Holy Boldness

these challenges, Jesus leaned on the fear of the Lord to walk through the pressure without compromising His calling. A second event revealing Jesus’ evolving relationship with His mother took place at the wedding in Cana, a story found in the second chapter of John. This story is famous for Jesus’ turning the water into wine but our attention is focused on Mary’s and Jesus’ conversation. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:2-5) This is a charming story on the surface and Mary ends up getting what she is hoping for even though she initially is rebuffed. She must have thought long and hard about how to be a mother to Him without interfering with His purpose and calling. This short and simple dialog reveals that Mary had an intuitive knowledge of her son. She began the dialog by telling Jesus that the wedding hosts had run out of wine. Reading between the lines, there seemed to be an assumption that Jesus would do something to remedy the crisis. But He gently pushes back saying that it is not His problem or responsibility to alleviate the social embarrassment. But then He adds, “My hour has not yet come,” indicating to His mother that His time of mission in the way she was suggesting had not yet arrived. It was not an outright refusal. He was not saying that such a need was outside of His calling. But simply, it was not time for Him to reveal Himself in such a way. However, this response did not discourage Mary but seemed to open the door for more input from her. This time, however, she says nothing to Jesus directly but simply tells the servants to do whatever He tells them to do. By telling the servants to follow Jesus’ lead, she left the situation in Jesus’ hands. This was enough to stir Jesus to action. Though Jesus never responded to manipulation, he seemed to respond to his mother’s not-so-subtle suggestion, and Mary still found a way to influence Jesus without directly telling him what to do. Jesus took care of the problem and Mary had a hand in setting it in motion. An awkward conversation had turned out alright, but the radical nature of Jesus’ ministry would continue to challenge His relationship with His family. The depth of

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