by Sarah Brock
Today’s Readings:
AM Psalm 41, 52 PM Psalm 44
Deuteronomy 8:11-20; Hebrews 2:11-18;
It’s been my experience that many of us don’t really like change. Change is hard. Whether it’s kicking an addiction, sending a child to his first day of school, the diagnosis of a chronic condition, moving a teen into her first college dorm, changing jobs, moving elderly family out of a home filled with a lifetime of memories, or one of the millions of ways life calls us to change.
Or one of the millions of ways that God calls us to change. Change our lives, change our vocation, change our role in our community….
Even when it’s something that we’re excited about and looking forward to, the moments of change are often emotionally demanding. Beginning a better job, buying your first house, having a baby, or moving to a new city all come with challenging times of preparation and transition.
Change is hard!
This may be especially noticeable during Lent. Many people see these 40 days as a chance to change unhealthy habits. Some choose to quit smoking or drinking, others to eat healthier or exercise more. Perhaps you’re attempting to curtail your addiction to social media or sugar or using and discarding so much plastic. Every year I watch friends struggle to let go of a bad habit through this season.
Jesus, too, doesn’t want to change. Here he is at a wedding celebration, relaxing and reveling with his friends and family, enjoying himself. It’s early in his life journey and mostly he’s still just Jesus of Nazareth, the son of a carpenter. He’s only just beginning to become Jesus the Messiah and he seems content with how things are in this moment.
And then the wine runs out.
When Mary comes to him with the expectation that he will miraculously resolve this problem, Jesus responds negatively. “My hour has not yet come,” he tells her.
Jesus is clearly not ready for the inevitable change that will come with becoming the Messiah. He clearly would rather keep things the way they are, at least for now.
But, just as for all of us, change is inevitable for Jesus and in the end he just has to deal with it. As mothers sometimes do, Mary insists that he help out by completely ignoring his objection and proceeding as if he’d agreed with her all along. Jesus is left with no choice but to comply, turning water into the best wine.
This is the first of his signs. A sign to the world that he is not simply Jesus of Nazareth, son of a carpenter, but he’s becoming something more. A sign to the world that Jesus’ life is changing. A sign to the world of his glory.
And his disciples believed him.
And we believe him.
And even when change is hard, Jesus is right there with us.
Sarah Brock is a postulant in the Diocese of Massachusetts and lives in Boston.
Image Credit: Paolo Veronese, The Wedding at Cana from Wikimedia
