Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

• John 3:26-30

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 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 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.”
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.

• Matthew 25:1-13

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 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 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.”
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.

• John 2:1-11

Boilerplate

I’m Harold Dykstra.  I’m retired, but I go to food bank distributions all over Tracy and talk to people that need someone who will listen to their story.  My time is well spent.  A police lieutenant suggested that I write down the conversations that I had with an angel.  I did not know she was an angel at the time.  The angel, for a little over a year, indwelled a life-sized posable action figure my children bought me, so that I would not be perceived as travelling alone.  And in a way, she was training me for what I do while talking to the needy.  She probed my heart to find out what I believed and how I express love for others.  She changed my life.

In her leaving, she said someone would come.  I had thought that was Jesus, in His second coming, but a new Babs, a little older, the model for the posable action figure arrived.  While I had no desire to start over with romance, Morrie helped her move in, thinking she was the other Babs who had returned.

This Week’s Question

Last week, Babs started singing.  Trying to figure out the songs for the wedding, before, during and at the reception.

But this week, she was going to Lily the Pink.  She needed bride’s maids and groomsmen.  She was stuck with homeless people and people who were struggling and on food bank distributions.

Pink listened to her plight.  Babs had been here less than a year.  She went to the same church as did Captain Hart and Gisele, but she hardly knew anyone.  She said “Hello” to all the neighbors, but the only friends are Tony Painter and little Joe and Eleanor, who would act as her mother.  There were my children’s families.  But then, she was stuck.

Pink said, “I don’t think you are badly stuck.  You do not need a large wedding party.  Yes, when we lower the grandstands for the water polo for large double weddings, there is a lot of room, but with the back of the grandstands as a partial backdrop for a single wedding, the area can be cozy.  I have not really acted as a wedding planner, but since you and I are about the same age, I can help.  Do you think Morrie’s children would hate to walk down the aisle together?”

Babs sighed, “They are the typical teenagers that do not like each other very much.  Their growth in Christ was stunted with Morrie’s lifestyle, but now that he has repented, the children are coming around.  But walking down the aisle together?  I’m not sure.”

Pink asked, “And Matthew is a senior at Flintheart.  Madison is a freshman.  If I got that right.”  Babs nodded.  “How about Mercedes Lothrop to go down the aisle with Matthew.  She is a junior.  She had been at Central until her father was murdered.  She and her younger brother Michael Lothrop both moved here.  Michael is a freshman.  He is a quiet boy, both of them have been guarded and quiet, but they are now in Stinker’s Sunday school class.  They are opening up.  They would probably be honored.  Mags and the children have been to a few of the homeless events to help.  I think Mercedes has been hiding in the food truck, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.  Mike has been a runner, going back to the storage units when they are short of one thing or another.  There are so many jobs at those dinners that youngsters can do, if they are reliable.  Those two are reliable.  Now your ring bearer and flower girl are brother and sister.  They are very young, but not too young.  They will be adorable.  But you are friends with the Harts.  Unless you want the Purple Four to sing, Al and Gisele can go down the aisle.  If we are singing, then Al could walk with Morrie’s wife.  Willie is the pastor’s wife and your matron of honor.  That leaves two more singles, Tony and his son, Little Joe.  Hmmm.  I could ask Mary Jo Lynn.  She gave birth to Frank Lynn during Hurricane Frank.  She was an unwed mother.  Her boyfriend ran away from the hurricane with a few other women and died when his RV was tossed around by the hurricane.  I do not think Mary Jo has gone on a date since.  She is OCD.  She does the cleaning in the nursery, and she is meticulous about the details.  If she helps with the setup, decorations, whatever it is, it will be done to perfection, and she is a loving mother.  So, you say Little Joe is a bit small for his age.  I have no girls his age that frequent our nursery, but there is Grace Grunge, Griffin and Greta’s oldest.  She is less than a year younger, in the second grade.  She is a lovely girl.  So, other than four hook-ups and a plea for you to calm down, what else?  Are you afraid someone is going to pry into your past?”

Babs gasped, but then did not breathe for a while.  “What do you mean, Pink?”

Pink smiled, “I have a niece that loves to detect things.  She says that she does not want to follow in her daddy’s footsteps.  She wants to be his boss.  I asked around, and I got odd tidbits about you.  You were in films, but probably not in front of the camera all the time.  The films had limited distribution.  You retired early and hated to talk about your past.  My heart went out to you, but you are outgoing and a dynamo at food bank distributions.  You are aloof at the homeless dinners, working with the homeless instead of being around the other workers.  I asked Sophia Yeggs to do a little digging.  She barely scratched the surface.  You are not hiding that well.  Bountiful Babs and Babs Bounty are names that are very close.  I am not judging you.  My home was taken away from me when I was an unwed expectant mother of Boaz, who is now mayor of Tracy.  This place was turned into a brothel and somehow your pastor decided to not do your wedding as a result of that fact.  I was never part of the brothel other than being the accountant, which allowed me to put my cousins in jail once we were emancipated.  Lt. Dev Yeggs, my brother-in-law, as you well know, said that I should not worry much about you.  He knew your past and you were a Christian through and through.  But I might not believe how it happened.  So, I want to know that one little bit.  And be honest with me.  Because the two of you do so much for those who need a good meal, I am letting you have the wedding here for free.”

Babs took a minute to gather her thoughts.  “I was the porn star that your detective found.  As I got older, I came on camera in a cameo role, but I felt old.  I retired.  But being a porn star, men are idiots.  They recognize you, thus they are the type that watches such films.  They ask you point blank if you will make love to them.  Usually in a crude way.  So, I went into hiding in an assisted living home in Arizona.  Your stepson, Poached, found me and talked to me when Harold was arrested for murdering me.  But the thing is, the witness saw a doll that was animated by Harold’s guardian angel.  When the woman went into the house and never came out, the nosey neighbor thought I had been murdered.  But for over a year, Harold had Bible studies with an angel.  And each of those nights, I would go to bed and dream of a younger Babs learning about Jesus and what it was like being human.  I sought out counseling about the dreams and I was pointed to a pastor who gave a short sermon at the center once each week.  I accepted Jesus and he baptized me in a local irrigation canal.  But then, the dreams stopped.  That was when Babs was no longer needed to travel with Harold.  He showed Dev Yeggs the broken doll, who could not be inflated due to a broken heart, a tear where the heart should be.  That angel is here in this room, but on the other side of the veil.  I was obsessed.  It took a lawyer to get my money out of the assisted living center’s clutches, but I left there and came to Tracy, only knowing a name.  I picked up a newspaper and saw an ad that Morrie had placed there.  I barely had enough cash to make the deposit and first month’s rent on the apartment that Morrie had made for a caregiver once his father was too old.  I had the rest of my money in an Arizona bank.  I had found the man, who through dreams had taught me what being a Christian really was.  And that made my dream come true.  And to be walking down the aisle and marrying him?  That’s a bonus.  We always end our meals at home with a Bible study each night.  Will you join us now?”

Pink, with tears in her eyes, smiled and nodded.

I suggested, “Let’s look at attendants at a wedding.”

Pink asked, “Is there enough to have a Bible study?”

I shrugged, “I have three Bible stories.  Just enough to get a conversation going.  We’ll start in John 3.”

Pink asked, “Nicodemus?”

I chuckled, “No, that chapter ends with John being asked about Jesus.  John says that the bridegroom’s best friend went ahead and watched over the bride.  The groom showed up later on.  Everything was set.  And the best friend was elated that the bridegroom was going to marry this wonderful bride.”

Babs said, “So, in the End Times, the bride of Christ is the church.  Here John is preaching, getting the church of that time ready to receive the groom.  So, John is like the best man.  In this case, his job is not throwing a wild party for the groom.  His job is to keep others from spoiling the bride before the groom shows up.  Right?”

Pink snickered, “I guess you are right on that one, Babs.  How are the two of you thinking about spoiled fruit.”

Babs smiled, “I accepted Jesus into my heart.  I am a new creation.  That does not mean that I have forgotten a lot of the tricks from before, but it means that in the eyes of God I am unspoiled, and that is good enough for Harold.”

I smiled, “I could not have said it better.  And now let’s keep a bookmark where we were.  Then we will go to Matthew 25.  This is the parable of the ten virgins.  I guess that is why bridesmaids are usually maids instead of matrons.  They arrived at the wedding to provide a procession, a lit path from the bride’s house to the groom’s house, where the groom has prepared rooms for her.”

Pink asked, “Is that why Jesus said that He had to leave to prepare a place for us in Heaven?”

I chuckled, “Pink, you are quick.  Yes, we are the church.  Jesus was using the marriage ceremony pattern of the first Century to illustrate what would happen.  The Father tells the groom when he has built enough rooms.  The bride and the groom are in the betrothal period, but they cannot consummate the marriage until the Father of the groom has approved of the place that the Son has prepared.  So, usually in the dead of night, the groom appears.  The path is lit by the virgins.  This means that the way to the Father is unspoiled.  The groom comes unannounced.  Once the Father says that it is time, the groom does not want to waste a second, so he gets his bride right then.  Then the virgins, or bridesmaids light the path to the groom’s house where the rooms have been prepared, but then, they do not consummate the marriage for possibly several days.  Everybody and his cousin shows up for the party.  And that is where we go back to John 2, just before John 3.  I love it when math works out that way.”

Babs scrunched her nose and said, “But what about the foolish virgins?”

I said, “Nice catch, Sweetie.  The parable is for us.  We have no idea when the Father is going to tell the Son that the rooms are now ready.  Go get my church.  So, those who are not ready, they did not think ahead.  They did not prepare, they were unable to light the way, but the other five wise virgins have enough light to get the bride to their destination.  So, this parable’s main goal is to illustrate how we must be prepared.  We must take God at His word and God will fulfill His promises.  We should not be concerned about the foolish virgins, we must be prepared.  But we must be prepared for the party that could last several days.  I heard a friend of mine talk about going to the second week of an Indian wedding.  The bride and groom traveled everywhere that there was a concentration of family or friends.  And mostly it was a big festival.”

Babs said, “So, John 2 says they are already in day three when they run out of wine.  Can’t they just go to the store?”

I shook my head.  “Admitting that they did not have enough wine was a social no-no.  Mary did not want to see her friend or relative be embarrassed when the emcee of the party announces that there is no wine.  So, Jesus reluctantly turns water into wine because He honors His mother, and she asked Him politely.”

Babs giggled, “Not really.  Mary just turned to the servants and said ‘Do what He says to do.’”

I nodded, “Okay, she knows that Jesus has always honored her.  He turns water to wine and they pour some for the emcee of the reception.  Now, the secondary miracles start to happen left and right.  After three days, everyone is going to be drunk out of their minds or their taste buds won’t know the difference in a high quality wine or the wine that comes in a box.  Okay, poor quality wine came in a box in my youth.  The emcee turned to the Father and said, ‘What’s going on here?  You saved the best wine for last?’  Now what was the miracle?  Water into wine?  Sure.  Water into the best wine?  Sure, what else would you expect when Jesus performed the miracle.  But the Emcee’s taste buds to be clear of the purer wine.  His pallet was prepared for good wine.  That is one more miracle.  How about the fact that he was not as drunk as he was before so that he could recognize that the wine was the best.  That is yet another miracle.  The water into the wine was just the appetizer.  More miracles followed the first that night.”

Pink said, “So, God cared enough to save face for the Father of the groom.  He cared enough to let the one running the party become sober to realize that this wine was unlike any wine he’d ever tasted.  So, God cares about the little details in our lives.”

And Babs added, “And when we go to be with Jesus, we will be asking why was the best saved for last?  And we will know that it is the best because God will sanctify us so that the drunkenness of this world, any corruption at all, is removed before we get there.  Right?!”

I smiled and leaned over to kiss her, “And you, my dear, win the prize.”

Pink called her husband on her cellphone, “Scrammie!  I have a great idea to add to our bedtime tradition.  Let’s talk about the Bible stories that we read to the children.”

Credits

All these conversations remind me of my conversations with my wife.  We would talk about anything and everything.  And most of the time, it sounded like a discussion in a Sunday school class.

I got the description of a first century wedding from an online video from a pastor in Ellicott City, Maryland, but I had heard much of the description from past sermons over the years.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.