I have trouble with the bolded language. Why do we pray and ask God to do things for us if we don’t expect some miracles to occur? Also, if Jesus had that attitude then why did he go right on and do the miracle she asked? Because he does perform miracles in response to his mother’s intercession. Mary was interceding for these people, making Jesus aware of a problem that he was able to fix. This is exactly the sort of thing that the Old Testament Queen would do (1 Kings 2: 19-20). It is the sort of thing caring women in a position to influence powerful men do. Jesus may even have been annoyed, but he complied with her request.
As others have noted, our Lord’s use of the term “woman” here isn’t necessarily disrespectful. We are taught that the word “woman” in the passage is to turn our thoughts back to Genesis 3:15 and to make us see that this woman is doing things differently than Eve. Mary’s reaction to Jesus and directions to the servants suggest to me that she understands it is up to HIM whether or not to perform the miracle yet also reflect great confidence that he will do exactly what she asks.
The part of this exchange I find most interesting is when Jesus says, “My hour has not yet come”. This is a reference to his passion. It seems like an odd time to be talking about that and so this is where my thoughts begin to get a bit wild. So the fundamental question I have is –did Mary know that is what he meant? We know from the other gospels that Jesus informed the disciples that he was going to die. It seems reasonable to believe he had told Mary that as well. In fact, it seems likely to me that God’s plans were revealed to Mary as Jesus grew up and embarked on his ministry. Because that is how God is. He gave us free will – to choose him and his plan for our life. Things unfold for us bit by bit. We may not know the whole path he has set out for us, but he does often reveal the next step. So, I have come to believe she knew exactly what he meant. If so, then what he is really saying is this: “Mother, do you understand what you are asking me to do? If I perform this miracle, it is going to start my ministry and the countdown to my death. Are you sure you want me to do this now”? It is like he is giving her a chance to stop him. She could have said: “OK. Let’s wait.” Or, “Let’s not do it at all”. But, she doesn’t. Rather, she turns to the servants and tells them: “Do whatever he tells you”. This suggests not only that she understands that what he does is up to him, but also that she believes this miracle and all of its consequences are the Father’s will and that Jesus will do exactly what she asks. Her reaction says: “Yes I know what I am asking. Yes I want you to start this”. It’s kind of like Abraham taking Isaac up onto that mountain with the intent to sacrifice him when that is what God told him to do.
Even if I am totally wrong about that, we should not overlook what this woman did for us is saying yes to the angel Gabriel. Remember that in choosing to be born of Mary, our Lord entrusted himself to her…a human. He trusted her to raise Jesus, to help him prepare for and execute his mission, and to support the apostles after his death. We have no idea why he did it that way, but it is so amazing that he came to us through her…that he performed his first miracle at her request…and that he gave her to us as our Mother on the cross. And this is why it is right for us to love her and ask for her help whenever we can. She wants to help us.
