says, "Presbyterians can be evangelists." Mother Teresa taught us to bring people to Jesus "one by one." The Great Banquet teaches us to "make a friend, be a friend, and then bring your friend to Christ, remembering to talk to Jesus about your friend before you talk to your friend about Jesus." Jesus died for all of us. There are no "throw away" people or generations. It's time to remove our "Sonblock" and to allow the Holy Spirit to empower our evangelism.  Remember what happened on the day of Pentecost?  Since the devil loves pew sitters, it's time to leave the comfort of our sanctuaries on Sundays and Wednesdays and to take the Gospel and the love of Jesus back to the streets. Can you feel that wind blowing in from the ocean?

Anyone for fishin'?

Fathers’ Day

As I was thinking about a blurb to post for Fathers' Day, I heard a still, small voice ask, "What about Joseph?" Joseph of Nazareth was a father after my own heart... a father much like my own. He was a blue collar worker who loved and cared for his family. The scriptures don't tell us much about Joseph. Matthew says his father was named Jacob. Luke says his father was Heli. What we do know about Joseph is that he "did right by his family." When Mary, his betrothed, turned up pregnant, Joseph didn't walk away. Instead he was obedient to the angel who came to him in a dream. He took Mary as his wife and raised Jesus with the love of a biological father. When Herod the Great began murdering Jewish babies, Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt for safety.

We know that Joseph was an artisan with wood, iron, and stone...a carpenter. As a loving father he taught Jesus his trade, realizing that Jesus would not be remembered as a carpenter. We know that Joseph recognized the importance of education. When Jesus was 12, Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple in Jerusalem to sit at the feet of the rabbis and learn the scriptures. On the journey back to Nazareth, when they realized that Jesus wasn't with them, Mary and Joseph returned to the temple to find 12 year old Jesus teaching the rabbis. The scriptures don't tell us any more about Joseph after this event. Many Bible scholars feel that Joseph died before Jesus' ministry began. Joseph was an obedient, loving father. What else is there to know?

Most of you have read the advice from Robert Fulghum in his book "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." If you haven't, you should so click the link. With all due respect to Mr. Fulghum however, these are lessons I learned from my father (and mother) well before kindergarten. My dad also taught me several other important lessons, such as:

• No matter what you do, be the best you can be; but remember there will always be a faster gun, so practice humility.

• If you play, play to win and don't leave anything on the field; but if you lose, lose graciously.

• The three greatest gifts a father can give his children are a living example of a faithful, obedient Christian; a visible love for, and devotion to their mother; and lots of happy memories.

This is the second Fathers' Day since my dad went to be with his heavenly Father. I still miss him, but am grateful that he, like Joseph, did right by his family. I pray that my children and grandchildren will be able to say the same.

Happy Fathers' Day

Pentecost

Having celebrated Pentecost Sunday for over 50 years, I felt it was time that I learned what the word really means. Come to find out, in the Greek of the New Testament, Pentecost means "fifty". That doesn't seem so special, does it? The birthday of the Church came seven weeks after the Resurrection (50 days if you count Resurrection Sunday as day 1). It was therefore ten days following Ascension Thursday.

It is interesting that the day of Pentecost was already a Jewish celebration. It represents the fifty days after the Exodus when Yahweh gave Moses the Ten Commandments. It also represents the festival of Shavuot, a Jewish harvest celebration. It is little wonder then that there were Jews from so many countries worshipping and celebrating in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit arrived. It is also clear why the twelve disciples and other apostles began to preach the Gospel of Jesus in so many different languages. Initially the festival-goers thought the disciples were drunk, but Peter explained that being drunk at 9:00 am is rare for even the ragtag group of disciples. He then convicted them with the charge, "All Israel, then, know this, "There is no longer room for doubt - God made Him Master and Messiah, this Jesus whom you killed on a cross."

That day about three thousand took Peter at his word, claimed Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and were baptized. Not a bad start for the Church. It does cause one to ponder, however, if we are allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us. Are we speaking the language of the "lost", offering the love and salvation of Jesus in their language, or are we too busy with "church speak" to recognize that our message is falling on deaf ears? Be still and listen. Do you hear the Wind?

Happy Birthday!

I Believe

Thursday, May 21st is not only the date for our Girlfriend's Unlimited "Hike in the Park," it's also the day when the church celebrates Jesus' ascension, forty days (there's that number again) following His resurrection. The Gospel writers don't tell us a lot about these six weeks. Matthew and Mark mention Jesus' Great Commission and how we as followers of Jesus will perform greater miracles than He did. Luke tells us that the ascension occurred outside Jerusalem in Bethany. John tells us a bit more. He mentions Jesus appearing to the disciples at least three times - once immediately following the resurrection with Thomas absent, once a week later with Thomas present, and then on the beach of the Sea of Tiberias. It's during this visit that Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. With each of the three affirmative answers Peter is told "Feed my sheep." Jesus was apparently preparing Peter for the persecution and torture that he would have to endure.

Can you imagine what those six weeks would have been like? Everything Jesus foretold had come to pass. His disciples had to realize by now that Jesus was truly God incarnate. They had spent the last three years with the One True God and yet may not have appreciated that totally until now. What would they have asked Him? What would you have asked Him?

Jesus told Thomas, "You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet believe." That's us, but I suspect there's a little of Thomas in many of us. Frederick Buechner, a Presbyterian theologian, once said "Doubt is the ants-in-the-pants of faith. It keeps faith alive and moving." So, with the father of the boy with the convulsing spirit I too pray "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."

Jesus in the Temple, 12 AD

"Good morning Rabbi Matthew."

"Good morning class."

"GOOD MORNING RABBI THOMAS."

"OK class, who knows the 7^th plague on Pharaoh's Egypt?"

"Yes, you in the back row."

"Hailstorm, sir."

"Correct."

"How old was Methuselah?"

"Yes, you again in the back row."

"969, sir."

"Correct again."

"What was the width of Noah's ark?"

"No one else knows. OK, you in the back row."

"Approximately 75 feet, sir."

"What's a foot?"

"12 inches, sir."

"What's an inch?"

"Never mind sir. 50 cubits."

"Correct."

"OK, final question for today. How tall was Goliath?"

"Please, someone else must know this one. No? OK, you again in the back row."

"9 feet, 6 inches, sir."

"I know, I know. A foot is 2/3 cubit."

"What is your name, son?"

"Jesus, sir."

"How is it you know the scriptures so well?"

"It's not just that I know the Word, sir. Actually, I am the Word."

"You are the Word? Who calls you that?"

"My Father, sir."

"Joseph the carpenter from Nazareth?"

"No, sir. My Heavenly Father."

"Yahweh Himself calls you the Word?"

"Yes, sir."

"Does Yahweh have any other names for you?"

"Yes, sir. As a matter of fact He also calls me the Way, the Door, the Light, the Truth, and the Life, among others."

"Hmmmmm."

"Jesus! There you are!"

"Mom, what are you doing here?

"Jesus, we've been looking all over for you. Your dad and I have been worried sick. We left Jerusalem three days ago and thought you were in our group."

"I'm sorry, mom. I've been here in the temple tending to my Heavenly Father's business."

"Come, son. It's time to go home."

"OK, mom. I'm ready now."

"Rabbi Matthew, what do you make of all this?"

"I don't know, Rabbi Thomas."

"Well, what do you think we should do?"

"I think..... that we should ask Joseph and Mary if we can sponsor Jesus on the new show "Who Wants to Win a Million Denarii?" The temple could use a little work."

"Good idea!"