John 2:1-11:- 1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward." So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Mary had known all of Jesus' life (and before) what he was capable of doing. In a lot of ways in the story, she had more or less cornered him into what was about to happen in the way only a mother or grandmother could do. As those water jars were being filled, I imagine there were a lot of glances cast back and forth between Jesus and Mary, and they weren't terribly beatific. I imagine Jesus whispering to his mother in that little hissing whisper of irritation, "Ma! What are you trying to do to me?" and her whispering back in that somewhat smug maternal way, "You mean what am I trying to do FOR you, son." I can see Jesus rolling his eyes, I can imagine his armpits starting to break out into a sweat. What if this all gets blown somehow?
Jesus, who also knows what he's capable of, might even have started doubting himself. Perhaps as each of those jars got closer to being filled, his stomach started doing flip-flops. Perhaps he wanted to disappear. Perhaps he wanted to just bolt--but he knew if he did, he would never hear the end of it from his mother. Her expectations might have felt heavier than God's at that point!
But then, in my imagination, I can see the moment that the jars were filled. They were there and the moment had come. He might have cleared his throat a little and said to the servants, "Ahem...er..er...uh..ok, dip some of that out and take it to the chief steward," knowing the servants were thinking, "What a boob." The rest, of course, is recorded in John.
The more we imagine the parts of this story that John didn't record, well...how are these moments any different than the moments that we hear and fully understand what God wants US to do? Just as many of the prophets did, we ask God, "Are you sure you've got the right person here?" and "Not me, I can't do this, I'm too (fill in the blank)." Yet when the jars have been filled, and there's no turning back, we step up to the plate and do it. Never mind the butterflies and the sweaty armpits and the trepidation in our voices. Something happens where we do what needed to be done, and somehow it all works out.
That's what operating on faith is all about. When we'd rather melt into the wall and disappear, we do what God's asked of us anyway. But it doesn't change that the time that passes before that moment is agonizing, downright painful at times. The good news is we are not alone in those moments. I believe Jesus has gone before us in those very same feelings at the wedding in Cana!
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