It’s always grace

A new question arises for me while reading the Gospel of Saint John, the first few verses of Chapter 2.

There we encounter the Cana Wedding, where Jesus turns water into wine. 

A lot is going on in these eleven verses, each worthy of being the sole focus.

But what catches my ear this time is this: 

“…and his disciples believed in him….”

Remember, these are somewhat new relationships. Chapter 1 concludes with Jesus calling the twelve men who will form his core ministry team. There was an instant, almost magnetic, connection between him and the men. Why else would they drop nets and walk away from all they have known?

Now, only eleven verses into Chapter 2—after the distribution of the water-turned-into-wine that rescues the reception from being a very bad party—what has me wondering are these words:

His disciples believed in him.

Did they not before? Based on what did they earlier go all-in with Jesus?

The answer is better than good news, it’s the greatest news ever: In whatever way we first meet Jesus, it’s only the beginning.

Who knows why they were first intrigued by Jesus? But relationship is not an all-at-once experience, there is more if we just stick with it.

Similar to our own highest-quality human relationships, it deepens, expands, and reveals.

That’s how I explain what happens. That, sometime after they joined Jesus’ team, the disciples realized they believed in him. There is ongoing revelation. And how does it happen, how are we made aware?

Someone in seminary told me that if I ever got stumped by a question, just attribute everything to God’s grace.

It was supposed to be an insider joke. A throwaway line.

But it turns out to be the only right answer so often.

Grace: God’s unwarranted, unearned, freely given affection and support.

Consider Amazing Grace, one of the most popular of Christian hymns. It was written in 1772 by John Newton, an erstwhile slave trader turned Anglican priest. Here are the words of Verse 2:

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; how precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.

Grace upon grace.

Amen.