Well, it’s been a couple of days since the last posting. Remember that we have established our central focus around a wedding feast, portrayed in John 2:1-11. For this time together, I would like for us to consider the essence of the wedding itself.
It is here, at this small town Galilean wedding, that Jesus performs his first miracle, or if you are John, His first “sign”. Once again, Mary (mother of Jesus) is there, along with many other family members and friends. It is a party. Sometimes, our monastic theology restricts our understanding of Biblical text, by limiting our interpretation of certain events or thoughts as mere metaphor or allegory. While I believe that there is truth to that, sometimes we need to see and experience the text for what it is. In this passage, we are reading about a wedding. One of the most significant aspects of the traditional Jewish wedding was to join together those who were pure, into a pure and sacred covenant. It was not a legal bond that would wipe away or erase past moral failures. As ‘church’ goers, isn’t it easy to look at situation where a friend is living with his girlfriend, and feel uncomfortable – almost ashamed? So, we encourage them to get married as soon as possible. When they finally do get married, we breathe this sigh of relief because somehow, this one act – this ceremony – has erased their immoral past. The marriage context that John speaks of was not that. We can read in the Torah the Jewish law that speaks of stoning a woman for sexual immorality. The spiritual and natural way of valuing one’s physical and mental being was to be pure. King David (2 Samuel 11), had sex with another man’s wife, tried to cover it up (unsuccessfully), had the man killed, and married the woman because she was pregnant. Notice that out of 27 verses that describe this story, only two are spent describing her time of grieving and marriage to David. Where was the celebration that John speaks of? In fact, David wrote in a psalm, “You’re the One I have violated, and you’ve seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil” (Psalm 51:4, The Message). He speaks of violating the pure order of living – mainly with Bathsheba. Genesis 2:25, “The two of them, the man and his wife, were naked, but felt no shame.” Did you catch that – “no shame?”
The bride and groom of the wedding had something going for them – no shame. People did not celebrate impurity and the violation of the law. They partied for days - danced, ate, drank wine, and laughed – because the couple exhibited a life of purity. It was a value that was established from the beginning. Once the two were married, they would be conducted to their honeymoon. This was no limo escape. Led by the light of torches, they would be guided through the streets along the longest course possible so that people could shower them with praise, blessings and gifts. It would be the equivalent of an Olympic athlete winning Gold, walking through the streets of his hometown, being showered with flowers, endorsements, and praise. It didn’t stop there. During the following week, the honeymoon, people would stop by there home to encourage and bless the new couple. The community honored their purity pre-marriage and their purity in marriage. It is natural and easy to celebrate what is right – pure.
This purity is applied to our whole lives. Let us consciously and intently seek out purity in friends, our community, and ourselves in order to celebrate the significance that such a life brings.
“Lord Jesus, help us today to operate in our relationships, our business dealings, and with ourselves in Purity. Give us the joy to celebrate the significance of a committed life in Christ – that might feel no shame! Amen.”
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