The sights were everything you would expect from a traditional Southern wedding. Early in the day the bride and bridesmaids were dressed in monogrammed tunics for hair-styling and make-up application. I’m not sure why we Southern girls love a monogram, but we do. Baskets of hydrangeas were hung on the end of pews in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church, which is located on a main street that runs through the center of her small hometown. The florist put the finishing touches on an entire garden of greenery at the altar. It was a vision of dreams come true for the sweet Georgia peach that is my niece.
The ceremony began and mothers
were ushered in. Groomsmen filed in, all grinning. The bridesmaids
proceded down the aisle one by one, all wearing lace dresses in the same
plum color. The bride and her father took their time walking down the
aisle. The minister said some things, the bride and groom kissed, then
the wedding party exited in pairs down the center aisle. It was a happy,
beautiful scene.
If I replayed the video, only
this time with the volume up, it would not be what you would expect. It
would still be visually gorgeous by all traditional Southern standards
and expectations, but the soundtrack would be different. You wouldn’t
hear a pipe organ play Wagner’s Lohengrin “Bridal Chorus.” Instead you
would hear John Legend and Chris Tomlin songs on guitar. I don’t think I
heard the minister say, “We are gathered here today in the sight of
God…” I also don’t think I heard the bride or groom use the words “to be
your wedded…”
The words of ceremony the
minister chose where fresh. The vows the couple spoke to each other
still expressed sentiments of love and commitment, but their words were
different than ones I’m accustomed to hearing at weddings. I really had
to pay attention to the words spoken and sung. Listening intently for
content helped me feel like I was participating even though I wasn’t in
the wedding party.
The following week, I settled
back into my routine and began to prepare for my Bible study group when I
realized that the scripture we were scheduled to cover was Chapter 2 of
the gospel of John. It’s the story of Jesus at a wedding celebration.
How appropriate, I thought, as I was still in a bit of a wedding mindset
from the previous weekend.
As the story goes, Jesus, his
mother Mary, and his disciples were guests at a wedding in Cana. The
host family ran out of wine. Mary simply states to Jesus that, “They
have no wine.” She didn’t make any demands or ask him to do anything,
she merely told him the problem. Then she pointed the servants to Jesus
and told them, “Do whatever he tells you.” So, they filled jars with
water, then Jesus turned it into fine wine. It was a miracle.
There were probably several other
things higher on the wedding planner’s priority list than estimating
wine consumption. One of the first priorities would have been the
invitation list. Jesus was on it. He showed up. He always does when He’s
invited.
Jesus could have made wine from
water without the servants’ help, but he didn’t. He extended an
invitation for their participation. Whatever they had been doing to
serve the guests, they stopped doing it and paid attention to Jesus and
his instructions. The results were miraculous.
Jesus’ presence can reprioritize a
check list, a job description, and even the best laid plans. The new
list might include: Don’t focus so much on the empty glass of wine, or
even a full glass. Instead, pay attention to the source. Do whatever He
says. You might find yourself participating in a miracle.
This was originally posted Sunday,November 29 2015 on the Press and Standard website: www.colletontoday.com
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