On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ~ John 2:1-12 (RSV)
Read entire Scripture for Lesson Five HERE
Oh God is speaking to me in this reading. after reading through the verses and then the reflection, I had honed in on Mary pointing to Jesus and basically saying, handle this situation. And as I started writing in my journal, I remembered Kelly noting in the reflection that Mary didn’t know how Jesus would take care of the wine situation, she just knew all things were possible with God. And suddenly it all came crashing down on me.
Did you hear that? Mary knew God could handle it and just pointed to Jesus, do whatever he tells you. There was no negotiating, no micromanaging, no trying to brainstorm how this was gonna come together or even offering Jesus a few friendly suggestions. Mary just had faith and trust, pointed to Jesus and sat back while he handled the situation.
Me: So God, what you’re trying to tell me is I need to have faith like Mary?
God: Yes!
Me: and you want me to stop trying to micromanage and control and offer suggestions and….
God: Yes, yes, yes and before you say anything else, YES! Just trust in me and I’ve got this.
Me: this is gonna be a struggle for my control freak, type A personality
God: Yes! But I still got this! ❤️
I always love to read your reflections, Nikki! I agree that trusting in Mary’s intercession is what Jesus wants for us. She wants nothing opposed to Him for us, so leaving with Her is, definitely, a stress, anxiety, and control breaker!!
Well….this must be an all time favorite scripture with Jesus and Mary together at the Wedding Feast!! Each day reflecting on this scripture will bring it’s own treasures to my heart, I’m sure.
From the beginning of this passage in the poignant mention of, “On the third day”, we know already that something wonderful and miraculous is going to take place!
Moving a bit forward, as Jesus questions Our Blessed Mother on whether or not She is ready to begin the journey to Calvory in words that Our Mother Mary understood from Her Son, I feel Her surrender to God, and I beam within with the words “it’s all for us!” It is another beginning with Our Blessed Mother’s Fiat to God as it continues.
Our Blessed Mother’s response “Do whatever He tells you” to the servants, of course, is Her sweet instructions for us. While simple and direct, we know that doing whatever God wants for us is not always easy, but at the heart of this Jesus and Mary have already done the hardest part for us!
As we continue to go deeper and further, when we hear that the norm is for the wedding couple to save the good wine for last, with quite the contrary happenning here in Cana, I cannot help but have the knowledge that Jesus is so very generous to us when He gives! He not only gives us what we need, but goes beyond all of our imaginings on what a life with Christ can be, if only we trust in Him and His Blessed Mother. In closing, the scripture tells us that this miracle has led to his disciples believing. Our Blessed Mother intercedes for the wedding couple, and She was always working to help the disciples in their faith, and continues with us, sometimes without us even realizing it immediately!
Love this Barbara! Especially when you pointed out that not only did Jesus provide the wine, but he provided the good wine. You are so right! I totally missed that. Not only does He provide, when He gives, He gives abundantly! He so wants the best for us all! Let us be as open with our “yes” as Mary so we can receive the best from God!
Yes; Nikki! You expressed that bettar than I did! The gifts from Jesus are very plentiful and Mary gives us access to them in such a complete way!
Praying wtih this scripture today, I reflected on verse 12. Jesus went with His Mother and His disciples to Cupernaum, and scripture says that they stayed there for a few days. There is no detail about their stay, but one can, prayerfully, imagine what their time in Cupernaum was like. It is a comfort to know that The Blessed Mother spent this time with Jesus after He performed His first public miracle. Was it a time of rest or a time of ministry? As we know that for most of Our Lord’s ministry there were times that He was separated (physically) from His Mother, what a joy it must have been for Her to spend this time with Him!
How many times have I heard, or read, this passage and never stopped to delve into it?! I keep finding more and more insight into it, now that I take the time to reflect on it.
Several random thoughts came to mind while reading it … the wine ran out — Why?? We have seen in Isaiah and Micah references to the lowly, the insignificant; this couple would either have been relatives or friends of Mary and so would not have been wealthy, They most likely spent as much as they could on the wine, perhaps purchasing an “inferior” wine in an effort to obtain as much as possible. But, still did not have enough. Mary sees that the couple and their families will be embarrassed due to having insufficient wine for their guests. Mary is a caring person; her response is to help them. She is already demonstrating Jesus’ later instructions to “Love your neighbor.”
As any mother might do, she approaches her son and asks for assistance. Jesus initial response almost sounds like a refusal, or the age old response of any kid when Mom tells them they need to clean their room — “Can’t I do it later?… or, “OK, after I finish this.” I had to laugh as I envisioned Mary giving him”the eye” — that look that says, “Excuse Me!! You will do as I say and you will do it now.” But, in true Mary fashion, she simply instructs the workers to “do whatever he tells you.” And then, she leaves it to Jesus.
Mary has total faith in God, and in His son…her son… She has been chosen by God to be the mother of His son; to raise this child to adulthood, and to walk with him throughout their earthly life together. Through it all, she will always remain “his mother.” She is also aware that he is both human and divine and He had a mission, one that she does not understand. She has done what she can and now it is time for him to go forward… bringing back memories to me of dropping off my sons at college — She did her best and now it was time for Jesus to take over, as scary as it might be.
Throughout this passage I am reminded of Mary’s faith in God; her trust that He will take care of her and her family; her love of God and also love for her neighbors; her courage, as she ponders the words of Simeon, and knows that the fulfillment of that prediction is drawing closer. What a woman!!!
My reflection on this scripture turned at first to how we see that Mary is always an opening to relationship with Jesus. She often comes first, as in going through Her to get to Him. This is pretty much covered in Kelly’s reflection regarding The Blessed Mother being the special guest at the Wedding who opens the invitation to us, and probably a running theme through my other daily reflections thus far (I did not re read what I wrote on prior days.).
Also, today was a bit different in that I reflected on “the servants”. These servants who knew what Jesus had done in His miracle of turning water to wine…..these same servants that Mama said to “do whatever He tells you”…. These first witnesses to Jesus public divine workings…..I pondered the types of conversions they had upon being the vehicles in which Our Lord used to bring about this great miracle. They followed Our Blessed Mother’s command and Our Lord’s instructions; what must have taken place within their hearts!!!
With the hope that I am not being repetitious in my daily reflections, our Blessed Mother’s instruction of “Do whatever He tells you” is of great comfort. What a great consolation to know that She is always there to guide and direct us to Her Son. Sometimes Her message can be very simple, as it was here. She can speak so plainly to us to make us understand what we need to do in any given situation.
I’m a bit behind in my updates as I’ve been traveling. 🙂 Barbara, I don’t think you’re being repetitious at all. Sometimes we glean so many things out of one line. Like they mentioned in the webinar last week (I believe it was last week, things get a little fuzzy), how while we hear the same scriptures read through every few years, they impact us differently because each time we hear/read them we are a different person than the one who read/heard them before.
My most recent reflection was on how grace was freely given. This was Jesus first miracle and the grace flowed freely. No one said, let’s discuss who is in attendance or whether the bride or groom are worthy. Without being asked for assistance, Mary sees the need and knows just who can handle things. Jesus steps in a grace is freely given. Grace to all! not just one or two of the folks at the wedding, but to all with some leftover. Isn’t this how God always works? He is bestowing graces on us even when we don’t ask, even when we think we are unworthy because in His eyes, we are priceless. Blessed be God, Mary and Jesus and their unconditional love.
My prior reflection was on verse 4, in the NRSV-CE, ” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” In other translations, it is a bit different but in this translation it is directed to both Jesus and Mary. They are completely intertwined and of course, Jesus’ first miracle is brought through Mary’s intercession. Mary knows that it is time for Jesus to share who he is to the world. To use his gifts to bestow grace. And maybe this seems like a small thing, as someone else pointed out, this was no doubt a family with little who did what they could to feed the attendees, but in the end, they could not afford to provide appropriately. Who better than the one who is life, who is bread and wine for all, to provide for the wedding but Jesus. Mary is just such a smart cookie. She knew it was such a beautiful opportunity and this small thing had a big impact on the apostles verse 12 states, “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”
Oh that we should call on the Blessed Mother to help direct us in our lives. to assist in discernment. She who so willingly brought Jesus into the world, raised him and nudged him toward his first miracle. Just think of how she could help encourage us along the right path.
Thank you, Nikki, for this response. A beautiful take away from this scripture and reflection…….you said “Jesus and Mary are completely intertwined”. I often meditate and reflect how the Sacred Heart of Jesus and The Immaculate Heart of Mary are one..
I have had so many thoughts reading this scripture passage. So full of goodness. The first line had me from day one! On the 3rd day…Which reminded me of Genesis and the creation story so I went and looked it up and on the third day God separated the land from the sea (water) and all the vegetation plants and fruit were created. And now here on the 3rd day of a marriage celebration Jesus takes water and turns it into wine, thus starting his public ministry and sends him on his path to the cross. Just as Eve brought the apple to Adam, Mary the new Eve brought the problem to Jesus, the new Adam to be solved. Mary brings us to Jesus and Jesus to us to do whatever he tells us! Amazing <3
Day 2 had me thinking about the line The Good Wine? The best wine is usually served first and then when people have drank freely an interior one. But here they kept the good wine until now, Somehow this made me think of who and when I give the best parts of myself. Often I give my best at work or to acquaintances and come home exhausted and have nothing left for my family. The flip side of that is that we often hurt those closest to us because we know they will never leave us.
They will always be there. But is that right shouldn't we give them our best. Shouldn't we give them the good wine, the best parts of us, our first fruits? Just like we are called to give Jesus our everything not just what is leftover?
Day 3 The word that jumped out at me was Marriage, In some translations it doesn't say Jesus and his Disciples were invited to a wedding but it says invited to a marriage. Which helped me pray about how Jesus should be invited into every marriage. Not just the wedding day when two become one but the entire marriage. He can fix our problems if we bring them to him and do whatever he tells us to do. And can do it abundantly! Not just give us what we need but give us everything we could possibly ever want or dream of, and mostly give us salvation in heaven with him forever and ever,
Day 4; The servants who filled the barrels with water and drew out the wine were the first to know of his miracle. Not the Bride and Groom, ot he gguestsor the disciples but the dservantsO nce again Jesus is telling us that it is better to sevrve than to be served. tr the g
Wonderful insights Kym! I especially like your notes on the first fruits as I recall that being discussed in one of the early Bible in a Year podcasts. How we should bring our best to God, not our half-heartedness.
Also, the point of how the servants were the first to know of the miracle. Well done!
And way to overcome the evil one and share your thoughts. 🙂 Thanks!
So the evil one must not have wanted me to post that comment. It was like my computer was hacked, The keys I hit were not typing the correct letters, it was crazy and even when I used spell check to fix words the corrections were not made. So I finally just hit post and now it seems to be working fine. Hope you can figure out what I was trying to say! God bless you all and have a great day!
Amen, Kym; that has, certainly, happened to me in the past!
I had many of the same reflections that you did! It is so wonderful to all be united in this way in God’s Word!
i love the readings of John 2_ 1_ 12 for the readings of John and reading the bible and my prayers for jesus
Recently I bought a book by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, A Bible study guide on Mary, Virgin, Mother, and Queen which helped me to understand better the readings on The Wedding at Cana. Mary and Jesus had been invited to a wedding. Mary came and also Jesus, with 4 of his disciples: Peter, John, Philip , and Nathaniel. Father Pacwa added that in the third century, Christians taught that Mary was a relative of the groom’s mother. He adds that this cannot be proven true, but would answer the question why she was there, and why she got involved in trying to help. Her attention was on the host needing to provide refreshment for the guests, because there was no wine left and this could be an embarrassment for the family. So Mary tells Jesus about the problem. Her words implied a request to Jesus and that could mean later on, her role in taking our prayers, problems and needs to Jesus, in been our Mediatrix. When she saw the need for wine, she approached Jesus. In my mind I asked myself if at that point Mary knew what Jesus was capable of doing, and if he could solve the problem. Jesus answers her ,calling her Woman , and that could be a reference to Adam and Eve. Before the fall Eve was called a woman, but after the fall she was called Eve. By Jesus calling His mother a Woman He is addressing her as the Mother of the Human Race. The new reference could be pointing also to the New Adam , and the New Eve. Then Jesus answers : O woman what have you to do with me? ; maybe meaning what do you want from me ? ” My hour hasn’t come yet., meaning the time to start my mission hasn’t arrived yet. This could also imply that this mission could be linked to Mary. Mary turns to the servants and says” Do whatever He tells you”, trusting that Jesus will do the Father’s will regarding the wine, and the beginning of His mission. She doesn’t give precise instructions on what she would like him to do, because she trusts Jesus to do the right thing. The servants amazingly obey by drawing the water and taking the wine to the Stewart which in reality was their boss and the person they should have obeyed. The Stewart doesn’t understand anything because he didn’t see when the miracle happen, nor why they are serving the best wine now. The servants had seen it all, including the miracle and they obeyed Mary and Jesus. The moment the Mother and Jesus looked at each other silently, reminded me when my children were small and were doing something wrong. I would look at them and they would do whatever they were supposed to do immediately. Also it could mean just another way of communicating that parents use to send children love and support when it is needed.
As I read the passage where Jesus said, “What is this to you and to me?” I was thinking Jesus would never be
disrespectful to his mother.
After reading the passage several times and reading the discussion thread several times, the thought came to me that Jesus was actually looking at his mother and asking her, ” Do you know what this means for you and for me?” She did know. It would the beginning of His ministry. A ministry that would lead to his suffering and death and also to a sword that would pierce her own heart.
He was actually asking her if she was ready, giving her a chance to say no. Her answer was yes, Do whatever He tells you.
Kelly, your reflection, especially the “after glow” and the last verse of the reading resonated with me.
V 12 “After this he went down to Caper′na-um, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples; and there they stayed for a few days.”
After an event like a wedding, there is often a period of “after glow” where family/wedding guests can talk about the event and reminisce. I image Jesus, Mary and the disciples reflecting on the events of the wedding in Capernaum.