Oh no, what every pastor dreads, it's time to preach on John 2: "But how could Jesus do this to me; did he even think through the difficulties that would arise when he turned water into wine? So many troubling questions? Maybe we can just leave out this chapter entirely, no one will notice?" Sadly, the nature of the church beast is to read John 2 and then quickly jump to argument and dispute concerning the questionable alcoholic content of the wine. (Was it grape-juice? Low alcoholic content: 10 parts water and 1 part wine, or maybe Jesus changed it for medicinal reasons so the guests at the party wouldn't get sick?) Only in America does this issue stir such passionate debate. I spent a year in Russia and they served champagne for lunch in the kindergarten teachers lounge while we were showing the "Jesus Film" and no one gave it a second thought...no big deal. This debate reminds me of a wedding I attended 10 years ago: while getting some punch for my wife and I, a church member was standing next to me watching as the bar tender was serving beer from the tap. He turned to me and quietly muttered under his breath, "Look, the devil is staring at us out of that cup." I looked at him and said, "I didn't know plastic could hold him so easily; don't worry, I think the devil has better places to be tonight."
So, is the devil in the drink? And if he is, what does Jesus have to say for himself when he made over 150 gallons of the "best vintage" wine to keep the festivities going at a wedding party? How could Jesus, the holy one, make something that could cause someone to sin? (And while we are asking, was Jesus promoting gluttony when he fed the 5,000? Was he promoting adultery when he let a prostitute wash his feet with her hair?) Surely there must be an answer that makes everyone happy? Well...there isn't. Here is why... 1) Jesus made actual alcoholic wine, there is no way getting around it. (Ephesians 5:18 uses the same Greek word for wine as John 2 -- and this verse offers indirect proof that this wine is fermented because you can get drunk on it.) 2) True lovers of God are not to get drunk on it, for it is sin & you won't inherit heaven. (1 Cor. 6:10) So a word to the grace abuser: Stop being a drinking hero and bragging about your ability to hold your liquor (Isaiah 5:22), and please don't let alcohol find you for a fool (Proverbs 23:29-35). What God asks of us is to allow him to reveal Christ in our lives (Gal. 1:15-16), and we do this by becoming a godly noble adult who exercises self-control (Gal. 5:23). So grow up and quit glorying in your shame (Phil. 3:19). 3) The final truth that is often missed and forgotten is that wine actually is a gift, it is given to lift the heart of man (Psalm 104:15). In our zeal to prove our purity and our capacity for self-denial through praise-worthy human effort, we disallow and condemn some things that God wanted us to have for good. The question in everything we do is the matter of, "Am I exercising 'proper use' or 'abuse?'" Did you know it is possible to drink too much coffee and Mountain Dew? (I know the pounding headaches of "abuse" first hand). So this debate will continue to rage, people will continue to argue it till God's kingdom comes. But what is lost in the smoke of the on-going cannon fire is that discerning the exact level of alcoholic content in the "best vintage" wine has absolutely nothing to do with the message of John 2. In our myopic fuss we miss the point of the story completely! Jesus turning water (ceremonial jars for purification) into wine is a statement of how he now offers his new life to us by grace. He has come to totally fulfill the law, just like he had the water pots filled to the brim; and now he asks you to draw out of his completed work on our behalf, this new, substantial, "best vintage" life by faith (Isaiah 12:3). I once heard a person say, "I wish Jesus never turned water into wine because it makes things so complicated." Consider that statement a second, someone has the gall to question the decisions made by the Lord of Glory! Who do we think we are? If Jesus wants to turn water into wine, I think he knows what he is doing. Why can't we simply learn to fall on our knees in worship and wonder, "What a wonderful, creative, dangerous God!"
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We laugh at them, but we all want what the ladies in the Miss America contest are fighting for, “World Peace!” Who doesn't want a better world? If we could all just learn to live and let live, we could do it. For years European & American writers, philosophers and social engineers have been in search of establishing a man-made Utopia on earth, “A place where there is mutual harmony, people are self governed, authority structures are dismantled, and people are free to be who they want to be.” Many novels have been written to try to dream of a world where war would end and people would flourish. One such book was Walden 2 written by B. F. Skinner where he imagined a community where “the members are happy, productive, and creative; happiness derives from the promotion of rich social relationships and family life, free affection, the creation of art, music, and literature, opportunity for games of chess and tennis, and ample rest, food, and sleep. The community is self-governed; lack of any institutionalized government, religion, or economic system.”
Wow, could this ever happen? Many communities over the years tried to actually live utopia out, hoping to allow everyone to “live in happiness in the way that they see fit.” One such experiment was called “The Home Colony” (or just Home) established in 1901. It was 217 acres of land divided into 2 acre parcels with a cabin to anyone who wanted to join, just as long as they agreed upon on its individual anarchist ideals and to pay for their lot.There would be an "...absence of all laws, rules or regulations." In such a society, the only requirements of residents would be that they follow "...their own line of action no matter how much it may differ from the custom of the past or present." In turn, the members of the community would not condemn or ostracize any of their fellow neighbors. The first four years of Home went by with relative success, but soon individualist lifestyles became impossible to live with. The community became a refuge for convicts who were fleeing past crimes, constant quarrels and bickering became the normal behavior of neighbors, and the final straw that broke the back of the community was a disagreement about nude bathing at the beach. The town newspaper called The Agitator entitled an article called "The Nudes and the Prudes." The writer protested against the "prudes" in the colony because they were attempting to suppress freedom. Tensions continued to mount, disagreements grew so one by one people began to move out and join normal society once again. Utopia was not to realized! But can it ever be? If we just got the right people together, we could do it, couldn't we? Well G. K. Chesterton made a brilliant observation about all forms of Utopia and Political Idealism, “The weakness of all utopias is this: that they take the greatest difficulty of man and assume it to be overcome, and then give an elaborate account of the overcoming of smaller ones. They first assume that no man will want more than his share…” In other words, mankind’s biggest problem is his own sinful selfishness. If you don’t account for that, nothing else will work. That is why we need law, justice, jails and the proper use of force. It is naive to think people are basically nice and intrinsically good - - because the truth is, the more you give to someone the more they will want. Human selfishness is like grass, the more you water it, the more it grows. Niceness and limitless compassion actually make matters worse, not better. Just ask Prime Minister Chamberlain if Adolph was as fine a fellow as he originally thought? And let me ask you, how do you like the bare-chested Putin these days? He really is a nice guy, isn't he? If you ever have the chance to acquire some boys, do it, they really are quite a bargain. I have purchased two of them for myself and I wouldn't trade them for the world. My oldest boy is named Joseph, the younger is Giovanni (aka: Gio); they are a dynamic duo of laughter and challenge. It is a strange thing, if I was ever to take a Samurai sword and cut myself in two, I think out would pop Joseph and Gio. They contain the two sides of me.
Joseph is the quiet thinker who ponders life from a different angle. I have been accused of being strange and I never really understood why. But in my son I see it. When he was young, around 5, Joseph and I could play the Nintendo 64 game Banjo Kazooie for hours on end trying to figure out how to defeat the rotten witch on that video game. We didn't have to say a word, but we knew exactly what the other was thinking. Eventually we beat the game together, and let me tell you, spending time with him was and still is a great way to release the stress of the world. He still is my gamer: Chess, Stratego, Clue, Settlers of Cataan; you name it he will play it...and so will I. Gio is the fiery communicator that loves competition and physical games of aggression. He also likes it when a little bit of blood is part of the deal. (I don't know what it is about a bloody nose or lip, but it adds that extra bit of excitement to make a sport fun). I just introduced Rugby to him, and he is taking to it like fish to the water. It is weird, but he even likes the Ohio State fight song, especially the dotting of the "i" during the script Ohio. He is the son that asks questions, is interested in the quirkiness of relationships, that is frustrated at the brokenness of life. He likes to figure people out. Like me! Let me tell you: I love these boys, and I would do anything for them! But I have to be honest with you, "I don't think I could ever let them die for you." Oh, don't get me wrong, I care about people, I really do, but not enough to let my boys die! These are my boys, my pride and joy, my image bearers - - how could I let them be destroyed for the mistakes of others? You would have to be crazy to think I would sacrifice these two amazing boys for rotten sinners? Well God Did! God allowed the Son he loved, the one that looked and acted just like him, to die for us! That is crazy, isn't it? Yeah it's crazy, crazy love as Francis Chan says. "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that who so ever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Think about that a second. We have lost the amazement of God's heart toward us: He sent his Son and let him die.... FOR ALL OF US!!!!! I wouldn't do it, but he did. I guess what I am trying to say is this: "If you ever think that God doesn't care, that he sits far and away on a throne of chilly silence....THINK AGAIN!" He let his Son die for you! Have a great day. |
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