On January 4 and 11 we discussed John 2:1-11, where Jesus attended a wedding, turning water into wine. We shared amusement in reading between the lines about Jesus' relationship with his mother, and the general comic tone of the story, where most people do not know what is happening or how the wedding is saved by the replenishing of the all-important wine.
This story has a clear gnostic tone, in that many people do not know who Jesus is, even though he is in their very midst. Yet in this sign John reports that his disciples perceive, to some degree, Jesus' nature, and believe. We also observed that, though they may be enlightened at the moment, they will be in the dark again in the future!
Wine is a powerful symbol of the kingdom of God, so running out at a wedding would have been more than inconvenient -- it could be seen as a withdrawal of God's blessing on the couple.
As we sought to apply the Scripture to our lives, one of the main ideas concerns our illusion of control over many of our affairs. So the hope of being able to let go of that control is encouraging, knowing that God in Christ is with us . . . if things go awry, perhaps it is part of God's plan; or simply an opportunity for Jesus to reveal himself to us, as well.
For January 18, please read ahead in John, completing chapter 2 and 3. We will focus on Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, and also take a look ahead to be sure we are planning to cover books and sections of the New Testament that are of interest to the class. We have also suggested that we might go ahead and plan to meet through next year to provide more time and ease to cover the New Testament, rather than rush through by the end of May this year.
