One Confident Mother

Picture the scene. A raucous wedding party. The bride and groom dancing. The waiters surfing the crowd with appetizers. The DJ spinning tracks. Banners, balloons, flowers and streamers. The celebration and ecstasy.

Then the unthinkable happens. No wine.

How do you run out of wine? What kind of cut-rate party is this!

But one mother in the crowd hears of the predicament. She knows the pressure of pleasing guests. One mother knows her son, and she knows the solution.

“When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’” (John 2:3)

Jesus is the word. The word was with God, and the word was God. Jesus is God. Who better to ask? But does Jesus, the Son of God, concern himself with such matters as a wine shortage?

“And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.'” (John 2:4)

We have our answer: No. As in, “No, I won’t help out with the wine shortage.” And Jesus cites a key and legitimate reason. His hour has not yet come. Think about that. Jesus just said no to his mother because in God’s sovereign plan the timing was not right. That’s a great reason to say no. I wonder how his mom will take this blunt reply?

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.'” (John 2:5)

I LOVE THIS!!!

Mary knows the heart of her son. She knows what he’s like. She knows the prophecies and perfection. If anyone knows, she knows. And what is her reaction to his “No”? To move forward in faith, trusting the loving heart of her son.

When I read this story, I wonder why we ever hedge our bets in prayer. Why do we ask for such small things? Why do we give up so quickly? Why do we resign ourselves to our circumstances like fatalist, slapping the Christian label “God’s will” on every bad situation? Throughout the gospels, Jesus commends the opposite kind of attitude.

To the bold men who rip open the roof, who won’t take “no seats” for an answer, Jesus marvels and heals their friend. To the Syrophoenician woman who keeps bugging Jesus, he kindly answers. And to what does Jesus compare prayer? To a woman pounding the door of a judge, pleading for justice. Such boldness and persistence shows great faith. It shows great dependence, confidence, and trust. Such pestering is childlike.

Mary knew all this, and moved forward with confidence. No hesitation.

May we all move forward with such confidence in Jesus.