Message from Augie

Many scriptural figures try to get God’s revelation to work the way they want it to, from Jacob’s wrestling with the angel to Mary instructing Jesus at Cana.  God wins, but so do we!

The first line from Isaiah:  “I will not be silent….I will not keep still” and I burst with exasperation:.  “Come on , God!  Do it!  Talk a little more!  If there was ever a time when we need you to show yourself, it’s now.  Don’t be so silent!  Don’t be so stingy with you revelation.  So many folks don’t feel that you are here, there you are at work, in this world.  Come on! Show yourself!”

Is it okay to have a fencing match with God?

 I hope so.  Jacob wrestled an angel for a blessing.  Jeremiah rebutted that he was too young to be a prophet.  Moses argued, “No, not really, send someone else.”

There are times, maybe, when we just want God to do something.  Stop working so behind the scenes.  “Come on, God!”

Does Mary feel that way?   Yes, she is the mother who dies not sin, but she experiences emotion.   Here at the wedding, she seems frustrated.  She loves these relatives.  She trusts how big hearted Jesus is.  Surely he can do something!  “They have no wine,” she says.  Their repartee is like fencing back and forth they go at it, like devoted old married folks who believe in their love.  Mary does not let it go.  DO SOMETHING, JESUS!

Jesus’ response is stingy.  The wine overflows.  Sixty gallons of the choicest drinks pours forth.  That abundance reveals his generosity in the first of his signs. Mary’s swordplay pays off.

I don’t get an answer to my jousting with God.  But as I was driving back from an appointment, I got a comeback?  In my head, I heard, “Come on, Ricky!”

Touché, God.

 SO THE QUESTION:   IS IT OKAY TO HAVE A FENCING MATCH WITH GOD?