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.
In our story today, either a lot more people showed up than were invited or the host simply underestimated the capacity for consumption of his guests. So, Jesus’ mother asked him to do something.
The third thing I noticed about the relationship between Jesus and his mother is that she was not a hoverer.
III. Mothers, mother best when they let their children do things themselves... the don’t hover!
His mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” John 11:5
A “Helicopter Mom” is a mom who hovers over every state of her child’s development, from the womb, through college, and beyond.
In the September 9, 1991 issue of Newsweek on “buzzwords,” Ned Zeman reports that teachers define helicopter parents as “nosy grown-ups who are always hovering around… quick to offer teachers unwanted help.
ABC News, asked the question, “Do Helicopter Moms Do More Harm than Good?” They cited Robyn Lewis, a single mother who home schooled her two sons who are now 21 and 18 respectively, and attending college – one attends Florida Gulf University and the other, Arizona State University. She now has a full-time job but maintains “hour-by-hour” involvement in her sons’ lives.
When she is not on her cell phone with her boys, she is organizing their lives. She drafts “to-do e-mail lists” for her sons, checks their grades, bank account balances, and even uses their personal passwords to check their student e-mail. She does their laundry, organizes their schedules, and proofreads their papers.
Helen Johnson, author of the book, “Don’t Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money,” says that when a parent takes over a child’s life, they are saying, you are not capable of handling your life.”
Jesus’ Mother asked her son’s assistance, instructed the servants to do whatever he asked, and walked away leaving it in his hands.
The out come of this story must have made Mary feel very good about herself… and her son.
IV. Mothers are honored when their children respect their wishes.
Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars of water… dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies.” When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, he called the bridegroom over and said, (“Hey, this is really good stuff!”) “Usually a host serves the best wine first… but you have kept the best until now!” John 11:6-10
Laura Bush tells about an overnight she and President Bush spent with the senior Bushes, George and Barbara Bush.
She said that George got up early and went downstairs, got a cup of coffee from the kitchen, and then joined his parents in the living room. He sat down and propped his feet up on the coffee table, prompting an out cry from his mother, “George, put your feet down!”
Former President Bush said, “For goodness sake, Barbara, he’s the President of the United States.”
And, Barbara said, “I don’t care. I don’t want his feet on my table.”
Laura Bush adds, “Even Presidents have to listen to their mothers.” Even Jesus listened to his mother and honored her wishes.
It is interesting that Jesus did all of this under the radar. The only people who knew what he had done were working in the back room… there was no fan fare. No TA DA! The person who was honored was the host, who was perceived as having saved the best for last. And of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus knew and was blessed.
Conclusion:
Sometimes meaning is lost in the translation of a text… when Jesus’ mother asked him to help out the party hosts, Jesus seems to offer a rather short answer. In the King James it sounds almost harsh as Jesus asks, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” But in the Aramaic language in which Jesus spoke to his mother he said, “Dear woman” or “Gracious lady.”
He did not say, “Come on Mom, I’m still on vacation.” He didn’t ask, “Mom, can’t I just be a guest?” He didn’t even say, “Mom, You are asking an awful lot. I’m not sure I can do this. I’ve never performed a miracle before.” He spoke kindly with his mother and his question had to do with his demonstrating his, as the scripture says, “his first display of his glory.”
This was certainly Jesus’ day. It was the day of his first miraculous sign… the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana of Galilee. It was a day in which the scripture says, “And his disciples believed in him.” But, it also a wonderful day in his mother’s life. It was a day Jesus honored Mary and blessed his host and the other guests.
However, that was then and this is now… now it is a day in which we honor our mothers.
Today is a good day for us all to remember and reverence our mothers as gifts from a loving God. It is a day to reverence them as dear women or gracious ladies… and if you haven’t done so yet, it is a day to give your mother a call!
