July 14, 2022

John 2: 4, 5 (NIV)

“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

No matter what I accomplish in life, it means nothing if I don’t love.*

The story of Jesus’ first public miracle could easily be taken from an episode of the television show, Burn Notice. The show’s hero, Michael, is a former spy who has been framed to look like a traitor and who gets dumped in Miami with “no cash, no credit, and no job history.” He is determined to clear his name and get his old job back but in the meantime his mother (and his friends) keeps finding desperate people who could benefit from Michael’s special skills. Michael may want to concentrate on his own “mission” but when Mom says, “Someone needs your help, Michael,” Michael steps back from the big picture to go to the rescue.

Jesus has known at least since he was 12 what his special mission was. When his mother asked for his help at the wedding in Cana, it didn’t seem like part of the ultimate plan for his life. John doesn’t spell it out for us, but I speculate that Jesus – who was tempted like any of us – may have been tempted to concentrate on the forest and forget the trees. He could have become so focused on accomplishing his Father’s will that he forgot the human touch. His mother’s “interference” was a wake-up call at the onset of his ministry to remind him that people were the real purpose of his mission. Later events clearly reflect that the personal touch was the hallmark of his ministry.

Each of us has a ministry to perform. We can easily become so caught up in accomplishment that we neglect compassion. Perhaps we could use an occasional reminder from Mom that someone needs our help.

Lepers, untouched by the world, were loved by the Lord and made clean. Paralytics, abandoned by the world, were accepted by the Lord and made whole.*