The Order That Made No Sense
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.””
— John 2:1-5 (NIV)
A wedding in that world ran for days, not for one afternoon, and the drink was the bridegroom's family to supply. A few verses on, the steward takes the matter to the bridegroom, not to a servant and not to a caterer. Nobody's life was at risk here. The failure was social: a household coming up short in front of everyone it had invited. Six stone jars stood nearby, there for ritual washing, twenty or thirty gallons apiece. They were cut from rock because a clay pot that took on impurity had to be smashed rather than rinsed. Workshops that carved the stone ones have been dug up in first-century Galilee. What the servants are told to do next is fill those jars to the brim. That is a great deal of water to carry by hand, and no answer at all to a shortage of drink. The steward who tasted what came out never found where it had come from; the men who had carried the water knew. God comes into the trouble that only embarrasses you, and he comes through the people who do the useless-looking job all the way.
A request can sit for weeks because it looks pointless to you, and the person who asked does not have to be in the same room. Sometimes it is not that you know better; it is that there is no strength left. Maybe your daughter has been asking for a month that you be the one to ring the clinic back. Maybe a flatmate asks for something small and it feels like being nagged. Maybe someone at work wants a confirmation, a form, one line of reply, and you file it under paperwork. Maybe your mother or your sister in another city has been asking a long time for a photo, a number, one call back. Jesus started his work through people who did the thing that made no sense.
Do the thing you were already asked
- 1Do one thing someone has already asked of you, all of it, without explaining why it was not needed. Pick something you can finish where you are today, in under ten minutes: ring back, answer the message from last week, send back the thing someone asked you to return, fill in the one field on the form. If nobody is asking you for anything right now, do the one thing you promised someone and never did.
- 2Or do the thing someone asked you for long ago and has stopped reminding you about.
God, someone has asked something of me and I keep putting it off. I have told myself it is too small to matter. Some days it is not that I know better, it is that I have nothing left. Help me do it today, all of it, and not argue about it. What comes of it is yours. Amen.
Today I do what I was asked and what I promised, without arguing about it.
Why was running out of wine such a serious problem?
The bridegroom's family carried the cost of a feast that ran for days. A few verses later the steward calls the bridegroom over about the wine, not a servant and not a caterer, which shows where the responsibility sat. Nobody's life was at risk; the household's standing in front of its guests was.
Why were the jars made of stone rather than clay?
A clay vessel that took on ritual impurity had to be broken rather than washed, while stone was treated as not taking impurity on at all. That is why stone jars held washing water, and workshops that cut them have been dug up in first-century Galilee.
Does this mean I should do whatever anyone tells me?
No. In the scene the servants were pointed to one particular person, not to every voice that gives orders. What carries over is refusing to argue about a small, reasonable thing someone has already asked of you, not blanket obedience to anybody.