There will be enough when we learn to trust and obey
“Pour out” said Jesus to the waiters at the banquet. Take some of that water you have just put into jugs, take it to the head waiter and pour it into his wine cup. There was little hesitation on the part of the waiters, they were there to serve tables and the only thing left to serve was water, the wine was all used up. You know the rest of the story, when the head waiter drank from his cup he drank wine. Better tasting wine than that he had been drinking before.
Don’t let the scale of the miracle divert you from the lesson. John, who recorded this event for us, calls it a ‘sign’ Sign is not just another word for miracle it is a word for an example of what Jesus was talking about. Although I have no trouble accepting this account just as it is, I know a lot of good people who loose the benefit of the story because they can’t believe it. Never let that stop you; to unite with God requires that a person believe in Jesus, that’s all. If you want to think of the story as an allegory you can do that, the important thing is that right now, today, you focus on these words “Pour out.” Because we have entered an era of scarcity. Mary said to Jesus, “They have no wine.” Today we would say to him, “They have no home, they have no job.”
Based on the story, we are to take whatever we have, no matter how weak it seems and distribute it liberally. This is the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven to which all who believe in God through Christ belong. The writer specifically tells us that there were six containers each holding twenty or thirty gallons, between 120 to 150 gallons. It’s laughable really, how much wine did they need? But this is part of the example, God gives abundantly. We call it the good news of abundance. God has chosen to give abundantly but he tells us to pour out the abundance.
Of course there’s an escape route; we God-respecting people can avoid being generous in our support of others by spiritualizing the story. If we say that the story only refers to the gift of spiritual life which God gives: then we don’t need to do anything but instruct other people to trust in God. That way we can hoard our energy and save ourselves from doing kindnesses. Or we can imitate Jesus and go about doing good, trusting God to take care of the results.
So let’s be liberal even though we feel our gifts are weak compared to the need. Let’s pour courageously. Think back on your own lives, did acts of kindness ever change your day? Did that changed day help to shape your life? God gives to the deserving and the undeserving, to those who help themselves and those who can’t help themselves. We, as citizens of his culture are called to do likewise. God gives and also forgives, what a lot of courage it takes to do for others what God has done for us
Don’t let the scale of the miracle divert you from the lesson. John, who recorded this event for us, calls it a ‘sign’ Sign is not just another word for miracle it is a word for an example of what Jesus was talking about. Although I have no trouble accepting this account just as it is, I know a lot of good people who loose the benefit of the story because they can’t believe it. Never let that stop you; to unite with God requires that a person believe in Jesus, that’s all. If you want to think of the story as an allegory you can do that, the important thing is that right now, today, you focus on these words “Pour out.” Because we have entered an era of scarcity. Mary said to Jesus, “They have no wine.” Today we would say to him, “They have no home, they have no job.”
Based on the story, we are to take whatever we have, no matter how weak it seems and distribute it liberally. This is the culture of the Kingdom of Heaven to which all who believe in God through Christ belong. The writer specifically tells us that there were six containers each holding twenty or thirty gallons, between 120 to 150 gallons. It’s laughable really, how much wine did they need? But this is part of the example, God gives abundantly. We call it the good news of abundance. God has chosen to give abundantly but he tells us to pour out the abundance.
Of course there’s an escape route; we God-respecting people can avoid being generous in our support of others by spiritualizing the story. If we say that the story only refers to the gift of spiritual life which God gives: then we don’t need to do anything but instruct other people to trust in God. That way we can hoard our energy and save ourselves from doing kindnesses. Or we can imitate Jesus and go about doing good, trusting God to take care of the results.
So let’s be liberal even though we feel our gifts are weak compared to the need. Let’s pour courageously. Think back on your own lives, did acts of kindness ever change your day? Did that changed day help to shape your life? God gives to the deserving and the undeserving, to those who help themselves and those who can’t help themselves. We, as citizens of his culture are called to do likewise. God gives and also forgives, what a lot of courage it takes to do for others what God has done for us
Labels: abundance liberality
posted by Jessie Coates at 3:12 AM
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