"Do whatever he tells you!"

"When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'"

(John 2:3-5)

With both of my children engaged (and both getting married in 2019!), I had to stop and write about a wedding today. It's the wedding at Cana in Galilee (aka "Jesus' first miracle"). Jesus and his disciples have been invited to the event... evidently, it was a family friend, because Jesus' mom was also there. And it seems like she felt responsible for the success (or failure) of parts of the wedding celebration.

(Side note: there are TONS of aspects of a wedding to plan. When Jody and I got married (28 years ago this week!), as young and naive college students, we did everything "on the cheap"... including having friends handle various aspects of it that others often hire people out for. Anyway, both of our children are planning their own weddings now... and have all of the stresses, challenges, and joys that come along with it!)

So Jesus' mom tells him that the wine has run out (Middle Eastern wedding celebrations back in Jesus' day ran for about a week!). Jesus is a bit taken aback. "Wait? I'm just a guest here. That's not my job," he says. Actually, he said, 'What concern is that to you and to me? My time has not yet come." He knew why God had sent him... and doing party tricks with the drinks wasn't high on his list of "must do's". But Mary knew it was something important. It wasn't for her (like she just needed a good merlot that night). It would honor the newly married couple, and help the family avoid the embarrassment of running out of wine. So she tells the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

When I chose this passage to journal about, I thought about Mary's faith in Jesus, despite his initial rebuffing of her request. But instead of thinking that we just need to have faith (like Mary), so whatever we ask Jesus, he'll do... I think the better application to me is to "do whatever he tells you." Meaning, I need to put myself in the place of the servants. What is Jesus telling ME to do? Even if it seems strange (like filling purification jars with water and asking the wine steward for his review!).

"Do whatever he tells you." (Great advice, Mary. Thanks!)