At church, we have come to Bethlehem. We have sat with Jesus, listening and learning in the synagogue at Nazareth. When we look up, we are at a wedding.
Cana
Three decades before the Wedding at Cana, the shepherds came to the stable. They spoke excitedly about what an angel had told them of the child in the manger.
‘For to you is born this day in the City Of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord.’ —Luke 2:11
Mary had heard similar words before.
‘He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ — Luke 1:32-33
But now, with the baby in her arms, there came no Magnificat.
…Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. — Luke 2:19
Her child would leave her one day. And his leaving would not be like that of other sons. In fact, Simeon would soon confirm her thoughts for her.
‘And a sword will pierce your heart.’ — Luke 2:35
Jesus was to be for many, not just for her. Mary’s fiat brought him. And, one day, it would let him go. But not today.
When Jesus was 12, he, Mary and Joseph went up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Maybe he was being a typical teenager. Perhaps he was feeling his divine oats. He was, after all, in Jerusalem in the Temple. The locus of his mission.
Three days. It took Mary and Joseph 3 days to find him after returning to Jerusalem when they realized he was missing. Mary was worried about his safety, upset about missing him. And Jesus took her a giant step forward in her concern.
‘Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ — Luke 2:49
There was no spoken answer. Poor Joseph. And poor Jesus. Mary is not a young girl anymore. She is a mother with experience, and what experience! I can imagine what she was thinking: ‘I brought you into this world! I will tell you when it’s time to leave. Not today!’ It must have shown on her face and in her eyes.
Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. — Luke 2:51
And so we come to Cana, for this is where we are as we sit in church. It is 3 days since Nathanael became the first to acclaim him to be the Son of God. Three days since Jesus has chosen his first disciples. He has brought them to the wedding and Mary is there. Does she have tears for the bride, or for the bridegroom who is her son?
When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ — John 2:3-4
But she knows it has. Today is the day, for the bridegroom has come. And he is hers alone no more. Does she gaze into his eyes as she offers her fiat one last time?
‘Do whatever he tells you.’ — John 2:5
Is she speaking only to the servants? Or is she also speaking to her son?
You are here, in church, in Cana. You tell me.
