The Event Before the Event at the Wedding of Cana

Not having any previous scribblings on the Annunciation, and not wanting to turn out something inadequate and unnecessary in the midst of so much profound literature on the subject, I present, instead, this musing on the mother/son interchange at the wedding of Cana. As the Annunciation introduces the Blessed Mother and has her speak for the first time, the wedding account relates her last scriptural words. I hope this small piece of prose communicates my thankfulness for her “Yes” to Gabriel, and for her advice to us servants to listen to and obey her son and our Savior.

John’s gospel account of activities at the wedding of Cana, relates some significant happenings that are usually noted by commentators and pontificators. First, it marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, through his seemingly reluctant beverage miracle. Additionally, many have also claimed that his liquid transformation foreshadows transforming wine into blood at the Last Supper. Finally, we hear his mother Mary speak for the last time: “Do whatever he tells you.” [John 2:5 NABRE]

An event just as significant to me as the aforementioned, was his mother’s role in this incident and how a simple domestic problem turns into a matter of faith in action. Clearly, Mary had some idea of the power of her son, subsequent to her recorded ponderings at his birth and during his growing up years [Luke 2:19, 51].

There is no scriptural data concerning Jesus’ life from his family’s flight into Egypt until He turned up missing during Passover at Jerusalem. Also, the young messiah vanishes from the canon after they found Him in the temple and reappears to be dunked by the Baptist. Consequently, we have no way of knowing whether or not He pulled some supernatural tricks while in exile or when He was growing up Nazareth. If He did, the folks in His hometown knew nothing of it, for they referred to Him as the carpenter’s son [Matthew 13:55], and were impressed merely with His teaching. In a small town like Nazareth, tongues would be a-waggin’ if Jesus was publicly playing fast and loose with the laws of nature as He did at the nuptials in Cana.

Interestingly, Mary’s approach to her son at the wineless wedding demonstrates an unusual faith in his divine abilities, hitherto not documented in the gospels. Let’s look at the exchange between Mother and Son in John chapter 2:

Verse 3: When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
On the surface, it looks as if Mary is merely relating some news to Jesus. Or maybe she is expecting Him to head to the nearest wine seller to pick up enough to get them through the shortage. Based on what we know of the story, and Jesus’ following response, she expected Him to do something.

Verse 4: Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.”
Is Jesus relating here that He is “off the divine clock?” Is He avoiding accusations of nepotism by not starting the miracles until the official beginning of his ministry? It’s tempting to speculate that this scene has happened before, with Mary asking her son to pull off something a bit extraordinary, and Him chiding her that it is not yet time for the fancy stuff.

Verse 5: His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Regardless of what her son said, Mary, in her last words recorded in scripture tells the wedding workers to obey Jesus. As far as a final statement goes, this is good advice for us all. She knows He will take care of the problem, and turns it over to Him. We can only hope to do as well when more daunting difficulties plague us.

We all know what happens next. Water becomes wine, the wedding party continues, and Jesus goes on his merry way to perform much more impressive miracles.

We might just dismiss this as the case of a strong-willed Jewish mother who refused to take “no” for an answer. Nevertheless, she was not only aware of His supernatural capabilities, but knew He would use them, whether or not it was his “hour.” After all, can you effectively serve your Father in heaven if you don’t honor your mother on earth?