“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it” (John 2 1:8 ~NKJV)
Problems
Life presents problems to people in every place, every day. When problems strike, some people immediately seek solutions. Others resort to a victim response they’ve developed over the years. They begin to gripe and brood, wondering why life always deals them the short end of the stick. Your response to challenges will determine the outcome. Always! Your response will either energize or zap up your capacity to confront a situation. Your response is the outward manifestation of your internal confidence, or lack of it. Your confidence always draws from your self-worth! Who you see yourself as dictates what you can or cannot do.
Some years ago, I was taking a pre-employment induction seminar at a prestigious institution. Due to sensitivity of the institution, all workers at the facility, whether direct staff or employees of other service providers, were required to take the induction. As the seminar closed by end of the week, facilitators asked everyone to give a brief introduction of themselves and their roles at the facility. A fellow who always sat next to me was very fearful, and softly asked me to speak on their behalf. I encouraged the person to speak up as it didn’t really matter how well one expressed him/herself. When my turn came, I spoke with great simplicity to boost my friend’s confidence. But when the person stood up, sweat run down the face, hands shook and they stammered. Ability to communicate in English was not the issue. The poor fellow had internalized a dread for public speaking.
At Cana of Galilee, as in almost every wedding, something went wrong—the wine ran out. Talk of embarrassment! When my sweetheart and I married, our wedding was at one venue while the reception was at a different city, a hundred and twenty miles apart. Someone had brought an unscheduled vehicle, and someone else put it into the transport fleet. The main photographer and our page boys were put into it. A little distance from the wedding venue, that vehicle broke down and had to be towed back to the city. It was pandemonium at the reception as parents wondered what had become of their little boys! And who was going to shoot my wedding photos? In 1993, before the advent of cellphones, you just prayed and waited!
Who Speaks into Your Life?
If you’ve followed my writings for any length, you know I am an ardent believer in order. I hold to the premise that everything in life stands or falls depending on how faithfully subjects adhere to guiding principles. For instance, a home without rules is a wreck. A marriage where the couple cannot submit to each other is on its way to the rocks. A firm where workers get away with anything is headed to insolvency. Order is king! But order means demarcation of powers, clear stipulation of values and total compliance to set rules. The boss is not boss because (or if) s/he is smarter than everyone else. Boss is boss because that’s the person charged with that duty. Everyone else should yield to that office. Everyone else should work towards helping the boss succeed. The boss should work at maintaining proper respect and dignity of everyone involved. Only then can an institution be expected to function properly and achieve its objectives.
Mary knew her son was the Son of God! She had proper respect for Jesus and did not try to use Him for egotistical ends. Mary honored authority. While she understood that her son could perform a miracle, she drew his attention to the need and let him decide what to do about it. What she held as proper esteem for Jesus, she passed it to servants at the wedding. “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
We can draw great lessons from this episode, even from that one statement! Are you in trouble? Whatever Jesus says to you, do it! How do you respond to life’s challenges? Do you seek God’s Word, or do you run around soliciting everyone’s opinion? Thankfully for the servants at the wedding, they yielded to Mary’s instruction. They waited on Jesus until He told them what to do. If they left to go someplace else, they’d have missed the miracle.
Jesus’ instructions to the servants were very strange. He told them to fill waterpots that were traditionally used for ceremonial cleansing. Those pots sat at the entrance to a Jewish ceremonial venue, and everyone entering was supposed to deep in and wash their hands. Was it hygienic to drink from those pots? You bet not! How about fetching plain water and giving it to the master of ceremony in a wine tubular? How would you like to have been the servant carrying out that order? But here is the place for order. What the Master tells you, do it! You are the servant; He is the Master. He gives instructions; you carry them out! Fair enough?
Many Christians don’t find victory for their challenges because they don’t pay any attention to what Jesus has said. What has Jesus said about your conduct as a Christian? How does His Word tell you to treat your wife, husband, children, parents, fellow believers, priests, neighbors, etc? Do you know? Do you ever stop to study Holy Scriptures to find out what God’s Word says about a situation you are facing? If not, what informs your responses?
Whatever He Says to You, Do It
Mary represents a messenger of God. She knew the power of Jesus. She knew He had a solution to the problem at the wedding. She pointed the servants to the Answer and left. She did not stand around to see if they’d obey. Instead, she gave an instruction and let the servants decide what to do with it. Whether Jesus would provide the needed solution now depended on the obedience of those servants. Jesus had the power. Mary had done her part. The ball was in the court of the attending servants. Would they follow the instructions?
Today, Christendom is jam-packed with cynics who follow their own lusts. Neither the servants that God elects to guide others in Scriptural counsel, nor Jesus Himself is able to convince them. They scoff at authority and reject godly guidance. They seek answers in all the wrong places, and never find them. Yet, they could enjoy victory after victory if they only let God’s Word speak authoritatively to them, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”