Hope Beyond Affliction – part 2
When the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no more wine.” Jesus said to her, “[Dear] woman, what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:3-5)
Welcome to the Year of Good News: Our God Reigns!
Our Prayer and Revival Week will be observed from 23rd to 30th Jan under the theme “Preserved and Raise for a Purpose” (Esther 4:14). Prepare to be part, that we may raise one voice to God and be strengthened to serve Him faithfully and to receive His favour for the year. We face this new season with hope and anticipation, and believe God for revival in our spirits, healing of soul and body, and progress in education and career. Heartfelt condolences to many of our members and University officials who have lost loved ones in the recent days; we trust the God of all comfort to keep you and carry you through this time; and He will carry us through other kinds of afflictions and challenges – in our schools, homes and in the nations of the world.
John’s second chapter records a crisis at a wedding – a crisis that would result in shame, embarassment, negative publicity, and joy turning into sorrow and affliction for some, if the crisis was not averted. An ongoing wedding that was delicious and merry has run out of the main ingredient: wine! What hope is there for this bizarre situation? Fortunately, one of the guests is Mary, and stories have it that her son – the boy Jesus – used to perform miracles at home, including sometimes turning water into good wine. But this is not known to the public – no one knows Jesus as anything unusual. His presence at the wedding will soon be realized as the hope that takes the master of the wedding beyond his affliction.
While all the four Gospel writers connect the rise of Jesus Christ to the ‘downfall’ and afflictions of John the Baptist, only John reports the early miracle that Jesus performed to solve the crisis at the Cana wedding. John Baptist was imprisoned for doing the right thing, and later gruesomely beheaded! His only hope was Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life; the hope of John’s disappointed disciples was Jesus Christ, the better Rabbi and the long awaited Messiah. Now the hope for the this wedding is Jesus Christ the miracle worker. What affliction have you gone through, and you are groping and looking for a way out? Has something crucial run out and the home is now stale, the marriage is sparkless and boring, career is unclear? Jesus Christ is our hope beyond any kind of affliction. Mary speaks firmly about her son, and we do well to take her instruction: “Whatever he says to you, do it.” God bless you all. Happy and Blessed New Year!