Mary: They have no wine.
Jesus: Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.
Mary (to the servers): Do whatever he tells you.
I write this as my ship approaches Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the western hemisphere. While I have been gone, Louisville has experienced a record two snowfalls and an ice storm, and Los Angeles has experienced catastrophic wildfires causing extraordinary damage and loss of life. In other parts of the world, innocent men, women, and children are trapped in areas where nonstop warfare has made their lives a living hell.
When we think of it this way, Mary’s concern about the shortage of wine at the wedding in Cana where she and Jesus are guests seems quite trivial. In first-century Israel, people lived under harsh Roman occupation, constantly in threat of losing their livelihood or even their lives. Again, it seems trivial even to worry about wine at a wedding.
The key phrase is when Jesus says, “My hour has not yet come.” Mary does not let this thwart her request. She simply tells the servers to “Do whatever Jesus says.” We know the rest of the story. Jesus works his first great miracle. Water becomes choice wine, and the best is saved for the end of the wedding banquet, not the beginning.
Jesus does not ignore the calamities, the tragedies, the suffering, and the great anxieties of our time. His most quoted phrase in the New Testament is, “Be not afraid.” Having faith does not mean that we are indifferent to the great suffering of our time. In fact, faith means we must pay attention and be present to the suffering. God’s answer is always perfect, in the perfect way, and at the perfect time. Mary believed this. That is why she said, “Do whatever he tells you.” Her faith and her trust in him are total and without exception.
We should try to do the same. Do whatever Jesus tells you. What he tells you the most is “Be not afraid.” Suddenly, the shortage of wine at the wedding in Cana isn’t so trivial. It becomes the good news!
