Today’s chapter is John 2

Tom writes:

Considering John said he had way too many anecdotes about Jesus to include in his gospel it could seem strange that he starts with these two. Everything suggests they happened several years apart in totally different parts of Israel. One shows Jesus reluctant and discrete, happy to enable revelry and excess. The other shows Jesus ferociously zealous, totally uncompromising about God’s house of prayer. Christ - a captivating cocktail of quasi-contradictions. When reading John we should see him as an early-day Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan, weaving together a complex patchwork of scenes from the life of Christ to create a heart-thumping, dramatic picture of the man. The purpose of the gospel is not an orderly report (like Luke’s gospel was) but a window into the central figure of any real faith. John writes to Christians to help them have life. Real life. He writes so you may know the invasion of the real Jesus into your ordinary everyday life.

These two stories show the intent and implications of the invasion of the I Am. Firstly Jesus invades your life in a gentle, surprising way - flooding your human celebrations with a merry and enriching presence that makes them better by far. This is the slow creep of the gospel into your gut. This is the smile-inducing intimacy of Jesus’ New Wine presence. Even now as you read this Jesus is coaxing you into tasting his presence. Even now Jesus is directing angels to serve you surprisingly sweet sustenance of his grace. Will you drink? Will you sit back, settle your mind and receive? It’s easy to overlook. Then comes the second invasion; when Jesus throws the furniture around. In this second invasion Jesus demands reverence, he kicks things around in your life to foster purity and obedience. This second invasion hurts as much as the first one soothes. It is an invasion for repentance. And when this invasion comes it is easy to recoil, to front up, to look longingly back at Cana and pretend the temple can still stand as it is. “Oh, sweet Jesus, please just give me another drink!”. And he will. He will. But he will also keep on sacking and keep on tipping until he has holiness and prayer and sparkling purity and manifest justice enshrined in our hearts. John shows us right up front that life - real life - embraces both invasions of this glorious Messiah. It’s both love and awe. It’s both soothing and convicting. It’s both death and life. Will you open yourself to this seemingly contradictory King and the Kingdom that he brings?

Question for reflection

Will you welcome both kindness and rebuke from Jesus?

John 2 - Monday 21st October