2202AFC011422 – The Nexus of Preeminence
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John 2:5 – 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. This coming Sunday is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is the Sunday when we first hear of Jesus’ first miracle at the Wedding Feast in Cana in Galilee. Jesus, his mom, and some (perhaps all) of his Disciples were there. We know the story pretty well – the wedding party was running low on wine and Mary – speaking as a good Jewish mother should – casually mentions “They have no wine.” Jesus’ reply reminds me a bit of what he said around age 12 when Joseph and Mary finally found him in the Temple. “Why were you looking for me? I need to be doing my Father’s works.” This time his reply is “Woman,* what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” Now, in my mind’s eye I imagine Jesus saying that with a big grin because he knew he would give in to his Mother and he knew just how to resolve the issue. * ishshah – a term of respect. Adam gave this name to Eve, and Jesus used this word to refer to his Mother as he was about to die on the cross – “Woman, behold your son…”
It is the conversion of water to wine – and not just a glass or two of wine! John tells us “Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.” (See John 2:6)
The Greek word used here makes this measure quite impressive. The word is metrētas – a measure equivalent to about 39.39 liters or 8.75 gallons. The Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) describes the jars as “containing two or three firkins apiece.” A “firkin” in terms of size, is equal to 9 imperial gallons, which is 10.8 US gallons; 2-3 firkins then would be 21.6 to 31.8 gallons and average of 26.7 gallons. SIX of those would come to just over 160 gallons of first-class wine! He made 160 gallons of water into 160 gallons of wine. (We don’t know if it was Chablis or Merlot – or even what color or taste it had – because that is unimportant.) Ordinary things done in ordinary ways become extraordinary when we do what he tells us.
When Jesus sent the servants to get approval for the wine, the headwaiter was amazed at the quality. Not only had Jesus supplied in quantity, but also in quality! That is how he does everything when we do what he tells us. And there’s something else, too. He used just simple things even at a BIG wedding. How is this miracle indicative of Jesus’ power? We’ll look at a rather long passage here that tells us about his “job qualifications.”
Colossians 1:15-20 – 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place* in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
*Preeminence = prōteuōn to have the first place, highest-ranking, before and above all others, distinguished above all, supreme without equal. Several translations use this word preeminent or preeminence. Others read supremacy, or first place, hence the title King All-Glorious. (↔ Music Link)
The Apostle Paul is telling us that Jesus, as the Son of God, has the same preeminence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He says for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created and all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Jesus is the nexus that connects all things. A nexus, you will recall, is a single connection, or even a series of connections, linking two or more things; the central and most important point or place, the connection between a person or group of persons. Jesus is the connection between God and Man – the One Mediator for Salvation. He is God. He is Man – an earthling like all the rest of us in all things except sin. (See Hebrews 4:14-15).
God is. “I AM THAT I AM” is one way to say that. But our Swiss-cheesy little brains want more – “God is what???” God is Preeminent. He is the first IN EVERYTHING. First to exist, first to create, first to deserve honor and worship and praise, first to be exalted, the ultimate authority on and in and over everything, the head of all that is or was or will be or can be. And if that isn’t enough to convince you that God knows what’s what, he gave us his Only Begotten Son so that Jesus could be preeminent not only in Scripture, but also in our hearts, our minds, our souls, our entire existence in Life. Jesus is Priest, Prophet, King, and Redeemer – Jesus and Jesus only. But woe to us if we think Jesus came to Earth and conquered sin and death just for our Salvation! I’m going to ask you to take a quick detour to this passage (I’ll quote parts of it here, but check it out; it’s IMPORTANT):
Please follow this link to 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. The whole chapter is mind-blowing in the towering theological truths it presents, but the passage here is something we can spend hours mulling over. As you read this longish passage, pay special attention to the last two verses: 1 Corinthians 15:27-28 – 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the One who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. There’s going to be a reunion!
Think about that first question God asked Adam when he found him hiding in the bushes: “WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED?” That acknowledgement of disobedience marked the beginning of Man being separated from God by “the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.” What is that fruit? Probably it was not an apple; probably it was instead the first application of Free Will for the gratification of ego and flesh. The promise of Salvation that came into being immediately wasn’t a solution for the potential damnation of souls. It was the beginning of the process that ultimately restores the relationship between God and Man. There were some hard lessons learned that day in Eden. Do you remember how God provided for protection of their bodies?
It’s in Genesis 3:21 – 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them. Now the animals of the field would serve for food and for clothing and shelter, and the harmony between the earthlings and the animals was dissolved into fear. He covered their nakedness for the sake of their decency. Some have explained this in a manner perhaps unlikely: Adam and Eve were immortal spiritual beings formed from the earth, but after their betrayal of God’s trust, he made their bodies and skin mortal like those of the other animals. Regardless of the conclusions we might draw from this passage, God marked them as changed from the nature of their creation.
Jesus Christ has come to us, as the first-fruits of the dead (See 1 Corinthians 15:20), to restore us to the immortal friendship and communion with God. He is God, and he is preeminent in all things but sin. When we are finally altogether subjected and all together united in him, he will submit himself and us to the Father so that unity will be restored to the ultimate fundamental Oneness of I AM THAT I AM. That whole chain of events, that nexus of all created things and beings, happens in the blink of God’s eye. It only seems to us to be taking much longer because we are not seeing Life through God’s eyes. That deep a mystery is too lofty for us and our simple thinking. Nonetheless, we have some markers along the road that will help us in that journey. (↔ Music Link)
- We know that God is preeminent in all things. That leads us to understand that he must also be preeminent in our lives.
- Jesus is part of the nexus that will restore us to immortality and reunion with God. Recall that at the Baptism of the Lord, “the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.” The path back into the “Eden of Eternity” was no longer closed. (See Matthew 3:14-17)
- It is often said, “There is no Easter without a Calvary.” We must also remember that there is no Easter without the Tomb. Jesus Christ is preeminent in this as well. The Bible lists several people who were “raised from the dead,” but none of them were resurrected. All of those people eventually died again. Only Christ “rose again from the dead.” That should not confuse us. It simply means “Jesus was alive, then he was dead, then he was alive again.” The tomb, the grave, the urn – wherever our mortal remains are gathered together – that is part of the Long Road Home, too. Jesus endured that part of our journey, too, so once again he is preeminent.
- In God’s APP (remember that’s the Absolutely Perfect Plan) everything is connected to everything and to everyone all the time until Time is no longer relevant. If ever we feel we are disconnected from God, it is not God who has moved or let go. It is our nature to forget that we are HIS creation, and he is not ours.
God is God because that is the Beginning and End of … you name it, it fits. He made all the rules because he made all of Creation. When we follow the rules in the APP, we travel from conception to natural death with minimal disruptions. If we disobey, mock, ignore the rules enough, there is literally all hell to pay. That’s the way the APP works. Who was asking, “WHY?” I’ll give you the answer I always got from my parents and I’m pretty sure it’s the way God, as a Parent (and Brother, and Companion), would answer it: “BECAUSE I SAID SO.”
That’s good enough for me!
That brings us to this: 1 John 1:11 – 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
