The First Miracle of Jesus

I started writing this as a Facebook post, but it started to get a little long... :)

I've been thinking about this morning's gospel lesson and sermon a lot. The text was from John 2 (1-11) when Jesus changes water into wine, his first miracle. In verse 9 you read, "He did not realize where it [wine] had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew"

It's a simple sentence. One you probably quickly pass over. But it was pointed out in the sermon and it's worth taking a second look at. Verse 11 reads, "What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory" This was a big deal. It was the first sign. The first miracle. The first of many to come. It holds importance.

But what we read in verse 9 is that Jesus did not perform his miracle in front of the wedding party or guests. He performed his first miracle before the servants. The poorest, lowliest and oppressed. These were the very first to witness a miracle.

And from that moment on, that would be continue to be Jesus' focus. He continued to show love, to help, to preach to those people: the poor, the oppressed, the lonely, the sick, the widowed, the children. Those who most people considered to be beneath them, Jesus embraced with open arms.

Now, this continued to stick with me throughout the rest of the day, especially as I scrolled through Facebook and Twitter, seeing and reading stories of everything happening in our nation right. A government shutdown, employees working with no pay or not being able to work at all, discussions of a wall, videos showing disrespect, anger over a razor commercial and what seems like to me, too much hate.

Many people believe that America is a Christian nation. While America was in fact founded on the freedom of religion and freedom from persecution because of religion. Meaning - we all get to choose. And if someone doesn't choose to believe in what I believe, they have that freedom and right to do so. But Christianity has been the majority religion for many years and brings us back to the idea of why people think America is a Christian nation. So let's argue for a second that this is the case. America is a Christian nation.

Let's go back to verse nine from today's lesson. "He did not realize where it [wine] had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew" Who did Jesus perform his first miracle in front of? Who did he continue to share his message with?

The poor, the oppressed, the sick, the widowed, the lonely, the children. Jesus' message was to love others. He said  "And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"

And I think about the state of the nation today. And if America wants to claim to be a Christian nation, it has to be asked: Are they following the message of Jesus? Are they loving others as themselves? Are they helping the poor, the oppressed, the sick, the children, the lonely?

And my answer would be no. Overall, there are too many "Christians" who are not following the teachings of Jesus.

We should be welcoming those who are running from violence and war. We should be working to ensure every person has affordable healthcare. We should be working towards an economy that benefits all Americans and not just the top 1 percent. We should be loving and accepting ALL people. We should be fighting against the injustice. I'm sure this list could continue.

But as a nation, we are failing. We are failing at being a "Christian nation". Those in top positions are failing our nation.

If Americans want to claim that America is a Christian nation, maybe we should start acting like it.

2019: Focus

2018 was... well, it was a rough year. 

I started the year tracking how each day went - great, good, okay, bad, awful - like I did in 2017. But after February, I stopped. After February, the rest of the year just sort of happened and I'm not really sure how. After February, I would have good or even great days, but they still felt like they were tied to a rock of numbness, pain, sadness. After February, I feel like I just sort of floated through, did what I needed to survive but nothing more. All of which is completely understandable. 

But after reading a recap of 2017, I decided I wanted 2019 to be better. I need it to be better. For me. For Jacob. And with that, I knew my 2019 Word of the Year needed to be FOCUS. 

This year, I'm going to focus on those things that I need in order to feel like I'm actually doing and living again. I'm going to focus on my health. I'm going to focus on being a better parent to Jacob. I'm going to focus on spending more time with God. I want to be more intentional with my time and focus. 

I realize that 2019 will still be hard in many ways that it was in 2018. There are still so many feelings and things to process. But I need to focus on that as well, work through it, instead of just letting it happen. 

So I'm going to focus on the things I can change in 2019. Focus on intentional. Focus on Jacob. Focus on me. Focus on God. Focus on being present. Focus on doing better. Focus on my goals. Focus on family and friends. Focus on love and happiness. Focus on what's most important to me. 

Focus.