April 3rd, 2008
Divine Details
“When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.”
John 2:3
This week at the boys’ school is Spirit week, and we have had fun coming up with their outfits. Monday was “Nerd Day.” Caleb had heard somewhere that nerds pull their pants waaaay up, so, both boys wanted to wear sweatpants that could almost reach their shoulders. Ryan spiked his hair in an Einstein-type of “do”, and Caleb plastered his down with a side part. Long white socks (with one pulled up over the bottom of the sweat pants in order to reach the knee) completed their outfits. Very cute. Tuesday brought “’80’s Day.” Now, reach back in your memory with me! They each wore two polo shirts with the collars up, a sweater slung over their shoulders and tied in front and jeans. We parted their hair in the middle and feathered it back. For Wednesday’s “Twin Day” they decided to each wear overalls, blue collared shirts with black ties. Talk about details!
I guess because I have been in the mode of thinking of these details, I noticed that Jesus did the same thing. Have you ever thought about that? Here Jesus was, at a wedding in Cana and they ran out of wine. My first question, of course, was, why did they run out? Then I noticed part of the guest list – Jesus, his mother, brothers and disciples. His disciples? Why in the world were they invited? Were all friends of friends of the bridal party invited? We’ll never have answers to that, but I do wonder if having the newly-found 12 friends of Jesus attend the party caused a strain in the drink supply. ANYWAY, that’s NOT the point, that’s just one of those meandering questions that I have.
My point is, Jesus supplied the wine for all the guests. Did he have to? No. It was not his wedding, and he was not the one who would be shamed by the lack of supply. In fact, if he were thirsty for wine he could have easily just turned his own glass of water into wine without telling a single soul. But he didn’t. Instead, he supplied wine for all the guests. Why?
The Bible says, “In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.” (2:11) He did it to reveal his glory. This was his first public “sign” that he was more than just a man attending a wedding. He did it to show a piece of his divinity. But, as I thought about it, I again came back to the details of the event.
Jesus could have done his first sign for his followers in any number of ways. But the way he chose was unobtrusive and caring. He not only took care of the thirst of the crowd, but he also kept the host from shame. So often I focus on the deity of Jesus – his awesome power, his universal love. But I lose focus on his caring about the details. What I wear, where I sleep, the tone I use with the clerk at the store (who made me wait a LONG 10 min.). This week I am trying to focus on praying about details – not just salvation for Africa, but that God would direct even which brand of milk I buy or gas station to fill up at. He is the God of details, but do I let him direct them?