Good Afternoon.
The relationship between mothers and sons is always an
interesting one. Today’s Gospel lesson
brings us the wedding at Cana, which some people seem to remember more for the
words between Jesus and Mary than for the miracle of the water into wine.
After informing Jesus that the wine is all gone at the
wedding celebration, Jesus says to Mary “Woman, what concern is that to you and
to me?” Is he really saying “Mind your
own business, mom!” Like much of
scripture – and most mother/son relationships – the comment is certainly open
to a lot of interpretation. I’m not sure
that he is rebuking his mother. The
addition of “and to me” makes it sound like,
“this is really any of our business.”
The addition of the statement “My hour has not yet come” adds yet
another layer to the conversation. Mothers and sons. Who knows?
Scripture tells us nothing of the relationship between Jesus
and Joseph. It tells us more about Mary
and about the interaction between Jesus and Mary. But if you think about it, we are left with a
lot of gaps in the life of Jesus and his family. Sometimes that has given rise to a whole
subculture of questionable texts purporting to reveal details of Jesus’
personal like. Some texts have claimed
to know all about Mary. Others have
claimed to know all about the relationships between Jesus and other people,
such as Mary Magdalene. Still others
claim that he wasn’t really crucified, and there are a wide variety of
explanations about “what really happened.”
One of the most fascinating has to be the story of a little village in
Japan, Shingo, which claims to be where Jesus is actually buried. They even claim to have Jesus’ last will and
testament!
The stories don’t bother me.
I am bothered when they make claims of authenticity and
factualness. The human imagination is a
wonderful thing, and if you spend any time thinking about the life of Jesus you
are likely to flirt with some myths and fables – perhaps of your own
making. I prefer it when fiction is
clearly identified as fiction, and there are some wonderful works of fiction
meant to express the author’s imagination and nurture our own thinking. They range from the beautiful story by Henry
Van Dyke, “The Other Wiseman,” to more complicated imaginings from Anne Rice’s “Christ the Lord:
Out of Egypt” to perhaps one of the most controversial “The Last
Temptation of Christ” by Nikos Kazantzakis.
They are not blasphemous. They
are simply the product of the creative mind of artists who have tried to
imagine what human life might have meant to Jesus and those around him.
When you reflect on Christ, don’t be afraid of your
imagination. Don’t confuse the things
that you – or others – have imagined with the scriptural witness that we have
been given. Don’t “invent” your own
version of Jesus and worship that version.
But remember that our imaginations are among the many gifts that God has
given us to help us understand the revelation of Jesus that we have
received.
Let us pray: Almighty
God, we give You thanks for the witness of Scripture, the witness of tradition,
the witness of all the saints in glory who have gone before us. Fill us with the appropriate sense of awe
that both Your power – given witness by the resurrection – and Your love – as
shown to us in Christ on the cross – should inspire in us. Lead us to use the gifts of intellect and
imagination that You have given us so that filled with the truth of the Holy
Spirit we may always search to understand how to live our lives as Christ
Himself has shown us. In Jesus’
name. Amen.
Today’s readings are Isaiah 52:3-6; Revelation
2:1-7; John 2:1-11; Psalm 103, 114 & 115.
Blessings.
Pastor Jim
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