Nurturing Hope Through Celebration

Tiptoeing through what felt like a minefield of mishaps and menaces while clinging to newfound Hope, I wondered how I might realize a more bulletproof Hope? The answer came in a rather shocking revelation; in fact, it came at a wedding accompanied by a miracle. Nurturing Hope through celebration was the most unusual advice I’d received in a long time.

In the moments of waning Hope, viewing disappointment through eyes of gratitude and blessing allows us to find the way forward to rock solid Hope.

Holding onto disappointment feels far easier than choosing Hope, especially when broken dreams seem to pile up faster than dirty laundry.

And yet, those moments when I turn my gaze towards Christ as the embodiment of eternal Hope, for just a moment the ordinary becomes transformed into extraordinary. As though Hope invites me to celebrate what will surely come.

Nothing reminded me of nurturing Hope through celebration like visiting the wedding at Cana with Jesus in John 2:1-12

Changing water into wine as the first of seven signs given in the Gospel of John proving Jesus was the Messiah, has often seemed curiously out of place for me. While an obvious miracle, the other six illustrate divine power in more demonstrative ways.

But changing water into wine at a wedding as the first sign of His arrival as Messiah?

Though clearly unplanned, (John 2:1-5) Jesus chose this action on this occasion as confirmation of what He came to accomplish as Messiah.

Symbolizing more than the fruit of the vine, wine in the bible intimated Joy, fullness of life, celebration (John 2:3, I Corinthians 11:17-32), abundance, blessing (Isaiah 62:9, Psalm 104:15); a covenant between God and His people. (Exodus 29:40, Leviticus 23:13)

Wine was an integral part of the life of God’s people, crucial to sacrificial offerings as well as Passover, feast days, other celebratory days, and weddings.

Closely associated with Shabbat and other Holy Days, for the Jewish people, wine symbolizes both sanctity and separation, the very Presence of God. So also, at a Jewish wedding wine performs the same purpose. Similar to Shabbat, weddings speak of covenantal relationships of love between man, woman, and God.

While running out of wine at a wedding certainly brought shame and ridicule, it also symbolically represented a lack of sanctity, separation and the presence of God.

In transforming water into wine, Jesus not only demonstrated divine power, but what He ultimately came to do as Messiah.

The significance of performing this miracle at a wedding was not lost on those in attendance. God’s people had long lost the preeminence of His presence, burdened by oppression, sin, and the legalism of religious leaders.

Jesus came to bring spiritual transformation as demonstrated through the changing of the ordinary water into extraordinary wine. But He also came to establish a New Kingdom (Matthew 9:17) restoring His Presence, Joy, abundance and blessing illustrated through the extravagance of Jesus’ provision of wine. (John 2:6)

As a wedding celebrates the Hope of a future, new life together filled with blessings, so too, in Jesus we celebrate the Hope of our future new life together in God’s eternal Kingdom.

Through spiritual transformation, we have restored Hope, a bullet-proof Hope of a future which “no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, or the heart of man has imagined, God has prepared for those who love Him”. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

By turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, Jesus declared who He was, what He came to do, and with every cup of wine poured, the Hope that awaited those who would believe.

What better way can we fortify our own hearts and faith than nurturing Hope through celebration? Just like the Jews of the Old Testament celebrated God’s love and presence on Shabbat, Holy Days, weddings and other celebratory days, we do the same when we fully embrace celebrating His Presence in our days.

Perhaps celebration is an art worth developing not only for routine holidays and celebratory days, but every day. I wonder how my life might change if I brought my empty jars and disappointments to Jesus not only in faith, but in an attitude of expectant celebration?

Just maybe the transformation and filling of even the hard places with God’s Presence would overflow with Joy, abundance and extravagant Hope of God’s good and perfect plan.

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