Choose Wisely

Isaiah 62:1-5
John 2: 1-11

In this passage of John, we have Jesus and his mother at a wedding banquet in Cana of Galilee. It’s a beautiful area full of rolling mountains and limestone buildings everywhere. In those days, weddings were a seven day event that was like one long party for the guests and wedding couple. It was expensive to host so many people for that many days, and the usual custom was to make sure the finest wine and the best food were served the first couple days while everyone was still sober and able to appreciate the finery.

For whatever reason, on the third day of the wedding the wine began to run out. Perhaps it had been a particularly hot summer week and everyone was very thirsty, or perhaps it was a rowdy bunch of people attending this wedding, or perhaps the couple did not have the funds to properly supply the wedding. The writer of John does not explain so we are left to guess the reason the wine began to run out four days too early.

What’s interesting is that it is not the bridegroom or the master of the banquet that notices the lapse; it is Mary, Jesus’ mother who becomes concerned. In her concern she does not turn to those around her to collect money to head out and buy more wine, she turns to her son. Now, some of you out there are mothers and some of you are sons, and we all know that when a mother gets it into her head that her son needs to do something – he had better do it or she will nag him until he does.

Jesus was relaxing at a table, talking to his disciples and other friends when his mother approaches him. You can almost see the determined look on Mary’s face. “They have no more wine” she tells Jesus and he looks up at her, a little confused as to why she is bringing this to his attention. Does his mother want them to go home early since the wine is gone? And so he asks her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not come.”

In the book of John, the writer is very clear that Jesus knows exactly when his hour will come for he repeats it throughout the book. Jesus knows his hour will be the moment he hangs on the cross. His mother, however, has a different idea of what it means for his hour to have come. Mary knows the potential Jesus has to do great things, and she’s not willing to let the wedding couple be embarrassed or this fine party to end just because they were lacking wine. Not when her son, her Jesus had the power to do something about it – whether it was his hour or not.

So after Jesus makes his protest, she merely turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” Mary didn’t exactly insist that Jesus make something happen. When she tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says, she leaves it up to him to make the choice. Help those who are in need or let it go? He could have sent the servants on their way and they would have obeyed without question. Jesus had a choice to make, forced upon him by his well meaning mother, Jesus could make this his moment to begin his ministry or he could wait for a more convenient time.

Throughout our own lives we are offered choices. Some of them are given to us by our family, our work, and our friends and some are given to us by God. We all know of times when we have wanted nothing more than to sit back and relax when someone offers us a chance to help out.

We must choose between what we would rather do and what we know we should do. There are times when our own desires win rather than the needs of others. The truth is that sometimes our own desires NEED to be considered first so we don’t burn ourselves out in helping other people. But there is another truth, and that is sometimes we are too selfish to help because we are very comfortable where we are at right now in our lives.

Only Jesus knew if it was selfish to not help that couple out. Perhaps Mary was wrong in bringing this matter to his attention because Jesus’ time to perform miracles was not yet here. Only Jesus knew the truth. The same thing goes for all of us. Only we know if when we deny our time and attention to something if it is out of selfishness or because we truly cannot stretch ourselves any thinner. In those moments we are given a choice, to help or not help.

Jesus must have been torn between what he felt was right and what his mother felt about it all. In this moment, Jesus realized that sometimes it’s not about perfect timing. Sometimes it is about doing what is right regardless of anything else. These people needed his help and he gave it. He utters two sentences to the waiting servants.

“Fill the jars with water” and so the servants filled them to the brim. And then, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet”. In those two sentences a miracle occurs. The water becomes wine as the master of the banquet takes a drink, and this is not just any old wine. Jesus gives this couple all he has and it is the finest of wines to end the wedding banquet.

The other thing we are to learn from this text is that when we agree to help, it should not be a half-hearted attempt because we know we should. Jesus gave the best wine to this couple even though he did not consider it his time to do miracles. When we are given choices, we must commit to our choice whole-heartedly otherwise there is no point in saying yes or no at all.

Jesus calls us to give what we can, when we can. Only we know what that means. Sometimes we have to say no because there is nothing left to give, but there are other times when we have to say yes and do it with our whole hearts. Make your choice and be at peace with it.

Amen.