Thanks for carrying the water

For class, I needed to do some work with this coming Sunday's lectionary readings. One of the readings is John 2:1-11.

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Part of the deal is we're supposed to ponder the texts for a while and see what speaks to us. Because the class is "Culture, Media and Worship" we are also supposed to consider using mixed media and make the text relevant for today's people. So what are my impressions from this reading?

• In the reading Mary gets a speaking role but isn't named. I believe in the actors union that means she'd earn less of a paycheck. This annoys me.
• If there were 6 stone jars, each holding 20-30 gallons of water, we're talking 120-180 gallons of wine. Don't know about anyone else, but that begins to smack of gluttony to me. (Whatever happened to a few loaves and fishes being enough to feed the masses? That story doesn't say there was enough food to stuff the people like Thanksgiving turkeys, yet in this passage, it appears the people at the party in Cana would be capable of getting knee-walking drunk.)

I'm not finding much inspiration within the reading itself (doesn't help that I find John to be annoying to start with). Knowing that if I can find a personal connection, I'm sometimes more able (or willing) to work through a passage, I spent some time last night going through some family photos, looking for wedding pictures. (I'm fortunate enough that when my grandmothers on both sides died, an aunt on one side and a cousin on the other took it upon themselves to scan the old photo albums and press them to CD.) While I did find some cool wedding photos, I also found a ton of wonderful family pics that I was able to post as an album on Facebook, so that I can share them with my far-flung family and friends.

I can't say I had inspired moments with the scripture readings yesterday, but I did have a couple of hours of connections with family known and unknown, living and dead who have formed me and each in his or her way have made some contribution to the person I've become today. The connection to the text: even in the Gospel of John, where Jesus is made out to be a superhero, there is still a human element. The Jesus portrayed in the gospels still had to be raised by his immediate and extended family, his faith community and his neighbors. If there were a photo album for Jesus, would it have had a Grandpa Joe who was constantly holding a cigarette, the aunt who was always in the presence of a horse or a dog or some other critter, the unknown blurry images of a nearly forgotten family member from a few generations back who still contributed some thread of wisdom or family folklore? I think so.

To be human is to be in connection with others, chosen family or not. When we have some big idea, we all need someone in a supporting role, someone who might be unnamed who does the equivalent of telling the servants "do whatever he tells you" -- someone, somewhere, known or unknown is watching your back and giving you support. I've had a few water-to-wine moments. I couldn't be where I am today without them. There have been countless family members, bosses, co-workers and even strangers who have helped get the wheels in motion.

While it took the so-called miracle to get Jesus' disciples to believe in him, his mother believed in him from the beginning. I try to imagine a Mary who gives her boy the same kind of look of joy and hope that my mother did with my brother in the photo above. There's a miracle of faith that's played out every day between people who love each other, who see the potential of the other without a shred of evidence it can be so. Perhaps, rather than focusing on the enormous amount of alcohol produced, I'll spend some time thinking about those who have literally and figuratively "carried the water." To me, this is where the miracle lays: it's the everyday miracle of believing in each other and letting the love flow out of a seemingly empty water jar. I'll take 180 gallons from that jar any day.