Mother’s Day presents a sacred opportunity to reflect on the calling of motherhood. It can also be a day of sadness. Those who have lost mothers or were mothered by women who struggled with that calling can feel disenfranchised by the celebration. We see and acknowledge that, and we hold you in our hearts. Some mothers are saints, others are sinners. Most of us fall somewhere in-between.
Are you the product of what we call a “pushy mother?” If so, you are in great company. John Chapter 2 is a homage to mothers who cajole, instruct, love ferociously, don’t take no for an answer, and are righteously ”pushy” when it comes to their children. Jesus had such a mom.
John 2 (The Message)
1-3 Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were guests also. When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus’ mother told him, “They’re just about out of wine.”
4 Jesus said, “Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine? This isn’t my time. Don’t push me.”
Of all the translations we could use, The Message is definitely the most fun. Imagine the Son giving his assertive mother the side-eye and saying, “Don’t push me, Mother!” How many times do mothers hear that? When we are signing our kids up for sports, running along behind the bike without the training wheels, neck deep in the pool with our arms outstretched yelling, “Jump! I’ll catch you!” we are often met with resistance. Don’t push me. But we go ahead anyway. Why? Because most of the time, mother knows best.
5 She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”
“She went ahead anyway.” Mary succeeded in blowing past all of Jesus’ resistance, hesitation, and objections. “Pfffft,” she said. “This is happening. You may not believe in yourself, but I do.”
Have you ever been there with a child? It is a parent’s job to get them through those ‘first day of school’ jitters, the fear of getting their shots, the scariness of the soccer field, driving a car for the first time, the separation anxiety that leaving for college brings (that we feel even more than they do) … parents have a high calling to be ”pushy” for the sake of their kids.
6-7 Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, “Fill the pots with water.” And they filled them to the brim.
8 “Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host,” Jesus said, and they did.
And so because his mother believed in him, Jesus performed his first miracle.
9-10 When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!”
11 This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
We can’t underscore the importance of this moment. This first sign of Jesus’ glory enabled his disciples to believe in him. This first miracle paved the way for many more to come … miracles of feeding, miracles of healing, and eventually, the miracle of the Resurrection.
All because Mary believed first.
So moms, keep believing in your kids. Keep pushing. Keep persisting. Don’t stop when they object, hide behind your leg, or say no. You know what is best, and because you believe, they will come to believe also. When you think they can, they will know they can. So go ahead anyway!
Rev. Betsy Haas is a former Associate Pastor of PTCUMC and a writer for Cokesbury Adult Bible Studies and Daily Bible Studies. She has four books available at Amazon and writes a free online daily devotional called At Water’s Edge. She is the proud mother of Sarah Callahan and our own Jamie Mathis.
