When the wine runs out, Jesus’ mother, Mary, tells him that it is finished. Jesus acts. He performs this miracle because his mother prompts him. She calls his attention to the lack, to what has run out and is missing: a key ingredient for the feast. Does Mary see what Jesus does not or perhaps cannot see at the moment?
The same happens to us. We, too, miss things. We might be busy, focussed on a task, doing something that requires our attention somewhere else or trying to meet a deadline, so we easily miss the key ingredients to living a lifegiving spiritual life. In the hustle and bustle of daily life, the never-ending demands, we may forget to give God – and our spiritual lives – the attention we should. So, like at Cana, our spiritual wine may run out,
and we find ourselves caught short, lacking resources.
Who in your life might be like Mary, the person, voice or practice that calls your attention to the key ingredients of your life? Who or what helps you notice when something is lacking or missing?
Notice too how Jesus tells Mary that his “time has not yet come”. Maybe, in your life, too, you may think that it is not the right time to act when your attention is drawn to what is lacking or missing. Jesus, despite his answer, still acts after being prompted by his mother. Mary’s prompting, followed by Jesus’ seemingly resistant answer and then his willingness to act, changes everything for all at the wedding feast. We are told that the
master announces that the best wine is kept for last – which was clearly unconventional!
The same can happen in our lives. When we act on the prompts – by trusted guides around us or even the voice of God within us – God too can surprise us in the most unconventional ways.
Take time today to give thanks for the people who support you, those voices around you (and within you) that remind you when a key ingredient is missing in your spiritual life.
Can you see a time when God made new wine from the water of ‘lack’ or ‘missing’ you were living with? How did it happen?
