EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
_________________________
John 2:1-11 (NRSV)
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
_________________________
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV)
_________________________
IN November 2004, I completed my 50th year of life. Born in 1954, I went to school like other children. I went to college. I looked for a job and was fortunate to find one. I got married and had two children. My life has been an ordinary life.
What could be extraordinary about our ordinary lives? The love of Jesus Christ that enfolds us is extraordinary. Our experience of being born again in Christ is extraordinary. The countless blessings that Christ showers upon us make our lives extraordinary. Christ's care for our daily needs and our anxieties is extraordinary. Christ's grace and guidance, which lead us to achieve difficult goals, make life extraordinary.
As when Jesus turned the water into wine, when we welcome Christ into our ordinary lives, he transforms them with extraordinary love.
Prayer: Dear God, our lives are like grass that soon withers. Come into our hearts and fill our lives with your eternal presence, love, forgiveness, and grace, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Life without Christ is nothing. Life in Christ is everything.
-- Prabodh Diarsa (Gujarat, India)
PRAYER FOCUS: Those celebrating a birthday today