It’s every day. We have thoughts and attitudes, words and actions. Many, we assume, are so benign as to have little or no importance. But what if God opened our ‘ledger’ and showed us what really transpired as a result of our decisions? The people impacted, our personal trajectory altered, situations changed for the good or the better, etc. I think that viewing would be quite a jolt! Maybe it would even serve as a radical course correction moving forward.
Back to Jesus at the wedding feast at Cana. An embarrassing situation was about to threaten the entire celebration. The bridal couple noticed, the emcee noticed, Mary, Jesus’ mother saw it, probably some of the guests were beginning to wonder where the servants had disappeared to and why. Jesus, typical man, may have been enjoying the conversation with friends and been oblivious to the problem ‘in the kitchen.’ But Mary’s approach suddenly made him aware. And maybe that sad, parental look on her face communicated to him sans words, ‘Poor Eleazar and Hannah!* They’ll be devastated!’ Quickly filtering out the hilarious stories he had been listening to, Jesus had to make a choice. And no small, benign, of no importance choice, either. If he chose to act on his mother’s suggestion, there would be no end to the consequences – except his end, of course. It seems Mary didn’t wait for his response and wait straight to the servants, telling them to do whatever Jesus told them. If Jesus had chosen not to act, maybe nobody in attendance would have known about his refusal, no one but his mother, that is.
Now, it’s quite likely that most of our choices are less impactful than the one that faced Jesus. And maybe only the Lord who was prompting us would take note of our refusal. But maybe the story of the lack of wine is meant to be a wakeup call for us to be ready in season and out, as Paul exhorted Timothy, 2 Tim. 4:1,2,5 VOICE: “And now I bring you this charge before God . . . go out and preach the word! Go whether it’s an opportune time or not! . . .you must stay focused and be alert at all times.” I think I’m going to attempt to pay closer attention from now on. PD
* I don’t know the couple’s names. I invented these for ease of reading. PD
