For devotions I have been reading The Gospel in Solentiname, a redaction of small group discussions of the Catholic lectionary on a small island (Solentiname) in Nicaragua during the Somoza dictatorship in the 1970, written by Ernesto Cardenal. It has been great for me because I read the gospel reading in Spanish, and then the book that accompanies has been translated to English. The people apply the biblical story to their current situation, and because I know the history of Nicaragua well, I can identify what they are talking about as well as apply the gospel reading to my life now.
Yesterday morning, after being with a partnership team from Pella, Iowa in Chinandega, Nicaragua for a week, I read the comments on John 2:1-12 where Jesus turns the water into wine at a wedding. Many comments stuck out to me because they apply to my life now, too.
First, the people discussed Jesus' comment "Woman, why do you tell that to me? My hour has not yet come." The bishop, Ernesto Cardenal, commented that those words are equivalent to our "stop bugging me." Various people pointed out that Jesus may have been afraid. His true hour was his death on the cross, and a public miracle would start that process all the faster. Jesus was fully human, and he may have hesitated because he wasn't ready to suffer as the Messiah yet. It made sense to me because I have often wondered about that comment. As the group discussed fear of revolution and fighting for a new way, I thought of a discussion I had been part of at the Nehemiah Center regarding the next five years. We jokingly call the strategic plan "No fear," and it came up again in a meeting on Wednesday. People who do great things put themselves out there with big dreams and no fear of the ramifications. We as the Nehemiah Center need to launch ourselves as catalysts of change in the future, no holding back, afraid of the risk.
Then the discussion turned to Jesus' miracle of turning water into wine. One commented that it was interesting that Jesus "outed himself" at a wedding party, not waiting for something more serious. I laughed out loud when I read the next comment: "It must be to show us that liquor is good, and that people can be happy at a party. We see that Christ didn't think like the Protestants of the Church of the Nazarene, who say that it's a sin to drink or smoke or dance or sing..." We just talked about this with the Pella group because the evangelical church in Nicaragua still considers it a sin to drink or smoke or dance or play cards. Foreigners need to be sensitive about their witness here. On the other hand, we have a different example in Jesus.
Jesus used the water for purification to turn into wine, essentially saying that the cleansing ceremonies were not the main point. They were supposed to have a party together, with joyful, loving attitudes. When the Bible talks about abundance of wine, we get the sense of unity and joy that the Kingdom of God brings. The kingdom of God will not have quarrels and stabbings and drunken brawls, but it will be a kingdom where people unite in joy to celebrate what God has done. No one will be excluded or lonely or frustrated or oppressed. The wine of God will be a sign of the brotherhood that humanity shares.
I had the privilege of getting a taste of this loving unity the past week in Chinandega. 11 adults from Pella, some who had come before and some for the first time, stayed in Chinandega for a week. 5 churches from Chinandega have had a partnership with this group from Pella for the past five years or so. There was also a group of 10 high school students from Pella. The students stayed with families from a couple of the partner churches, and the five churches put together a soccer tournament, a one-day youth retreat, and a combined worship service. The adults participated with each church on a separate day, doing everything to jewelry-making and crafts to painting to pouring concrete to gardening. They shared with the pastors and church members, and then attended three of the five churches for worship services. The sense of unity and the Spirit's love was very strong the entire week. We have seen progress in the relationship between North and South as well as more collaboration among the Nicaraguan churches from different denominations. Glory to God!
This slow development came in some of the final comments on John 2 from the inhabitants of Solentiname. One woman said, "The joys of the world are best at first and afterwards they change into disappointments. With the joy that God gives it's just the opposite." This partnership between Pella and Chinandega has been in process for five years, and they are just starting to really feel connected and see fruit now. It may have been disappointing at first, but it is getting much, much better with age. And we know it will be even better in the future! Not only here in Nicaragua over the next few years, but when we are all gathered around the throne of God, praising him in various languages and songs, united with all the saints and angels.
One final comment sums it up well: "It seems to me that the joy of brotherhood, the perfect society that God is preparing for humanity, that's the great party. But the best wine of that party will be the last one: eternal life."
