Mary, Woman of Surrender
McKnight focuses on Jesus' interaction with Mary at the wedding in Cana as recorded in the Gospel of John in this chapter. He sets the stage by noting that the world of Jesus and Mary was a world in which honoring one's parents was a top priority. As children matured and parents aged, the children were responsible, as McKnight writes, "to secure their freedom from their parents in a way that neither humiliated nor impoverished their parents." Honoring one's parent's shaped their society. Unlike our own culture which focuses on rights, Jesus and Mary lived in an age when doing one's duty was of utmost importance.
But Mary was challenged by Jesus' interaction with her at the wedding. The bride and groom had run out of wine which was in that society a faux pasthat could besmirch the wedding family's honor. (Depending on social status and wealth, a wedding celebration could last a week.) Mary, noticing the problem, tells Jesus to do something about it. As McKnight notes, "it is clear that Jesus understood his mother's words as carrying an honor code, fifth-commandment-claim- as-a-mother on him to do something about the wine." He notes that Jesus response to her beginning "Woman..." is not as harsh as it sounds to us because in Jesus' day "woman" and "mother" could be used interchangeably.
It was Jesus' question to her, "Why do you involve me?" that let her know that she was intruding "into his space and into God's plan of his life." Apparently, according to McKnight, Mary's request conflicted with what Jesus understood his Father's expectation of him. He writes, "Jesus challenged Mary to honor God the Father by honoring the Son, and by honoring God she had to let Jesus do what his Father sent him to do when the Father wanted it done."
The long and short of all of this, in McKnight's view, is that "Jesus was summoning his mother to surrender to him and to learn just as his disciples had learned when he commanded them: 'Follow Me!'" Mary had to learn that she had to honor her son, and McKnight argues that she had to "stumble into this," even as many of us "stumble into faith."
But Mary was challenged by Jesus' interaction with her at the wedding. The bride and groom had run out of wine which was in that society a faux pasthat could besmirch the wedding family's honor. (Depending on social status and wealth, a wedding celebration could last a week.) Mary, noticing the problem, tells Jesus to do something about it. As McKnight notes, "it is clear that Jesus understood his mother's words as carrying an honor code, fifth-commandment-claim- as-a-mother on him to do something about the wine." He notes that Jesus response to her beginning "Woman..." is not as harsh as it sounds to us because in Jesus' day "woman" and "mother" could be used interchangeably.
It was Jesus' question to her, "Why do you involve me?" that let her know that she was intruding "into his space and into God's plan of his life." Apparently, according to McKnight, Mary's request conflicted with what Jesus understood his Father's expectation of him. He writes, "Jesus challenged Mary to honor God the Father by honoring the Son, and by honoring God she had to let Jesus do what his Father sent him to do when the Father wanted it done."
The long and short of all of this, in McKnight's view, is that "Jesus was summoning his mother to surrender to him and to learn just as his disciples had learned when he commanded them: 'Follow Me!'" Mary had to learn that she had to honor her son, and McKnight argues that she had to "stumble into this," even as many of us "stumble into faith."
posted by UCC Medfield at 6:33 AM
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