The
Wedding Celebration/Part Two
The
“Red Letter” Words of Jesus
Day
Fifteen
On the third day there
was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both
Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of
wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?
My hour has not yet come.” John 2:1-4 (NKJV)
This will sound terrible
but one of my father’s nicknames (he had several) for my mother was “egghead.”
What an insult. Right? Not really. I don’t know how the nickname came about but
when he called her egghead, it was used with affection. “Hey, Egghead, let’s go fishing.”
“Hey, Egghead, let’s go to Sizzlers.” You get the point. Mom never protested
the name.
In today’s scriptures, I
suppose Jesus’ reference to Mary as “woman” could be taken in a derogative way.
“Hey, woman, fetch my sandals.” It shouldn’t be taken that way. In the culture
which He lived the word was used affectionately for a close family member or dear
friend. Jesus used the word “woman” in John 19:26 when He passed the
responsibility of the care of his mother to John.
I think the word “woman”
showed the intimacy between mother and son. Even though Jesus is the Son of
God, I like the humanness that His life reflected in these verses. He enjoyed a festive
wedding celebration with family and friends. He liked good food and drink. He lovingly
related to His mother.
I’m reminded of the
scripture, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with
our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we
are - yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
He truly does relate to
us human beings. He lived life just like we do. Since He does understand, we
can’t ask for a better intercessor. He gets us. What a reassuring thought.
I have to admit, I’m
thankful the nickname “egghead” never socially caught on. “Woman,” I can live with that.
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