When I was a kid, I remember being a bit confused by the story of Jesus’s first miracle. The anecdote, found in John 2, seemed a bit trivial to me. Perhaps you remember it”
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’s mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’
‘Dear woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My time has not yet come.’
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” (v. 1-11)
Really? This is what the Son of God chose as His first miracle? Jesus, who would go on to heal the sick, give the blind sight, cast out demons, and ultimately die on the cross for the salvation of all humanity….concerned himself with a few empty wine jugs? As a child, I just didn’t get it.
Now, as an adult, I can understand the richness and depth of the story. Through it, we see everything from Jesus’s intimate compassion to His gentleness in providing the disciples this wondrous act that nudged them along in a small, “baby step” of faith, preparing them for the miracles to come.
But I’ve also come to appreciate something–or someone–else in the story.
Mary.
Her faith in Jesus–before He had even performed any physical miracles–is a model for how I believe we, too, should approach God and live out our trust in Him.
First of all, she recognized a need and immediately went to the right place. She didn’t try to fix it herself or dismiss it. Instead, she went to Jesus and told him everything.
“They have no wine.”
To pray is to tell Jesus what we or others lack. Plain and simple. No fancy words needed.
Then, after telling Him of the need, what did Mary do? Did she worry, fret, micro-manage, or try to tell Jesus what she believed should be done? Nope. She simply told Him of the need and left it in His hands. She had no idea that He would turn water to wine. But she had every confidence He would take care of it in the way He best saw fit.
Ole Hallesby, a Lutheran theologist, put it this way: “Our prayer lives will become restful when it really dawns on us that we’ve done all we’re supposed to do when we’ve spoken to him about it. We have left the matter in the hands of Jesus and, like the mother of Jesus, we can go back to our duties secure and happy.”
“Back to our duties.”
Leaving matters in the hands of Jesus does not eliminate the need to take action at times and work in harmony with the Holy Spirit. But we can work without stress, knowing we are in His care as we do so: outcomes are ultimately up to Him, and all is being done that must be done.
When Mary did this, Jesus turned water into wine. Who knows what miracles we might get to witness if we try the same thing?
