Vol. 21 No. 06 | February 11, 2019
There is a story in the gospel of John that describes a time when Jesus attended a wedding. During the celebration, Jesus’s mother comes to inform Him that the host is almost out of wine. Mary knows this will embarrass the hosts, so she nudges Jesus to do something about it.
Jesus said, “Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine? This isn’t my time. Don’t push me.”
She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” (John 2:1-5, The Message)
A couple of observations from this short exchange:
First, Jesus’ mother was a classic mother. By this I mean, she had expectations of her son. But she also had confidence in Him. She saw a problem and knew He had the ability to solve it.
An aside. This also brings to light an age-old question. Did Mary know her son had special powers? I suspect she did, and perhaps had witnessed Jesus experiment a time or two…Hey, Mom, watch this!
But to the point, when Mary realized the host was on the verge of humiliation, she turned to Jesus, knowing he would do what needed to be done.
Second, Jesus respected His mother. The reasons why he seemed to dismiss her request aren’t clear. Was he resisting revealing His identity, or was He just teasing her?
Regardless, despite Jesus saying “Not now”, Mary knew He would grant her request.
The story reminds me of a very practical lesson:
Sometimes we just do what needs to be done.
You’re exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in. But your wife and kids what to you to fix pancakes. So you get up and fix pancakes.
You had planned on retiring at fifty-five, but illnesses and college tuitions changed your plans. So you keep showing up and punching the clock.
Your kids can be demanding, lazy, and selfish. You’d like to go on strike to teach them a lesson. But you keep showing up and trying to be the best parent you can.
It seems that most of our lives involve just getting up every day and doing what needs to be done. We cook meals. We work long hours. We do more than our share when others don’t do their part…
Why? Because we care. We care about doing things the right way and not cutting corners. We care about people, about doing what we can to help others in need.
Mom: “Son, they’re running of wine.”
Son: “That’s none of my business, Mom.”
Mom: “Listen to him. He’ll do what needs to be done.”
Maybe you are facing a situation that you wish you didn’t have to. Take a step back and look at your options. Ask for guidance, make changes if you can, and have faith that everything will work out exactly as it should.
And then, go do what needs to be done.
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