Signs of things to Come (Firsts)

One of my favorite things about being a dad is all of the firsts. The first breath. The first cry. The first time I held each of them. The first time Ashley held each of them. The first diaper change. The first flip. The first birthday. The first steps. The first words. The first time they say, “I love you Mommy/Daddy.” The first time they rode a baby gate down the stairs. The first time they wanted to help with washing dishes or cooking supper. The first day of school. The first game of frisbee. The first joke with a punchline that truly took me by surprise. There are too many firsts to count. With each of my boys, I continue to have firsts again and again. Each time that I recognize what’s happening, I can’t help but grin and cheer them on as my own heart soars. These firsts mean something. They’re special.

That very first step that was taken… it was wonderous. No… it wasn’t very graceful. Yes, each of them fell down into our waiting arms within seconds of their first step. But that step was a sign of something new... a new phase… a new possibility… a new horizon to explore. That first step, that first word, that first joke… all of those firsts were signs of who my boys were and are becoming.

As parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and close friends and everything in between… as we watch children grow up… we get to have the privilege of being part of many of those firsts. We have the privilege of celebrating with this next generation as they discover what this thing we call “life” is all about. And we celebrate those discoveries not with the expectation that after the first successful step or word that the child is done. One word and no more. One step and that’s it. No. But we celebrate those firsts because we know that there is more yet to come. That “first” whatever it might be is a sign not only of itself but of that which will be.

Jesus and Mary

It’s curious, I think, that the author of John’s gospel describes Jesus’ act of turning water into wine not as a miracle… but as a sign. The act points at things yet to come. And as a father, it’s not lost on me that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, gets to be present at this sign of something new for her son. In fact, much as a mother might help her child with his first steps or first words… Mary also helps Jesus with his first miracle. She encourages him. Mary, Jesus’ human mother, encourages the Son of God… the Messiah of the World… the Word made Flesh… she encourages her son toward his first public miracle.

You know, in the Gospel of John, Mary only appears twice… and it’s not with wise men and shepherds. She appears first here, as her son begins his ministry in the world. She encourages him in that first step and then I’d imagine she grinned to herself and cheered him on with a soaring heart as she watched her son’s life begin to unfold.

I’d imagine also, however, like any parent… that she knew that the ability to take those new steps also meant new danger. That’s something that I have certainly learned with our three boys. The sooner they became mobile… the more trouble they could get into. With Luke especially… we learned what was not babyproofed the hard way as he went from laying in one spot to crawling under beds and couches… and then he went from crawling to walking and grabbing things down that we didn’t think he could reach. In a few years, he’ll be able to get his driver’s permit… and that will be a whole new world for us all over again.

Think of Mary as she watched her son take this “first” new step. With the joy and excitement, I wonder if she harbored concern as well. She couldn’t stop him from taking it… she didn’t want to stop him. In fact, again, she does all she can to encourage Jesus to be who he was supposed to be. Even with the dangers she knew would come… she urged him forward to fulfill his calling in life. And so he does. Jesus, despite his early protests, “Ahh, Mom… it’s not my time yet.” He ends up listening to his mother and takes that first step of public ministry. The first of his miracles… no… the first of his signs.

Scripture records that after this first of his signs, Jesus’ disciples believed in him. And I have to laugh a little as I think of this really kinda gruff bunch of disciples getting excited about following Jesus after he provides them some extra spirits. There’s something rather fun about that. But they follow him in earnest from this point not because he turned water into wine… though I’m sure that’s part of it. But because this sign pointed to the possibilities of things yet to come.

And while yes we can celebrate that Jesus makes the water into wine… what our own hearts might find joy in is not just that the wedding party 2,000 years ago was able to keep the wine flowing… but that this sign of God’s faithfulness through Christ offers hope for things yet to come.

Signs in Life

In many ways, this miracle of keeping the party guests happy with wine is small in the scheme of things. He’s not offering a life-changing healing for someone who was blind or beset with leprosy. He’s not bringing someone back from the dead. He’s not even offering forgiveness of sins here. But we do see Christ being faithful in his care for the needs of others as he listens to his mother’s encouragement to follow his calling.

Now I want you to take a moment. And think back into your own life. Think back into those moments where you can now see God being faithful in your journey. Those are often times that you perhaps did not see God in the moment… or maybe you did… but you found yourself coming through a challenge in life that you didn’t know if you could get through. You saw love poured out through another in a way that was deeply needed… even though you perhaps didn’t know you needed it. You experienced extraordinary generosity from someone or perhaps were moved to extraordinary generosity for the sake of others. Each of these moments, each of these miracles that have been in your life are signs for you. So too are the many firsts that you have experienced in life as your body and mind have grown and matured allowing you to do that which you previously could not. And yes, for some of us, some of those firsts are getting farther and farther in the rear-view-mirror… but yet new firsts continue as God’s activity in the world surrounds and sustains us. And as we see God’s activity in the world and God’s activity in our lives… when we see those moments where God is faithful, we might also remember that these are signs of things to come. Do you remember Jesus telling the parable of the talents where each steward is gifted a different amount of talents? One received 5 talents, another 3, a final servant received 1. You might remember the master’s words to the first two stewards who came back not only with what they had received… but had doubled it. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”

So too let it be for us as we see God’s faithfulness in our life. Not that we can decide whether or not God is in charge… but that we might know we can trust ourselves wholly to the one who is faithful.

We can look to those signs that we have been given and we can trust in God. And from there, indeed, we like the disciples can believe.

You know, we have a good sense of the firsts that a child gets to experience in this life. I wonder what firsts we will experience as children of God in the next life. I don’t know. But I trust that God will see us through to that new life just as God has seen us through into this life. Look for the signs, what do you see in your life? What do you see that helps you trust in the faithfulness of God?