(a Steve Orr Bible reflection)
Who wouldn’t love to be able to turn lead into gold or rocks into precious gems? That has been the claim of alchemists for centuries: that they could “purify” baser materials into more noble materials. My sights weren’t aimed nearly so high when 10-year old me begged for a chemistry set. I just wanted to make something cool. My parents finally bought me one, and I recall being very excited.
For about an hour.
That’s how long it took to realize it wasn't what I thought it would be. The main problem was expectation. I expected to turn one thing into another thing, to transform something. That wasn’t going to happen. As any real scientist will confirm: You must commit to a long-term relationship with science if you want to get anywhere with it. To actually use a chemistry set requires understanding the scientific method, knowing how to conduct an experiment, and the ability to read and follow directions. None of which 10-year old me possessed in sufficient quantity.
My chemical romance, it turns out, was nothing more than puppy love.
Transformation is the subject of this week's passage from the gospel of John where Jesus attended a wedding party at Cana. A lot has been written about this event, mostly about whether Jesus turned the water into alcoholic wine (or not). I’ve concluded that, like me with my chemistry set, many of these writers have missed the point.
The actual point: Jesus took one thing, and without so much as a gesture, transformed it into something else.
Stop for a minute and let that really sink in.
The wedding steward makes it clear that the no-longer-water was not just good. Rather, it was the very essence of good. Like every transformation performed by Jesus, it was both the best and something new.
There, in one seemingly small miracle, Jesus encapsulated his entire reason for being on Earth. He came to transform us, to make us new creations. Not ideals, not better human beings, not the best versions of ourselves.
New ... creations.
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