A Work in Progress - February 27

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 41, 52; PM Psalm 44; Deut. 8:11-20; Heb. 2:11-18; John 2:1-12

Many years ago, when I was a youth minister, we used to have a large fundraiser every year to help our young people go on pilgrimage.  The fundraiser was a fancy dinner cooked by our youth and included a wonderful silent and live auction.  One of the families involved would always donate an extremely large bottle of wine, which if my memory serves me correctly was nine liters, the equivalent of an entire case of wine.  I’d never seen anything quite like it before, an enormous offering and certainly only appropriate for a party.

I think of those large bottles of wine when I read the wedding miracle at Cana, our Gospel reading for this Monday. In this reading, Jesus takes six large stone jars, each that would hold twenty to thirty gallons of water, and turns the water into wine. For comparison’s sake, these jars were probably three to four times the size of one of the large bottles of wine from the youth fundraiser. I am betting it was one lively celebration. 

Six is an interesting number in the Christian faith.  It is one just shy of completion.  Seven is a number that symbolizes completion and perfection. God creates the heavens and the earth in seven days.  Yes, the day of rest is necessary for the creation process.  In Luke, Jesus offers seven statements from the cross as he completes his earthly life, and in the Gospel of John, there are seven signs that point to the miracle of Jesus, and seven “I am” statements so that we come to know the meaning of Jesus for each of us. But in the wedding narrative, there are only six stone jars. 

One reading of this text could be that the story is yet to be finished, or the party is yet to be complete.  That is a wonderful reminder of our own lives too in the season of Lent.  We have a chance to reflect on our mortality, to reflect on ways we can grow and be more faithful, all because the story of God’s work in our lives is not quite complete.  God still has work to do, and we still have others to invite into the story to make it more complete. 

Our Christian faith is a journey.  And while God’s love is made fully manifest in each of our lives, our life lived out in faith is a work in progress.  In a penitential season, this is remarkably good news, because it means the work that we confess is left undone, is not the last bit of work.  And the banquet that God has invited us to is still waiting for us to arrive.  And there is more wine to be had, the gift of God being made fully manifest.

Faithfully,

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  What parts of your own faith story do you see in progress?  How do you anticipate growing in your faith?
Daily Challenge:  There are many ways of growing in your faith at Saint Stephen’s.  You can read the program guide here, talk to a clergyperson, or sign up for a class. If you don’t live near Saint Stephen’s consider doing one of our online classes or a class at your local church.