"Godly Advice From A Godly Mother" Series

“Godly Advice from a Godly Mother”

John 2:1-11

So it probably dates me a bit but these were the kinds of TV shows I grew up with:

• Brady Bunch

• Father knows best

• Andy Griffith show

• Leave it to Beaver

And I will admit they helped shape my idea of what a family should look like ……. and to me they all seemed perfect. But as I grew older I began realizing things they share in common that were so perfect after all.

• In the Brady Bunch both of the parents were widows, each had three kids and they came together to be a family. Nothing wrong with that-but not a perfect situation.

• Andy Griffith show-a single father raises his son with the help of his aunt Bea-nothing wrong with that … just not perfect.

• Another-young boy constantly got into trouble; made bad decisions on a regular basis somehow his parents always have the right answers. As a parent of four children I wish that were always true-that we always had the right answers but it’s just not that way.

Let me state a fact this morning -- one you may already know but if you don’t, you really need to hear it... There are no perfect families. Non. Nada. Zilch. They simply do not exist. Now while all of us may set out on an adventure of trying to create a perfect family- it is a goal we will never achieve because they simply do not exist. Most moms, I believe, can really identify with what I am describing here. USA Today wrote recently that “while 84% of moms today believe the stereotype of the “perfect mom” is outdated, 90% of moms still feel pressured to be perfect”

Let me say it again there are no perfect families. There are no perfect moms. Actually that should give you some relief.

I want us to step into the story of Mary and Jesus in John chapter 2. We would be hard-pressed to think of any Mother who was more honored than Mary. Chosen by God-to be the mother of our Savior. We would probably all agree that she is the single most impressive woman in Scripture-a tremendous woman of faith-in some denominations she is even referred to as being perfect. Some even choose to say that she never sinned but the truth is she did. Mary would probably be the first to tell you she wasn’t perfect, that she was in over her head raising Jesus but she would also quickly remind us that while not perfect, she was chosen. And if you’re a mom today you were chosen as well for a very special task.

John chapter 2 describes a wedding party. Jewish weddings were much more elaborate than ours are today. They started with a huge meal-a feast was laid out for all to enjoy. Then late in the day, the father of the bride would take his daughter on his arm and parade her through the streets and everyone would congratulate her. Then the wedding party would arrive at the home of the groom and the wedding would actually take place at the front door of the groom’s house.

After that, the wedding party would light torches and parade the bride and groom through the streets and they always took the longest route possible so everyone can see them. Then the party actually got started. The entire next week, the newlyweds held an open house-they were treated like royalty-fancy clothes-some even wore crowns. And the groom’s family provided refreshments for the entire week.

Now that is the setting for this wedding in John chapter 2-and everything is going well-but then a big problem emerges----they ran out of wine. Now a good host never ran out of food or drink so now there was a crisis. Some Bible scholars believe this may have been the wedding of one of Joseph and Mary’s daughters. Or another relative. Or perhaps a close friend. We don’t really know but what we do know is that whoever this was, this was a personal issue for Mary-one she needed to resolve and Mary knew there was only one man to fix this problem and that was Jesus.

He may have been 30 years old but he was still her boy. That’s just how parents think. Verse three. Simple enough. It wasn’t so much her words as I think it is how she said it. Perhaps there is an inflection in her voice --- my parents knew how to get my attention. If they used my middle name I knew something was up. Or maybe it was just the look in their eyes. That’s all it took for some of us to straighten up. Right?

Now Jesus knows exactly what Mary was saying he knows how she said it and it may have even annoyed him just a bit because his response is kind of harsh. What does that have to do with you and me woman? Kids don’t usually say things like that … it’s disrespectful. Then he says “my hour has not yet come.” In other words, the time isn’t right.