I wrote this on January 1, 2009…
Last night, I had a blast!
A couple from our church organized a New Year’s Eve gathering. Actually, it has become a bit of a tradition. Jim and Dale Browning have hosted a New Year’s Eve festival for about the last four years. Any Grace Family Fellowship families in town are welcome to join the fun. Jim uses his incredible gift of planning awesome competitions (think Amazing Race or Survivor) to create activities for everyone present– from youngest to oldest.
I’ve always enjoyed these annual gatherings… But, for some reason, last night seemed especially wonderful. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t sure who was able to attend or not. Lots of people were out of town and others had several things going on. But by “game time” several families had arrived (Brownings, Haupts, LoAlbos, Bransons, Kittrels, Schancks, and Chavez–although it was just Meggin Chavez because her twin girls were under the weather and Dave was on his way home form overseas). Enough for four distinguished teams to battle in dance-offs, pool, Pictureka, Tek Dek, and House of cards.
In addition there was food… lots of food. I now realize that I love “pot luck” gatherings. You can just graze all night. And graze we did. There was wine too (I know that may make some people a little uncomfortable, but I wanted to mention it because I will mention it later). There was also music. Yeah, we played CD’s and stuff, but I’m talking about live music. The Branson’s brought drums and a Shofar (yeah, I said Shofar!). The Bronwings provided a piano and guitars. And the rest of use had our vocal chords handy to fill in the blanks.
Although I could talk a lot about the competitions (the light blue team was very impressive– although we didn’t win it all), the post-competition celebration was the best part of the evening. After announcing victory for the red team (a surprise by all accounts) there was some shameless taunting. However, it quickly turned into a victory celebration for all of us.
I don’t know exactly how it all started… Maybe it was Tim Branson busting out some blues on the guitar, or Hillery Schank sitting cross-legged on the floor– booming out a Shofar blast on his way to mild hyperventilaion. Maybe it was Tracy LoAlbo’s victory dance, or Kevin Kittrel’s celebration shuffle. Or maybe it was just the kids and thier exuberant laughter. All I know is that the red team’s victory became all of ours– and we had FUN! We began chanting things for people to do– everyone had a chance to “bust a move” (kids) or “an ankle” (adults) ending in a conga line (I believe started by Dan LoAlbo). There was singing and cheers and laughter and high fives, there was hugging and dancing and shouting. There was… Joy.
And I can’t stop thinking about it today. It’s January 1st, 2009 and I feel like the year is off to a great start. Even though the economy is bad, the unemloyement rate is up, Christmas bills are due, Israel is at war with Humas, and the Redskins didn’t make the playoffs, we were able to celebrate like– well– like none of that could take away the fun we have together.
There is something really right about gatherings like last night. Something even spiritually uplifting.
This morning, I was thinking about Jesus’ first miracle. Do you know what it was? Do you know where it happened?
He was at a wedding. More specifically, he was at a wedding celebration. These were big deals in his culture. They lasted a long time (like a week… these people knew something about parties!). And something happened that could ruin everything. They ran out of wine. Talk about a faux pas. This was a big no no. But it happened. And Jesus stepped in and turned water into wine (told you I’d mention wine again). And not just any wine– but the best wine. He didn’t just fix the mistake, he went above and beyond. He didn’t just let the celebration continue– he raised it to a whole new level.
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus kicks off his miracle-parade with this one? What’s the big deal? It was just a party… A little embarrasment for the host and couple that will fade in time, right? Well, I think it was a big deal and I think it’s a big deal for us too.
They are many fascinating elements to this story (hey, why don’t I list a few?!?)
1) Jesus was invited to the wedding.
This may not seem that significant, but think about it. In the planning stages of the wedding celebration, someone said or thought, “We gotta get Jesus here– that will be a blast!” Jesus was included on the guest list. I bet he was fun to have around. We know he could tell a story, but I betcha he could tell a good joke too. Do you think he did impressions? Did he sing or play a drum? Did he dance with the bride– or his mom (she was there too)?
Are these thoughts and questions making you uncomfortable. I mean, we don’t usually think about Jesus this way, do we? But one thing is undeniable– he was invited. It says so right in John 2.
2) Jesus went to the wedding.
After gathering his disciples, Jesus gets down to the work he came to do. The disciples must have been pretty excited. After all, they left their jobs and homes and friends to follow Jesus. They were committed. I wonder what they were thinking when they joined up. If it were me, I would imagine a great theological lecture in the synagogue, a mystical spiritual experience on a mountain top, a clothing drive for the poor, or even a planning session to outline goals, objectives, and action steps.
What I would not imagine is a wedding. That seems like a waste of time. Kinda frivolous, isn’t it. I mean, if it was a wedding at the palace or something, I guess I could understand– but the couple isn’t even famous. I wonder if any of the disciples thought to themselves, Aren’t there more important things for us to be doing with our time… Did I leave my fishing business to watch a bride shove wedding cake into her new husband’s face?
We don’t know what they were thinking. Here’s what we do know. They were there. And I have a feeling that they had fun. I betcha that Peter even did a Hebrew break dance at some point in the party.
Why? Because I think they saw Jesus having fun. He went there to celebrate with the bride and groom. And when the wedding was winding down, he not only kept it going– he notched it up!
Here’s the point: I think Jesus liked parties. I think he liked to sing and laugh and dance and hug. In fact, I think he would have been one of the first ones to jump in with Dan LoAlbo shouting, “Conga line!” What do you think? If those thoughts seem irreverant or off-base, read John 2 and expalin it to me.
3) Jesus turns water into wine.
It’s miracle time. The wine is gone and they party is, therefore, winding down. As I mentioned, this was a social blunder. But Jesus saves the day. He takes a dying party and injects some life.
And the people enjoyed this wine. Jesus probably enjoyed it. But perhaps, he was thinking about more than just this particular wedding in Cana.
I wonder if he was thinking about the wine he would hold at the last supper. The wine he would call his blood? The wine he would say is a “new covenant”. I wonder if he was thinking about how he was going to inject some life into all of us one day– his life– so that we could celebrate at the wedding feast of the Lamb one day.
Again, we don’t know. We do know he made great wine. And he made a lot of it.
4) The people received his gift/miracle with great pleasure.
What Jesus did achieved what he wanted. The wine flowed, the party continued. But it was bigger than that. John 2:11 says that it “revealed his [Jesus'] glory and his disciples put there trust in him.”
Wow. That’s a lot to come from a party, huh?
Which brings me back to how I feel today– the day after the night before. I received a lot of gifts last night: Jim’s gift of planning and overseeing delightful competitions; Tim and Karen Schanck’s gift of music (Karen played the piano); the kid’s gift of excited exuberance; various gifts of cooking; Wade and Cooper’s (the Browinings oldest sons) gift of service (they didn’t participate in the events– instead the ran them for us to enjoy); Dale’s gift of hospitality; Anne and Kit’s gift of French; Hillery’s gift of unbridled passion; Dan’s gift of determined dancing; Meggin’s gift of unquestioned and immediate involvement;and Sandra’s gift of song and laughter. Everyone present gave me the gift of their love and friendship and presence.
And I realized this: It is good to celebrate as a family.
I don’t think we do that enough in our churches. I know that we haven’t. Even in a small church, you can get caught up in the little things. It can steal your joy and cloud your vision.
That’s why it’s probably good to stop and play, sing, dance, and laugh together sometimes. Actually, it’s probably better to do that more than anything else.
After all, Jesus likes parties and has a doozy prepared for his children that we will experience for eternity. And I think he kinda likes it when we start right now.
