Jesus And His Mother, At A Party

Title: Jesus and His Mother… at a Party

Text: John 2:1-12

Thesis: Jesus and his mother model how we may interact as parents and children.

Introduction

Mother’s Day is a big deal…

• Hallmark says it is the third largest greeting card holiday of the year. Mother’s day cards trump Father’s Day cards with 150 million cards being given to mothers while only 95 million cards are given to fathers on Father’s Day.

• Americans spend an average of $105 for a Mother’s day gift while spending a measly $90 on Father’s Day gifts.

• Mother’s receive more phone calls on Mother’s Day than do fathers on Father’s Day… though Father’s Day will have more collect calls.

• The busiest car wash day of the year is the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

Our story today is about a day Jesus spent with his mother… It is about ordinary people with whom we may identify, i.e., a mother, a son and his friends, some caterers, and the emcee of the event. And, our story is one that evokes memories of our own experiences, i.e., attending a wedding reception with family and friends. It is not just a story about the past, it is a story that we can easily contemporize… and though no son among us would be able to turn water into wine, I can readily imagine any of us running over to King Soopers for more ginger ale and orange sherbet if the punch bowl was in danger of drying up.

One of the first things I picked up on, when I read the text, is that Jesus was at a social event, with his mother.

I. Mothers and their children do stuff together.

Jesus’ mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. John 11:1-2

After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with this mother… John 11:12

Great moms are always involved in the lives of their children… they say the hand that rocks the cradle is attached to someone who doesn’t get enough sleep.

One mom said, “I’d like to be an ideal mother but I’m too busy raising my kids.”

Every mother I know has worked diligently to coach her children for some play or program at school or at church. One mother was so anxious for her son that she sat on the front row so she could prompt him if he forgot his line. When it came time for the little boy to say his piece, his mind went blank and he just stood there looking all lost. So, his mother mouthed the words to him hoping that he could read her lips. He couldn’t! So, she leaned forward and whispered, “I am the light of the world.” At that the little boys expression brightened and he blurted out, “My mother is the light of the world.”

It is easy for a mother to be in the middle of a little boy’s life, but what about her big boy’s life? What happens to a mom and a son or daughter when everyone is an adult?

Jesus and his mother managed to continue to do stuff together… weddings, trips down to Capernaum to do some shopping at Costco. Jesus was the kind of son who took his mother out for dinner once in a while or made sure she had a ride to the doctor’s office.

The second thing I noticed in this story is that Jesus’ mother had confidence in her son’s ability to fix the problem.

II. Mothers believe in the potential of their children.

The bible says that the wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother spoke to him about the problem. “They have no more wine,” she told him. John 11:3

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Youth fades, love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; a mother’s secret hope outlives them all.”

It is likely that they were attending the wedding of a relative. It is likely that Mary was helping with the reception. She may have been filling bowls with mixed nuts, keeping the coffee pots brewing, making sure there was clean dinner ware on the tables, and what ever. Whatever the case, she was in a position to know that they were down to the last couple of bottles of wine and something had to be done… or the host and the bride and groom were going to be very embarrassed. There is nothing like throwing a party and then running out of food or drink for your guests.

One of the big questions we deal with here at Heritage a number of times each year is… how many do you plan to host at your reception? If it is a funeral reception, you might ask, “Well, how old was grandpa and how many of his friends are still living and likely to attend his funeral?” After some thought you realize that a ninety-seven year old grandpa doesn’t have many friends left in this world. So you shoot high and plan for five hundred (tongue in cheek) knowing that you will be serving around one hundred folks. We always inflate the number of guests just so we will not run out of food for the guests.