Mary was concerned about the wedding party
going wrong, so she approached her son,
and while she did not make an explicit request,
Jesus knew what his mother wanted
based on the fact that she brought the situation
to his attention.
There is no denying that Jesus’ response
to his mother was a “No.”
“Oh woman,” he tells her. “What have you to do with me?
My hour has not yet come.”
But what does Mary do?
She approaches the servers and tells them just the same:
“Do whatever he tells you.”
Mary is showing us
that even if the answer to our prayer is a “No”–
as it sometimes is–the proper response is
to do what Jesus will ask us to do.
The first tip for us is:
You may feel disenchanted, disillusioned,
or even dismayed, but continue to discern what the Lord
is asking from you–and do it.
The second tip is what the head steward tells the groom,
having tasted the newly served wine:
“You have saved the best wine for last!”
This statement perfectly captures God’s way:
No matter how things are at the moment,
the best is yet to come.
He may seem indifferent or inactive,
but God will make sure.
As Jesus told the mystic Julian of Norwich:
“All shall be well!
All shall be well!
All manner of things shall be well!”
Images from stpaulcenter.com