Well, I took a week off from preaching (and writing) after Easter. I suppose everyone needs a day off, right? Actually, the Sunday after Easter is known (at least to Senior Pastors) as National Associate Pastors Sunday! It’s the Sunday when, if you’re an associate Pastor, you finally get to preach. Everyone knows that Senior Pastors always take the Sunday after Easter off.
I am no longer a Senior Pastor…just a regular old pastor, but I still took the Sunday off, not for any other reason than I received an invitation to go with my son and two of my grandsons (and a few others) to the LSU vs. Tennessee baseball series in Baton Rouge. I figured, “Why not?” I am grateful for the invitation and grateful for the time away with my son and grandsons (we did a few other fun things besides go to the ball games). But, man! Did I learn something on this trip!
I learned (again) that I’m old! The older I get, the more of a fuddy-duddy I become. I don’t want to be a fuddy-duddy. I wake up most days and say to myself, “Self, don’t be a fuddy-duddy today,” but invariably, the devil gets up in my business, and before I know it, the fuddy-duddy in me rears his ugly head and there I am having to repent for being a fuddy-duddy.
This old fuddy-duddy learned that he doesn’t like crowds much anymore. The LSU-Tennessee 3-game series was the largest attendance series in Alex Box Stadium history, and the Saturday evening game was the largest single-game attendance in stadium history. Three days of large crowds absolutely wore me out! Three days of large crowds was just a bit too much for me. And, Friday night it rained. Everyone huddled under the bleachers to get out of the rain. It was easy to tell who hadn’t showered that morning!
I kept telling myself, “Hush, you old fuddy-duddy! You’re with your son and grandsons. Just enjoy the moment.” For the most part, I (well, me and the Holy Spirit) kept the old fuddy-duddy at bay, but I tell you, those large crowds like to got the best of me.
This old fuddy-duddy also learned that he likes his bedtime. Most nights, you will find me in bed by 8:30 p.m. Not last weekend! Friday night’s game didn’t even begin until 9:55 p.m. (due to the rain delay). I’m sorry, but I didn’t make it. I left before the game even started (I know–fuddy-duddy, right?) and still didn’t get to bed until after 11 p.m. Can you say, “Worn out?” Well, I was.
Saturday’s game started at 7:00 p.m., and I made it until the bitter end (bitter because LSU lost). That only means it was after midnight before I got back to my hotel room and made it to bed. Midnight? Really? That’s only three hours away from my normal getting up time! What was I thinking? I was thinking, “Shut up you old fuddy-duddy. You’re with your son and grandsons. Enjoy the moment.” For the most part, the Holy Spirit and I kept the old fuddy-duddy at bay, but I tell you, those late nights almost killed me.
I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. I should just be keeping all this stuff to myself, continuing to repress the old fuddy-duddy in me. I suppose it’s just my way of revealing that the Lord’s sanctifying grace has still got some work to do in this old pastor. I’m grateful that He’s still graceful enough to continue his work, and that He is still in the transformation business.
I am reminded that He is still in the transformation business because I’ve been reflecting on John 2: 1 – 11:
2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing,each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
It is Jesus’ first miracle, and He turns water into wine. It was John’s way of saying Jesus comes to transform the old covenant of the law into a new covenant of grace. There is a whole lot more to unpack than that simple statement, but that’s the crux of John’s inclusion of the event in his gospel. Hey? If Jesus can do that, there’s no limit to what He can do in you and me.
Jesus is in the transformation business. We think transformation comes from a new hairdo or wardrobe. Get a better job or learn a new skill. Lose weight or get a face lift. Jesus doesn’t want to change our looks, he wants to change our heart. He doesn’t want to give us a new suit; he wants to make us a new person. He doesn’t want to rearrange us; he wants to transform us. We want to look better on the outside. He wants to make us new on the inside.
That transformation will show on the outside. When Jesus changed the water into wine, he did not just change the color and fool the people’s taste buds — he actually changed the water into wine. When the water was turned to wine, the shame of the bridal family was turned to joy. The mood of the party was transformed. And Jesus’ disciples were transformed, too. Verse 11 says, “This miraculous sign…was Jesus first display of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”
My prayer is that He transforms this old fuddy-duddy…that the work He desires to do on the inside of me will make its way to the outside, so everyone else doesn’t see that I’m just an old fuddy-duddy. I really do want my son and grandsons to know how much I enjoyed our time together, and how grateful I am for the opportunity provided by someone else’s generosity.
Oh, well, it’s time to get ready for worship.
Until next time, keep looking up…
Vanessa and I love sitting around our fire pit, but to continue to enjoy its warmth and glow, we have to keep stoking the fire. It’s a process that keeps the fire burning. So is the Christian life.
So, let’s all have a drink! Drink in the fulness of Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit!
Not the Perfect Pastor 