My son the logos

When the computer came on this morning, I tapped Lectionary C to bring up today’s Bible readings. Glancing down at the calendar to confirm the date, I saw 31 when I was thinking it should say 17. As it’s never been wrong, the thought came wondering if I’d somehow missed two weeks of January, been comatose, had a stroke, or memory had lost the past fourteen days. The thought lasted an alarming second or two before I remembered I’d turned off the WiFi and shut down the machine before going to bed. Turning on the WiFi and restarting set everything right, but the fact is that at eighty anything can happen. 

Which brings to mind a hillbilly song from decades ago, “If you lived each newborn day as if the last,” and I forget who sang it. Besides, I’ve got plans for February and for November.

The lessons are all good today, including the psalm. The gospel is John’s old beloved Sunday school story of Jesus turning water into wine, and John the Evangelist says “this was the first of his signs (σημείων) … and revealed his glory (δόξαν).” John opens his gospel with a prologue that proclaims Jesus as the logos, the Word that brought creation into being. John interrupts the prologue to clarify that John the Baptist (there are lots of men named John) was not the Word, which he does again at the baptism scene by having John the Baptist himself personally disclaim messiahship and point to Jesus as “Lamb of God.” So his turning water into wine, which only John tells, is Jesus himself giving those around him, and by hearing the story giving the audience of John’s gospel, which includes us, a sign of who he, Jesus, is.

And who is he? Well, the logos, the creating power, creates wine from water. His mother is there, so he’s a son, and he has a little tiff with his mother, who evidently knows who he is and catches him up short by blowing his cover before he feels he’s ready. And he calls her γύναι, woman! as though he’s exasperated, and I think he is. I remember being exasperated with my mother several times through my life when she embarrassed me by bragging on me while I was present. Mothers are proud of us. A Jewish mother, Mary likely would have been satisfied to brag, “My son the doctor,” but she really got to show off, “My son the logos: whatever he says!"

Pax

Thos+

PS, encouraging everyone to have breakfast and attend the annual parish meeting, we are NOT having adult sunday school this morning.

Pics: sunset last evening 20160116 from 7H