Today’s gospel lectionary reading is a very familiar tale. It’s the story of a wedding (John 2:1-11). I love weddings whether officiating or as a guest. They are always such happy occasions. Wonderful times of joy and celebration, full of hope and expectation as another stage of life is embarked on. 

 

This marriage was taking place in Cana of Galilee. I have blogged about this wedding on other occasions. I make no apologies for doing so again as I feel this is a key text in the gospels. It is the beginning of Jesus’ journey. It sets the scene. I also think it is particularly important for any starting a journey into the study of feminist theology and the role of women in the scriptures as Mary is a key player in the passage.

 

The text doesn’t reveal who the wedding was between. However, there are hints that the person getting married was a close relative of Jesus — maybe it was a brother or cousin. I have omitted to include sister as the mother of Jesus was the host so it would be a male relative.

 

I researched Jewish wedding traditions in New Testament times to see which family would be responsible for providing the feast. It would be the groom’s family. As in most cultures at that time, marriage was merely about ownership and the bride was transferred from being the property of father to the property of husband.  In Jewish tradition the betrothment was the bigger event — a decision made together by the fathers of both parties. Money, property and gifts changed hands as, in essence, the groom’s father paid for the bride. This is different from many other traditions where the bride brought a dowry. 

 

If the couple were already of marriageable age the groom-to-be would then prepare a bridal chamber within their father’s house—this would take about a year or even longer. Even the decision about timing was left in the groom’s father’s hands. The bride would not know the time when the groom returned to get her, hence the tradition of trumpet blowing and shouting to give the potential bride a little notice.

 

Before the actual ceremony the bride would take part in ritual cleansings. The ceremony would be followed by a feast hosted by the groom’s family. If there was insufficient food or drink provided it would be a shameful thing and damage the family’s reputation.

 

So back to the text, it is not stated who was getting married. However, the text does suggest that Mary was the host. She was the person to whom the servants turned when there was a problem with the wine.

 

Just as an aside, I want to note that the mother of Jesus remains unnamed in John’s gospel. Sadly, this is common of many of the women. They are designated only by their role in relationship to men rather than as a person with a name.

 

As a second aside, I want to draw attention to the scale of this wedding of which the mother of Jesus was the host. It was clearly an affluent affair with wine flowing freely and servants and stewards attending the guests. Often, Jesus is depicted as hailing from a poor background. Yet, his father, Joseph, was a craftsperson, a carpenter. Nothing about this passage suggests the poverty background often imagined.

 

Returning, yet again, to the text. In the story the wine at the wedding ran out. The servants approached the mother of Jesus, who in turn appealed to Jesus. This is one of the clear indications that Joseph had already died. As the eldest son, Jesus would be the head of the household and thus the one to take responsibility for the feast.

 

I think everyone knows the story, water was converted into wine and guests commented that the best wine was saved until the last. As always when reading this text, what fascinates me is the conversation between Jesus and his mother. It is a significant part of the account and as such would seem to be important.

 

Jesus is recorded as saying it was no concern of his as “My hour has not yet come.” 

It is a strange retort, especially given the cultural relevance of the wine running out. But something deeper was going on, the text implies that Jesus knew that his mother was expecting a miraculous intervention. Yet Jesus was reluctant to reveal his true nature at that point even though he had started to gather disciples around him.

 

Quietly and calmly, Jesus’ mother ignored his protestation that it was not his hour and revealed that now was the time. She told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  The water was changed to wine. The ministry was launched!

 

It is important that the key role of Jesus’ mother is not under-estimated. This woman was given the task of knowing when it was time for Jesus to start his ministry. And, importantly, Jesus submitted to that revelation. So here, right at the beginning of the gospel according to John is established a key role for a woman. I entitled this blog, Mary’s Day. Although the author of John chose not to name her, Mary’s involvement cannot be forgotten or overlooked. Mary who fulfilled the role of birthing the Christ child now unlocks the door for that ministry to burst forth.

 

 

 

 

Restlessness

I’m sure everyone has felt restless from time to time. I often feel restless. It is a weird feeling. I feel that I can’t quite settle, that I am ready for something to happen although usually not sure what that “something” is. 

 

I think restlessness can be a very good thing. It can be a catalyst to propel one to explore new horizons, an antidote to complacency, a doorway to deeper experience. 

 

As I read the gospel in the lectionary today, I wondered if Andrew and Simon were restless — ready to move to new adventures. The text is the Johannine account (John 1:29-42) of how these two brothers met Jesus. Unlike the other gospels in the Johannine gospel there is no mention of their occupation. The reader is simply told that Andrew and one other (unnamed by John — so maybe a woman even a partner) were disciples of John the baptizer and were standing with him. 

 

Although, the two were disciples of John, they clearly weren’t settled, maybe experiencing that restlessness that urged them to seek something more. So, when they heard John denote Jesus as the lamb of God, they started to follow Jesus. I wonder if they gave John a backward glance!

 

The story continues that eventually Jesus turned to the pair and asked them what they were looking for. The pair gave an interesting answer, they asked where Jesus was staying — clearly, in their restlessness they were looking for something settled. Jesus invited them to his home. 

The story tells nothing of the conversation they had, simply that they remained together that day. However, whatever was said was sufficient to cause Andrew to go and seek his brother, Simon, to announce that he and the other of John’s disciples had found the anointed one. Simon, too, must have been experiencing that restlessness as he, too, immediately went to see Jesus. 

 

Yet, even having found Jesus, satisfying that restlessness as the story continues throughout the gospels and beyond, I can see in these two brothers continual bouts of restlessness, never falling into complacency but always moving towards whatever is next. 

 

I find it a good pattern for life. Not to be unsettled by restlessness but to be more concerned about complacency. To welcome restlessness as an urging, even a deep yearning, to pursue more. To always be looking for, striving towards and ready for the next new adventure.

 

And Mary Pondered or Pondering Mary

 

The story continues as today heralds the eighth day of Christmas. In the lectionary (Luke 15-21) the story is of the shepherds who, after an angel visitation, journeyed to Bethlehem to greet Mary, Joseph and the child. As they spoke about what they heard concerning the child, the text tells us that “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart”.

 

I haven’t mused much on Mary and her role in the Christmas story this year, so I want to take this opportunity to do so now. Many of the images of Mary show her gazing lovingly on the newborn Jesus surrounded by shepherds, magi and animals. Indeed, we have a couple of nativity scenes in our home. One is very old, dates back to when our children were small, sadly missing a shepherd or two, much enjoyed and even played with. The other only a few years old, carved from olive wood, handmade in Bethlehem. Both come out each year as a reminder of the story around which we shape our lives.

 

So, as I ponder on Mary and the birth, I want to think about the back story. The story of a young girl giving birth in a stable. It all sounds very romantic in the sanitised form we usually read it but I suspect the reality was one of pain, hardship, sweat, tears and not a little fear.

 

I imagine most people reading this will have some experience of what childbirth entails — either by having given birth themselves, worked in a birthing unit, been present and supporting as a family member or friend gave birth or even simply watched “Call the Midwife.” Childbirth is a miraculous, wonderful event. Also it can be lengthy, painful, accompanied by blood and water and really hard work. It is not called “labour” by accident!

 

So, as I want to think deeply about all that Mary endured — it wasn’t really a quick visit from an angel then a chapter later miraculously in a stable with a newborn baby. It involved much more than that, Mary was nine months pregnant when she journeyed to Bethlehem. A journey that it is hard to imagine, involving walking or even riding on a donkey while nine months pregnant, and not even restrooms along the way! 

 

I wonder if labour started en route or after they arrive? Then not even getting a bedroom but giving birth in a stable, not a very sterile environment. Obviously not mentioned in the scriptures but presumably a midwife and/or other women would have assisted and supported her through the birth — a process that takes on average 12-36 hours for a first baby. The women most likely cared for her after the birth too. Men would not be present at a birth or even immediately afterwards— that only started to become possible from the 1970s onwards except in unusual circumstances.

 

Another consideration when the Christmas story is mused upon is that Mary would be ritually unclean: 

 

 ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. ³ On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. ⁴ Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. ⁵ If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

⁶ “‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.^[a] 7 The priest shall offer them before God to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. (Leviticus 12)

Mary would be subject to the usual purification regulations. These lasted for forty days during which Mary would need to remain fairly isolated and untouched, even if people visited and touched her bed, clothing or person they would become unclean for a period and have to perform ritual washings. It makes one wonder about the shepherds visiting before Mary’s purification in temple, quite a commitment for them to go knowingly into the presence of an unclean woman. 

 

I have spent time pondering on this, and will continue to do so, as I think it is a neglected part of the Christmas story. It is important that the miracle of childbirth and all that entails is not diminished. It is important that what is normally considered women’s experience is not hidden behind a closed stable door.  In the New Way of Living one of the Christmas meditations is from Anne Thurston. I’ll repeat it here:

 

“Even when we come to reflect on the birth of Jesus we discover that it has been interpreted as to remove it utterly from the realms of human experience. Yet, the profundity of the phrase “the word was made flesh” lies in the last word “flesh” — become like us.”

 

Much to ponder this week as the depths of the experience of giving birth is revisited as it is once again brought to the forefront of our minds as we continue to welcome the Christ child.

 

Oh, and as it is New Year’s Day, I wish everyone a happy and fulfilling 2023

 

The Blessing of the New Year 

 

God, bless to me the new day

Never vouchsafed to me before

It is to bless your own presence

You have given me this time, O God

Bless you to me my eye,

May my eye bless all it sees;

I will bless my neighbour

May my neighbour bless me,

God give me a clean heart

Let me not from sight of your eye;

Bless to me my family

And bless to me my means and my animals.

 

(Garmina Gadelica, 79 amended)