Holy Trinity by Fridolin Leiber (1853–1912) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) A “Family” portrait.
John 2:1-11. A wedding with wine. With Jesus and Mary as guests no less. There’s a lot here, in just a few short verses. Marriage as a sacrament, Jesus as a very human guest at a very human function, Mary’s concern for others, Jesus listening to His mother even tho His time wasn’t yet, and the simple joy of togetherness. I think this last aspect, the joy of people being together, gets lost sometimes in this impressive shuffle of truths. With all else set aside for just a minute, lets consider the joy that is “us”.
In the beginning God created man and woman. He created THEM. And He told them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth with people. The world has always been meant for “us”. Even hermits have friends, family and visitors. Living alone is quite alright. Being alone from time to time is good for us, a soothing calm can heal and enlighten. Jesus Himself spent time apart every once in awhile. But being the only person around, being the last man on earth, while a topic for good sci-fi, isn’t what we are meant for. We are meant for “us”, for each other. We are meant to be there to share the joy and turmoil, like the joy of the marriage and the turmoil of running out of wine, with each other.
God made “us” in His image. The family of man is patterned after the Family of God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the pattern and the example. The example set by the Divine Family, which is I think another way of saying Trinity but with a poetic bent, is one of love, trust, friendship, obedience, humility, truth and honesty. All things good are reflected in this Families example. Even the goodness, especially the goodness, of including others. God loves the process of adoption. Without it you and I would be orphans for eternity, wouldn’t we? Without any hope of there ever being an “us”.
Now here is a short and simple thought. Once again, simplicity ought never to be confused with ease. This short and simple thought is, I think, best expressed in question form.
Question: “Given the Divine Example, how does your relationship with those around you measure up?” A good way to answer this question might be to put yourself in a certain situation and ask yourself another question. If you were at a wedding and they were about to run out of wine and you knew it, which thing would be a major embarrassment that would last for as long as the memory of and the actuality of the couple’s marriage, what would you do?
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