MENTORING MOMENTS – NOT YET MY TIME

THURSDAY, MARCH 10TH
A TIME OF SHARED STRUGGLES

Today we come to hear another of Jesus’s struggles, and we may be surprised by this story – an exchange he has with his own mother…

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and my mother was there. My disciples and I had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, my mother said to me, “They have no wine.” And I said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” My mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. I said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. I said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:1-10 NRSV, revised*)

As you sit in silence with Jesus at your side, you may recall times when you were expected to do something even as you felt inadequate, unprepared, or unwilling. Are there any expectations of you today that you would rather not do or be? Are you feeling called to do something, but the time doesn’t feel right? Do you wish to be free of certain demands that others have placed on you? How does Jesus’s experience give you new insight?

Reflection:

As I revisit this story, I notice two things. Mary, the mother of Jesus, seems to ignore his admonition to mind her own business, as well as his explanation that it was not yet his time to answer her request. Initially Mary’s words and actions seem quite insensitive and even rude, but could it be that she recognized an opportunity to encourage Jesus (as mothers like to do)? And when she speaks to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you,” she is leaving Jesus with the final decision. Jesus could have easily told the servants to let the situation be.

I also notice that after Jesus corrects Mary, he accepts her premature request. He makes his point, takes a moment to help her understand his purpose, then looks to the stone jugs of water and finds a solution to the problem. Jesus humbly accepts Mary’s invitation to help the bridegroom. In doing so, Jesus begins to reveal more of who he is.

In our shared struggles with Jesus, he understands the feeling we have when we are asked, invited, challenged, or directed when it is “not yet our time.” Our response to these moments can become more discerning through his example. There are times when we can make our concerns or preferences known without the need to balk, protest, or refuse to comply. There are times when we might first look around for a solution before we decline to help. There are times when we can recognize that these interruptions or invitations may actually align with God’s timing.

Maybe today Jesus is encouraging us to, “Go ahead. Give it a try.” Maybe our humble acceptance of an invitation is an opportunity for him to reveal more of who we are, too.

For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:10, NRSV)

Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash
Bible verses found at https://www.biblegateway.com/

*The name of Jesus and his pronouns have been adapted by Karen into first-person.