God's Abundance

Last Sunday, due to snow, we missed another great lesson from the Gospel. It dealt with the wedding at Cana and our lessons supported the Gospel. In Isaiah, the prophet writes about Jerusalem and Israel as a young bride and her groom with God rejoicing over the marriage of the land. In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes to the church at Corinth during a time of trouble pointing out that God has provided gifts via the Holy Spirit to all in the name of the same Lord. Finally in John we see the first of Jesus’ signs in his ministry. He, his mother and his disciples were guests at a wedding when the wine ran out. A wedding was a multi-day affair in those times and to run out of provisions for the guests was unthinkable. The vessels were stone, were for purification, and quite heavy even empty. Mary, being a caring person felt a need to help. Jesus noted His time had not come and anyway, why were they responsible. There is much symbolism here. It was the third day (resurrection was on the third day), the wine was better than the original wedding wine served first (Jesus is the true vine, giving the best wine), and the disciples and the servants saw the first sign of Jesus’ ministry. How does all this relate to us? We are all infused with gifts of the Spirit. I would venture that some of us have no idea of our gifts and what to do with them. God sees his people as the shining bride and bridegroom, the joining together and making something new, and finally, we receive the first wine (not the last) each time we commune and realize that God provides abundance in His love, His gifts, and His joy for us. Look not to scarcity in your life, look to the abundance that is there for you from God.

Blessings.
Nancy Trimble, LSIM Deacon