Trying to be like Jesus - water into wine

It wasn't that long ago that I posted at length about how drinking alcohol is not inherently evil:

http://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2017/02/trying-to-be-like-jesus-inside.html

Given concerns at times about water safety, it was once much more common, and given the current emphasis on probiotics and the role of fermentation in creating some of them, wine and mead and ale could have played an important health role for many cultures.

None of that takes away now from our current commitment to not drinking, or all of the reasons why there is wisdom in that commitment. I just wanted to get any weird feelings about alcohol out of the way so we can focus on the rest of the story.

We can focus on a weird phrasing of translation, where it looks like Jesus is trying to put his mother off, which nothing in the rest of the story bears out. We can focus on this being the first of the miracles and how it gained him disciples. We could use this as a jumping off point for speculation that there is no way of resolving (though I am putting that off for next week). What I really want to take from this is that our Lord and Savior is not against letting us party.

There would be many times when the Pharisees would look down on him for any enjoyments and not being properly solemn. There are people today who will look down on any type of leisure that they don't partake in. There is also a lot of work to do, where how you choose to spend your time matters. It is still permissible and healthy and necessary to have times of relaxation and fun.

This was a wedding, where people do bring out the good food and drink and enjoy it. It is possible that he was just capable of making much better wine than anyone could imagine, but the steward's comment about this wine being superior to the previous wine may indicate that these were poorer people who could not afford the best. (Possibly the mere attendance of Jesus signifies that they were no wealthy.)

They still deserve their fun. They deserve their celebration. And, with a spirit of love and gratitude, not having the finest ingredients doesn't have to be much of an impediment to enjoyment; some of the best foods come from poor people learning to make do with scraps and then elevating it.

But sometimes they can also have really fine wine, and he has no objection. He will help them get it.

And because we tend to be more judgmental about leisure and pleasure for those who are not rich, this is something that touched me:

https://theestablishment.co/poor-people-deserve-to-taste-something-other-than-shame-90eb3aceabf9#.ov6c9jno9

Trying to be like Jesus - inclusion in the Nativity

Just one more post about pre-adult Jesus, and it starts with an Ensign article I remembered from long ago.


https://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/12/twelve-witnesses-of-christs-birth?lang=eng

Sometimes no matter how often you read a scripture, it doesn't strike home until someone else refers to it. I never thought much about the shepherds at all; they were just there. And yet, to receive a message from an angel, and then witness an angelic choir singing, yes, they must have been "just and holy men" (Alma 13:26).

Their inclusion begins to seem more appropriate when we think of how often the symbolism of the shepherd and sheep was used in reference to Christ's relationship with the House of Israel. Perhaps it is a career that emphasizes the best qualities in a person. As much as we don't know about them, yes, of course they were good.

The next thing I had never thought of before came from Pastor Daniel Hill when he wrote about the Magi:

https://pastordanielhill.com/2014/12/23/the-god-of-human-history-the-christmas-story-according-to-matthew/

That series had reminded me of some other things I had thought of, which I blogged about at the time, but the part about the Magi was new to me, as he connected them to Daniel in Babylon. It is somewhat speculative, but it also makes sense. We know that Daniel was trained in Eastern disciplines, and the inclusion of astronomy would have made sense. We also know that he was a prophet, even if we are more familiar with his prophecies that relate to Christ's return than his birth.

Even when I read it then, I did not see the full significance. I saw the potential connection as to how the Magi came by their knowledge, but without registering that it was because that was part of Judah being carried away. That knowledge could represent enemies and conquerors, and yet here they are coming as friends, bearing gifts.

It is worth remembering that in those earlier posts, even in the genealogy of Jesus that Rahab and Ruth were foreigners, and Ruth and Tamar and Bathsheba were widowed, and that Rahab was a prostitute. They were not likely heroes by conventional wisdom, but they filled their roles.

There is one other thing it reminded me of. In the Church History manual, it tells of both Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball saw armies in Heaven when Joseph Smith received the plates at Cumorah. They did not know each other at the time, and they certainly didn't know why they were seeing it, but it makes me wonder what other people saw then, and who else heard the angelic chorus sing on the night of the Savior's birth.

That all fits in with earlier posts about individuals being recognized by the Lord, and receiving guidance and help tailored to their abilities and needs. If that ends up being the overarching theme of this series, that will make sense.

Related posts:

http://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2015/01/women-in-lineage-of-savior.html
http://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-women-in-lineage-of-savior-part-2.html 
http://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2014/02/following-and-believing-in-prophets_16.html

Trying to be like Jesus - friends

This will be a transition week. I thought I would put all the random things remaining from the Book of Mormon in last week's post, but I forgot something. I also thought I would start with adult Jesus in the New Testament, because the other stories are more about the people around him, and not him. Still, he has an influence.

The Book of Mormon thing - and I had thought of it before - was that for all of the editing work that Mormon did, it is appropriate that Moroni was the one who went through Ether's record. Both of them witnessed the end of their respective civilization. The solitude must have been hard, especially without knowing how long it would last.

"Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen." Ether 15:34

It makes sense to add that to the account of the Jaredites anyway, but for someone who was in such a similar situation, I think those lines meant a lot to Moroni. I think he took comfort and strength from them.

There are other helps too. In Mormon 8:11 Moroni tells us that the remaining disciples have ministered to him and his father. If last week was about how the Lord gives us credit for what we do, this week is that he won't leave us alone as we do it.

And that is how we bridge to the New Testament, because there is a beautiful relationship between cousins Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1.

Being unmarried and pregnant can still be pretty hard in our time, but Joseph literally could have had Mary stoned. That he didn't probably didn't take away the social censure.There may also be some elements of people judging you when you are an older woman who has been barren and is suddenly pregnant, plus now her husband has been rendered temporarily speechless, with deafness implied.

It doesn't sound like pregnancy was great under Mosaic law anyway, but here are two women who are righteous and doing important things and they are still subject to scorn and ridicule and judgment.

They do not have to do it alone. They will not be together the entire time, and there will still be hardship, but they can support each other and at their coming together there is an outpouring of spirit and joy.

It is good to be a good friend to others and to be supportive, but there is also something to bringing others together. These people would enjoy each others' company. These people would relate to each other. This person would be a great mentor for that person. Then we are not only recognizing the needs of others, but also their abilities, and that everything doesn't have to be about us.

In such exhausting times it can be hard to think of inviting people over and making ways for them to meet each other, but maybe it doesn't always require that. Maybe sometimes it's just a message on Facebook and encouraging a connection.

We can at least try.

Trying to be like Jesus - credit where credit is due

The first teaching priority was establishing a church and giving the Sermon on the Mount teachings, then there was the break for healing and blessing children. Once it was time for learning again, Jesus spent time on other prophets.

He got the Nephites to record that the prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite had come to pass. He endorsed the teachings of Isaiah that they already had. He quotes prophecies of Malachi so they could have them.

The importance of having a written record was established pretty early for the Nephites before they were even Nephites, when Nephi himself needed to go back for the brass plates. Reminding the Nephites that there were important things in the scriptures they already had, and reminding them of the fulfilled prophecy they had recently seen, makes a lot of sense. Introducing them to a prophet from another land that they had long been gone from, and who had long been dead, is a little more surprising.

I have seen suggestions that some of the scripture that we have repeated in the Book of Mormon is to give us a better translation of it, though any differences are often minor.

I do not doubt that the Savior could have given the information from Malachi in his own words, but he quotes it and he names Malachi. I see in that a reminder that the Lord recognizes the work of his servants. They may not be doing it for recognition (ideally they aren't), and he doesn't owe them any more than they are already given, but he still remains generous and appreciative and loyal.

It makes me think of a few different things. One is that I believe he desires us to be united as much as possible. He tells the Jews there are other sheep, and he tells the Nephites what it means, and that there are still more sheep. Someday Judah and Ephraim will be united, but for now - if you can handle it - I will at least let you know about each other.

(And of course, what we can handle is a bigger topic, but we'll get there.)

Also, it reminds me of this, which I just saw recently:

http://www.shakesville.com/2017/02/my-essay-was-stolen.html

I have seen some people copy others' material as their own before, which is its own problem, but yes, sometimes people won't take the credit, but they won't give it to the author either. When linking is so easy, and when you get reminders, that is a choice. Given that more marginalized people are more likely to have their work stolen and wrongly attributed, it shows a nasty side of human nature. I can get away with abusing this person, because they are from a group that doesn't do anything good anyway - except they do good things; the credit just goes to the first higher-ranking person who puts it out there. There's that, but also, if you think something is worth passing on, why can't you see the worth of the originator?

That leads to the third thing: Jesus never does that.

I am sure one reason lesser beings might do it is because they have insecurities and things that lead to a temptation to keep others down. The Savior of mankind is secure in his achievements, but I think what is more important to him is that he loves even the most insecure and fallible humans. He had to love them enough to suffer and die for them. He came to know us in that process.

And he will fight for us. He will give us credit for any thing we do right, and he had made a path so we can be forgiven of the things we do wrong. We can be raised up at the last day because of what he has done, and we can become better now because of what he continues to do.

I know these posts and the things I say outside of these posts will keep coming down to loving others, but that doesn't make it less true or less important. We must love each other, and part of that is appreciating each other. We can understand the imperfections, then still celebrate any time one of us overcomes our weaknesses. Sometimes we can help each other in the overcoming.

That is what will be most like him.