It has been
long recognized that one way to identify the existing of a problem is through a
thorough investigation if any lack of resources does exist. In a wedding party
some two thousand years ago, the head chef, Mama Mary noticed that they ran out
of wine. Mama Mary said to his son, ‘Sus, there was no more wine available for
the guests’: what a horrific shameful incident to the chef and the host of the
party (Jn 2.1-2). Wine was certainly essential for a party in Jesus’ time, but
the more serious issue had to be dealt with was shame.
When Mama
Mary approached her told to be a wonder boy Jesus, she was hoping that Jesus
will do miraculous deed such as sending rain of wine from heaven or alike. Mary’s
hope was realistic: Gabriel, an angel came to her some thirty years prior to
the incident telling her that the fetus in her womb is the Son of God. Mama Mary
had been waiting patiently for thirty years to see if Jesus really is the Son
of God. Well, both the wine problem and the shame issue were huge to the chef
and the host of the party, but they were tiny before (the Son of) God, Mary rightly
thought.
Jesus’
answer was however discouraging: ‘Mom, why do you involve me? My show time has
not yet come!’ In other words, Jesus wanted to say that this was not the right
time to perform miracles. And it seems from the text that Jesus was not too
happy with his mom’s request (Jn 2.4). If I were the mother of Jesus I would
have been angry both at Jesus and at Gabriel, and if necessary at God. ‘Oh my God,
I have been waiting patiently for these thirty years for nothing?’ wrote Mama
Mary on her Facebook status. Mary had all the right to complain: She had been
carrying Jesus in her womb for more than 9 months; she had been carrying the
shame and the social pressure of being pregnant before her marriage was
officiated; she had been carrying another shame of delivering her baby told to
be the king and Messiah in a rough manger – not even in a non-air-con motel or
bed and breakfast; she had been waiting for thirty years – not a short time though
– to see a little evidence that a boy she used to call ‘Sus’ and now a man
really is the Son of God.
Luckily, she
was not angry at the young man Jesus, at Gabriel or at God. Mary’s patience and persistence are majestic –
her heart was clean in all of these unwanted situations. She was a resemble of the
Old Testament Job (Job 1.22).
Was Mama
Mary discouraged? Well, probably yes, but she did not lose hope. Mary kept her
hope alive. Her faith was firm regardless how difficult the situation was. ‘If
now is not the right time for my boy ‘Sus’ to perform his wonder, then tomorrow
may be the right time to enjoy his miracles,’ Mama Mary said to herself. ’Today
will kill me not regardless how bad it is, since I desire to see a brighter
tomorrow’ (Prasadja, May 2011). ‘To me,
the most difficult period in life has not been failures, but times when to hope
is no longer possible’ (Prasadja, May 2011).
Instead of
being discouraged, Mama Mary did encourage the servants to do whatever her
wonder boy asked them to do (Jn 2.5). By asking this, Mary performed a radical and an
extraordinary obedience to the Son of God, who by the time of the incident was not a celebrity yet. The wedding feast in Cana was in fact Jesus' first miraculous deed (Jn 2.11). To this unknown infamous Jesus, Mama Mary showed complete obedience. In addition to that, it is unusual for a mother to obey
her own child, even if her child is a prime minister or a governor general of
Canada. What Mama Mary did was even more than obeying her own son. She asked
others to obey this unbekannten Jesus for whatever he requested. And amazingly, the servants did
exactly what Jesus asked them to do, though the command was something that is not
rational at all and by no means clever. What!!!!: Did Jesus really ask them to fill six
purification water pots? If I were Mama Mary, my response to Jesus would have been like this: ‘Sus, we need wine – not water for purification! Your order is wrong Sus! Change it!'
But I am
wrong. Mary was in complete obedience to her own wonder boy. And her obedience
to Jesus was contagious to all the servants. This passage teaches me that
genuine and complete obedience is contagious. It is easy to obey to things that
fit our mind, but it is hard to obey to things that are not rational: am I
right? Mary’s obedience is complete and radical.
The first
thing created by a problem is a panic situation. And the first thing created by
a panic situation is chaos and conflicts. And when chaos and conflicts are
uncontrollable, we are severely sunk to the ground. Popular myth says women
tend to be panic more than men. Psychological approach to the Bible will agree
that for Mama Mary who was around fifty at the incident, panic was acceptable and
not unusual. I do not know for sure if Mary were panic. The text however tells
us that the situation was handled peacefully. The wedding ended happily and successfully.
The threat of shame was transformed into honor and glory (Jn 2.10). Mama Mary
was not only a great chef; she was not only an extraordinary mother; Mama Mary
was also an agent of peace and positive transformation. Mary’s attitude had
transformed a panic and potential chaotic situation into a happy ending wedding
feast.
As I read a
‘newspaper’ this morning, my eyes were kept in one unusual advertisement. It
was not ‘Seeking man’ or ‘Seeking woman’ kind of advertisement, but a ’SEEKING
MAMA’ ADVERTISEMENT’: ‘Children look for a mother who is faithful to God; who
always places her hope in God patiently and persistently; who is in complete
obedience to God; and who is an agent of peace and positive transformation in the
family; an expert in wine is a plus.’ Mothers: are you there?
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