Tents of Mercy Congregation
Kiryat Yam, Israel
In the “wrong” place at the right time
I recently gave my soldier daughter a ride to the bus stop so she could get back to her IDF base after a short leave. Finding myself near a boutique hot dog shop that I like, I decided to make the drive to Megiddo to visit it. Both the drive and the area are gorgeous. Each house is more beautiful than the next, with landscaped yards and pergolas overlooking the valley.
On the way back I admired the houses again and allowed myself to briefly fantasize about moving to the area. Turning on the radio, I was jolted into our present reality of war and remembered with a start that this beautiful area, Megiddo, that I was appreciating, is in fact the Biblical area of Armageddon – the site of intense last days’ upheaval, conflict, war and violence. Well, so much for my fantasy, I will stick with the very unromantic, somewhat un-picturesque Krayot area where I live, thank you very much.
The obvious connection between this tangibly real suburban area not even 40 minutes away from us; and the apocalyptical, Biblically-foretold future; along with our present war – is entirely sobering! And the truth is that all of us, no matter where we live, are on borrowed time. The end of days for each one of us will come, whether we have endured war and hardship in our lifetime or not.
Where do we want to be when the “rubber hits the road?” Where do we want to be when all hell breaks loose? We want to be where God wants us to be. Doing what God wants us to be doing.
In John 2 we are told the story of Yeshua’s first miracle. Yeshua was invited to a wedding in the town of Cana, which is just 35 km away from our own community in Kiryat Yam. John doesn’t give us all the juicy details; he just writes that the wine ran out. At a Middle Eastern wedding there are two important things that are crucial to the celebration – and that’s not even the bride and groom, haha – it’s food and wine. Wine running out while the celebration is still going on is a disaster, a shame, a mark on the reputation of the whole family – certainly on the name of the master of the banquet.
So, Yeshua and His disciples are at this wedding and the wine runs out. Yeshua’s mother intervenes, “Come on – help them!” The family could have been cousins, neighbors or lifelong friends. Miriam begs Yeshua to smooth over this shameful situation. From there, so many questions arise: Did everyone know? How did she know He could do something about it? And perhaps the most basic question, why is a beverage running out at a wedding a big enough deal to be the scenario where God chooses to show His power?
The situation is looking very bleak; the wine, which is a symbol of joy, has run out. It appears there is no solution. Miriam, full of faith and revelation, implores the servants to obey all of Yeshua’s instructions. Yeshua tells the servants to draw 120 liters of water (30 gallons) from the well for each of the six containers – large clay containers that were meant to hold water for ritual purity bathing. The scriptures tell us that they filled the jugs to the very top. This was a heavy task, but John does not report that the servants complained or resisted. Yeshua could have made the wine appear from “thin air,” yet He asked the servants to take part in the miracle He was about to perform in a very physical, earthly way.
Then Yeshua instructs them to bring a cup to the master of the banquet. Whichever of the servants brought that cup must have been nervous to present it before their boss. The situation was already bad, but to serve a cup of water where wine was expected would certainly get them in trouble. Yet - they bring him the cup - and what happens next was definitely not what they were expecting! The master of the banquet is surprised and upset, but not at the servant – rather with the family for choosing to serve the “good wine” last. What a plot twist! What a memorable wedding that was that we still talk about it thousands of years later?!
Yeshua sees the crisis. He cares about the people experiencing it. He takes the time to intervene. He miraculously turned water into wine – but did it intentionally in collaboration with the obedience, servanthood and humility of the behind-the-scenes people. The hard work that the servants did was not seen by the bride and groom nor by the guests, and possibly not even by the master of the banquet. But Yeshua Himself saw it. Not only that, but because they were there, serving behind the scenes, they got to see Yeshua perform the miracle with their very own eyes.
Globally and locally, we live in times fraught with crisis. Like the family at that wedding party, for many, joy has run out. The situation seems bleak with no human solution at hand. Yet God is asking us if we are willing to be like those servants who filled the water.
Are we willing to be caught in the “wrong” place at the right time?
To be caught in the place that feels uncomfortable to our flesh: the place of hardship, the place of challenge, the place of pain, the place of suffering, the place of crisis...
But caught there at the right time: the time to serve, the time to obey, the time to be humble, the time to have faith in what God is doing - so that we can take part in His miraculous plan of a hope and a future as He promised in Jeremiah 29:11.
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