On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Sometimes when we are asked to do something, we may not always realize the reasons why we are asked. I have been asked to do things that feel backwards or unfair, but in the end, they turned out for good. This is in part because I did not see the whole perspective. I have found that many of the things in my life that do not make sense, God uses for his glory in the end. A few examples are my Mom’s early death to cancer and most recently the Back the Blue event that I organized. In the first case, God has brought me closer to him over the last 34 years. He allowed my Mom to shine her light brightly to act as a model or example of how to live for God in an “all out” manner. So I must admit, though I wish she was still here every day, I see God’s Hand in the aftermath, his loving spirit drawing me and others closer to him, as a result. The Back the Blue event was something God put on my heart. I had helped serve our officers in the past, and this desire to help was in part built on the model my Mom and Dad had given. The event was bigger and more of a commitment than anything else I had done. But God kept nudging me to serve and obey, so I did, and now a new ministry is continuing to open up.

This passage gives us a glimpse into the heart of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It also gives us a glimpse into the obedience of Jesus her son. Jesus seemingly does not understand why he is being asked to perform this miracle by his Mom. His time “has not yet come.” My initial reaction sometimes is the same: “this is not in my comfort zone”, “this does not fit into the plans I think God should have for me”, or “this will be more effort than I want to give right now, with everything else I have on my plate”. But we must notice this — Jesus then obeyed his Mother. He deeply honored her and her friends in this way. And his Mother had faith he would do the right thing. Why did Mary ask him to do this miracle? Couldn’t the Feast have gone on with water? I think she understood the culture and the importance of having wine at the wedding to her friend for this special time of the wedding. Weddings in that time likely took a week to celebrate and the family needed to provide the food and drink. This would have been a big embarrassment to the family and would have meant all the guest would likely scatter. The wine was a draw. I also think it is interesting that Jesus’ first miracle (we will study this tomorrow) was at a wedding on behalf of his mother. God compares his relationship to the church as a bridegroom taking his bride in marriage. The application today is to honor our parents and/or those in authority over us and trust that if they follow God, their “nudges” may be divine. They may have a perspective we do not see.