This week, we welcome guest writer Brian Harriett, a lifelong member of Medford UMC, to share his reflections in a series called “Somewhere Down the Road,” about a disciple’s growth through the cycle of life.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and 2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They don’t have any wine.”
Reflection
Watching my children finding their way,
Through struggles and triumphs and heartbreak,
I hope the roads they take are making them strong,
I’ll still be on my knees long after they’re gone,
Love could make, love can make, love will make – make you unafraid
“Unafraid”, Amy Grant, 2009
Max Lucado, in his 2020 book You Are Never Alone, talks about this passage from John’s gospel: “In everything – not just the big things – let your requests be made known. Mary modeled this. She presented the need to Christ. ‘They have no more wine.’ No fanfare. No drama mama. She knew the problem. She knew the provider. She connected the first with the second.”
For her, faith and practical reality were not two things. They were the same thing. They just needed to be connected.
Along with acknowledging, and teaching, the logic in Mary’s connection, we frequently answer our kids about science and faith as being separate world views. This construct has sometimes been portrayed as, climbing up to the top of the mountain of truth, using both. In Know What and Why You Believe (2000), Paul E. Little says: “faith is no detriment to the apprehension of reality. In fact, science itself rests on presuppositions that must be accepted by faith before research is possible.”
By Brian Harriett
For Pondering & Prayer
Do we want our families to be sure of their faith in God’s love and truth? Modeling our faith in God’s love to our kids and wise teachings of both science and faith, solidifies confidence in all our relationships.
Prayer: Whenever my child speaks to me, I have a choice. Lord, help me to speak truth out of YOUR knowledge without being judgmental of their truth. Thank you, Lord, for keeping me in your perfect peace. Amen.
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