wonderings on cana

I just got back from being out of town. Early in my trip we were able to attend my cousin's wedding at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Notre Dame. All the wedding activities were a lot of fun. In a couple weeks I am going to be preaching on John 2:1-11, the passage where Jesus turns water into wine. It took place at a wedding where the wine was running out. This would have been a social disaster for the family, but Jesus saves the day by making some awesome wine. I'm just starting my prep work for the sermon, but I could not help but contrast the text w/ my cousin's wedding. I've read this passage in John 2 many times, but I still don't think I get the whole picture. I wish I could have been there to see Jesus interact w/ other guests. What was He like at this event; what was the event itself like?

Sometimes I wonder if we interpret scripture based off of stoic, dry, sanitized painting of the past. Like this one to the right. Now I'm not an art history person, w/ any knowledge about anything, but this sure seems like a lame party to me, one where no wine is flowing. Is it a wedding feast or a funeral? My question is how we view Jesus today. Do we view Him as a somber guest at a lame party? Do we view Him as a someone distant and quiet? Or do we view Him as something different? I'm not done making conclusion on this passage (and probably never will be), but I think a better picture of Jesus is one where He desires for us to thrive, where we are restored, redeemed, and revived. The making of water into wine can be seen as a picture of turning something ordinary into something worth celebrating. This is a picture of our relationship w/ Him. As regenerates us, He turns our lives of survival into lives that thrive in Him and experience the full range of emotions, includes fun and celebration.

There could have been multiple reasons why they ran out of wine that day: maybe they were poor and didn't have the money to buy enough wine, maybe they had the money but didn't plan well, or maybe folks were simply drinking more than what was planned for (meaning people were having a great time). I think the party was hopping that day. I think Jesus was laughing and celebrating w/ everyone else. I think He saved the day. And I think the best is yet to come. That's the Jesus I see in the passage.

books

K8 and I are heading out this week for a couple weeks off. We’ll be visiting family. My cousin is getting married at Notre Dame, and after a few days there then we’ll go to the Black Hills to hang w/ K8’s family. So we’re packing, which isn’t something I usually put much thought towards. But I have a dilemma, what books do I take w/ me? It’s a toughy. I am currently reading a lot of different things, some personal, some professional, some fun, some not, but all worthy.

So I need to make a decision. It’s a matter of suitcase space and reality (what am I actually going to possibly ready maybe. I usually bring more than I will read). At the moment, none of these books are on my Kindle, surprisingly. So I need to make a decision. I’ll figure it out, but I thought it would be fun to share what I’m reading right now, and maybe someone can give me some insight on which would be better for vacation.

Here they are:
-John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion” (A classic book of theology, guaranteed to get some “church nerd” jokes from my loved one’s)
-“World Café” by Juanita Brown (A book describing a method of bring community folks together to discuss common interests, community organizing goodness)
-“My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult (an interesting novel, generally read by women, but I’m down)
-My Bible (it’s the good book after all)
-“Exiles” by Michael Frost (a book about living a missionally our culture which doesn’t feel obligated to the Christian faith)
-“Plan B” by me (it’s my half-way done attempt at writing fiction, which I want to finish this summer, but haven’t written on in a few months)
-“The Disappearance of the Universe” by Gary Renard (a Gnostic/”new agey” book I’m reading for a spirituality study group w/ neighbors)

incarnational ministry

In the world of new church development/church planting much is being said about being incarnational versus attractional in one's approach. One way to differentiate the two is to say that incarnational means "going out to the people", while being attractional means "calling the people in". Some do not like these labels, but it makes one think about how the church relates to its neighbors. I'm not going to give any dissertation here on the benefits and costs of each, but I will offer this quote I read this week from "The Tangible Kingdom" by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay. It offers an interesting component of incarnational ministry.

"The incarnational big-story gospel will require a place of discovery, where people will be able to see the truth before they hear about it. This place will not be a location but a community of people who are inclusive of everyone. These people will be making eternity attractive by how they live such selfless lives now, and will be modeling life in a New Kingdom in ways that will make it easy for other people to give it a try. People like this aren’t desperate to convert everyone; they are desperate to be like Christ and to be where Christ is. Their heartbeat to be transformed into the image of Christ, and to pray and work for little specks of transformation in everyone and everything they touch. Success is faithfulness. The rest is up to God."

time

One interesting discovery I've made recently has to do w/ my use of time. There are days when the day is mine and I can do what I wish (hang w/ folks, read, do whatever). Other days, I have competing very valuable things I can to choose from. For instance on Tuesday evenings, there are several beneficial activities I feel I "should" participate in for the good of our ministry. I can go to a running club where I can meet people from the community, I can attend a study group w/ some spiritually-open neighbors, or I can attend a small group from another church. Tuesday evenings represent my week in general.

The question is a philosophical question of my time. With the task of gathering folks together for the church plant, I have a choice of options. Do I focus on meeting folks from the community, who may or may not be spiritually open? Do I focus on spiritually open folks, who do not have a Christian leaning (and maybe do not even want to go there)? Or do I focus on meeting and gathering Christian people to form some sort of core group? What should be my focus of time? Right now my answer is to do all three. But the problem comes on Tuesday night, when they all meet at the same time; I'm forced to make a decision. It becomes a strange balance of being faithful w/ my time and which is best for that week/day. Whatever I decide on the given week/day, it is a challenging decision. It creates another opportunity to listen to the Holy Spirit and step out in faith.

the weekly freak out

In the work we find ourselves in we feel very supported by different churches, friends, and family. But usually, about once a week, I have a little freak out. I question what we're doing and how we're doing it, wondering who will join us and how we will sustain the long road ahead. These freak outs are usually drawn from self-imposed pressure to perform. Usually it comes in moments when I think about the performance objectives I place on myself or worrying about how I am going to pull it all together. "Me", "I", and "self", do you see the Aaron-centric perspective in these moments. The freak outs come when I worry about how I will be viewed by others, how I will make it happen, or how I think I am doing. "Me, me, me."

Usually the freak outs end when I go for a walk, and allow the Spirit to again breathe life into me, reflecting on the scriptures, and the truth that God is in control, this is His church, His ministry, His servant. A fellow church planter in Seattle gave me this advice, he said, "Always remember that you are a child of God." Whether the church we start is an awesome success or a horrible failure, I am His child. Whatever happens, I am His. I think it is healthy to have the weekly freak out; it keeps me humble and rooted in the One who has called us. I would prefer however to grow in maintaining a God-centered perspective in life, rather than drifting toward that Aaron-centric perspective which results in the freak out. My prayer is that we will all grow in our knowledge that we are His, that we are under His blanket of love, and that we live only under His grace.