1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

REFLECTIONS

Written by Helen Mitry

I love weddings – and we’ve had a fair few weddings from Fairfield Evening church! I love dressing up, I love having a “boogie on the dancefloor,” and I love the food.

Jesus, in today’s passage, was also at a wedding. So far, in chapter 1 of John’s Gospel, we have seen Jesus start his ministry by gathering his first disciples. Maybe this wedding was a chance for Jesus to relax, have fun and celebrate in festivities with his newly made friends? Wrong! Tomorrow we’re going to see that it was to reveal Jesus’ glory (v 11).

Today, what we see is that the wedding went downhill fast, because the wine ran out. In those days, letting the wine run out at a wedding was a major social blunder. It would be like the Crystal Palace reception centre at Canley Heights running out of mud crab at a wedding reception before all the tables are served. It would bring shame on the groom’s family, because it implied that they had failed to provide for their guests. In a small town like Cana, this would be remembered and spoken about in the community for many years.

Jesus’ mother Mary was also at the wedding, and she seemed to think that this would be the perfect opportunity to get Jesus’ ministry started. But Jesus responds by saying, “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come” (v 4, NIV). I found Jesus’ response a bit surprising and not the way you would speak to your mother. My Bible footnote says that the term “Woman” wasn’t one of disrespect. In any case, this is not just a relationship between mother and son, but also between an ordinary woman and the Messiah, and Mary needed to know that it was not yet time for Jesus to reveal his glory fully to the world. That time would come at the cross.

Mary then says to the servants at the wedding, “Do whatever he tells you.” This is such a great example for us. She accepts that Jesus has a grand plan and that he will do it in his own timing. But she also directs people to listen to Jesus and do whatever he says.

Do we expect Jesus to run on our time and our plans, or on his? Let’s trust that whatever he has in store for us is for his glory and for our good.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen is a member of our Fairfield Evening church.