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Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Comedic Reflections on a Biblical Story {Reflections}
Ever wondered why Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding? On our 75th episode of the Reflections podcast, I, Ryan, along with a group of lively young men, take a comedic yet insightful look at this intriguing story from the Gospel of John. Join us as we explore the cultural nuances and humorous elements of this miracle, questioning the deeper meanings behind it. Did Jesus simply want to keep the party going, or was there a more profound reason behind this act of divine intervention? Our conversation is sure to offer fresh insights and laughs, as we ponder the human side of Jesus and his empathy for life's celebrations.
We'll also entertain you with two fascinating interpretations of this miracle's significance. One view suggests that Jesus was helping the wedding hosts avoid embarrassment, while another highlights his deep understanding and empathy for human experiences. By the end of the episode, you'll not only have a new appreciation for this iconic story but also some great laughs along the way. So grab your headphones, hopefully not licked like mine, and join us for a thought-provoking and fun discussion that promises both enlightenment and entertainment.
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Hey, what is up everybody? Welcome to our Reflections podcast. My name is Ryan and Mike just told me this is episode 75. Man, amazing, I've got a good one for you today too. But first you need to know I'm using some brand new, fresh out of the wrapper headphones. Thank you, mike, for the new headphones, and I licked them just to claim my territory. No one else can use them. Now you're wondering did you really lick them or not? Yeah, who knows? Okay, so for 75, episode 75,.
Speaker 1:I want to talk about a story that I think is awesome and hilarious at the same time. It comes from the Gospel of John. I'm reading John with a couple of young men. They're in their early 20s and they wanted to read the Bible together and kind of just talk about it. I'm like, yeah, I'm in, let's go. And so we're reading through the Gospel of John and we got to this story and they're like what in the world? And here it is, it's John, chapter 2. You might know the story If not. Here's the background.
Speaker 1:Jesus goes to a wedding, very common in the ancient world, in the ancient Near East. He's invited to a wedding. These feasts would last for many days in the ancient Near East and there was lots of drinking and eating and dancing. It was a celebration, which is awesome. I love it and this. So John also has like seven miracles or seven signs, and this is his first one. And so they're hanging out at this feast a wedding feast and suddenly the wine begins to run out, which you know is not a good thing. Even today, you don't want to run out of wine at a wedding. That's not good. And so Jesus' mother Mary comes to him and is like hey, jesus, they're out of wine. And I love his response. He's like woman, what does this have to do with me? My time hasn't come yet. Like hey, stay in your lane, mom, I'm over here chilling with the bros and it's not my time yet, or something like that. And she goes to the host. I love moms, moms are the best. She goes to the host because she knows her son. She's like hey, listen, do whatever he tells you. I don't know. In other words, I'm reading into the text here. In other words, he's like I know my son, he's going to sort it out. Just pay attention to what he tells you to do. Which is incredible. Jesus then goes and tells he's like okay, fine, I'm in. He tells the host fill up these watering pitchers that were used for sacred washing and fill them up with water. And then the guy's like, okay, I can imagine this guy's probably confused and not knowing what to do. And he does it. And then, lo and behold, jesus turns the water into wine.
Speaker 1:This has become like a cultural sort of icon, even in, like, non-religious groups. This is a hilarious story and here's why it's funny to me. Why it's funny because this is his very first miracle. He wasn't planning on doing doing it. His mom kind of asks him to do it. He says no, she's like I just do what. He says he's gonna do it and he does it, and that what's funny about it to me is that this is his first miracle.
Speaker 1:His first miracle as the son of god is to help a bunch of people who are already drunk to maintain their buzz. What are you talking about? Like these, these folks are already, you know, a few glasses in. Probably it's this long celebration and he's trying to help things out. And it raises the question for me and probably for a lot of folks why is this the first miracle?
Speaker 1:And there's actually several thoughts on this. I'm going to give you two of them. One I like, one I love. What I like is that Jesus is, of course, god in the flesh, but he's in the flesh. And here he is, jesus at a celebration for a wedding with a couple, a place in which it would be very shameful to have run out of wine, and Jesus cares about that kind of thing. He loves celebrations, he loves to be with people. I'm sure he was dancing and engaging in the prayers and the whole nine. If he's there, I can imagine him doing these kinds of things, and so he's supporting. He loves love. He loves celebration. I'm imagining this is the kind of Jesus that he is, and so why would he, why would he not want to help out here? And so I love that. I love that he's trying to help out this couple.
Speaker 1:The second thing is this in the prophets you know the prophets, of course early on in the Hebrew scriptures before Jesus they talked a lot about a new kingdom to come, or an ordering of the world that God would come, and they had different names for it, but the day of the Lord, or the day when God would make all things new, when things would be made whole and right again, and they talked a ton about this, and there's several allusions to what this time will be. They call it the end of time, or the age to come is a better way to put it. This time will be, they call it, you know, the end of time, or the age to come is a better way to put it, and they talked about this age to come and they had many metaphors and pictures, but one of the most prominent ones is they talked about the age to come, the day when God would restore all things and renew all things. They talked about it as like a great party with great wine. In Isaiah 25, 6, for example, it says that. Or in Joel, the prophet Joel in chapter 2, says that a day will come when God will restore and deliver his people and God will send grain and new wine and oil. I love it. So the new wine had been cut off in Joel's prophecy in the early parts of Joel, but now, when God renews his people and renews all things, the mountains will drip with wine in chapter 3.
Speaker 1:Now Peter, in fact, actually after Jesus, during Pentecost, peter quotes Joel during Pentecost. According to Peter, the age of the spirit, or this age to come, was at hand and so many early Jewish interpreters used Joel as this picture of what the messianic age would look like Like hey, when the Messiah comes, it will look like this great feast with new grains and wine pouring from the mountains, like wine in the ancient Near East was considered a blessing and it represented stability and peace. And so Joel, and then, of course, later Peter and maybe even Jesus, here is describing an age of peace and blessing. And maybe, just maybe, jesus is alluding to Joel's prophecy or these other ones in Isaiah. It's a declaration that a new age has dawned, one of blessing and peace and stability. I love that.
Speaker 1:So in Jesus, a new day has dawned the gospel writers seem to talk about and he's maybe referring back to these prophecies about the age to come when new wine will flow from the mountains and there'll be plenty to go around and this idea of a great feast.
Speaker 1:And here they are at a feast, a celebration, and Jesus turns the water into wine. He's revealing the generosity, the abundance of this kingdom of God brought forth in Jesus, that this new messianic era has indeed dawned in Jesus. So the only proper response when a new day has dawned is to celebrate. So, my friends, today. May you know the abundance of God and the love of celebration and goodness and peace and stability. May you know and have a picture of this messianic era dawned in Jesus and coming in fullness, and may we celebrate it today. Amen, peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our liturgical gathering, or 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg. Peace.
