“We've got a problem Houston,”. Remember that famous line in the movie “Apollo13.” There's another famous line in scripture when Mary says: “Do whatever He tells you.”
Mary discovers that they’re out of wine. What kind of wedding is this? That means the party's over, but isn't it interesting that Mary doesn't hesitate? Not for a moment. She goes directly to Jesus and says they have no wine. She has no doubt. She's certain that He will do something.
And it makes sense because this mom knows that nothing is impossible with God. That's what the Angel Gabriel told her at the Annunciation. There is no such thing as an unsolvable human problem. Nothing is impossible with God, and she must have known it at the moment of Jesus' birth and in raising Him. She knew Jesus. He's not ordinary in any way. So she says to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you."
The Gospel doesn't tell us very much about how Jesus did it, He simply instructs them to fill the water jars. There are 6 of them with water, 150 gallons. We don't know where the water comes from. We don't know how long it takes, but we do know that once it's accomplished, the water has miraculously become wine.
Jesus does the miraculous. He takes what, by all appearances, looks like a shortage, a disaster, the end of the party, he saves the day and turns it into abundance.
Now Susan, my devoted to kitties spouse, spent weeks building an outdoor shed for feral cats. She insulated the wood frame with styrofoam and laid a bed of straw to keep the outdoor critters toasty and safe. She gave this hut away to one of her foster moms. Sue asked for my help in 3 degree weather to deliver the hut where she discovered the front porch entrance looked too narrow. At that moment, a neighbor stopped his truck who was collecting scrap metal. He asked the foster mom if she had any scrap metal but she replied not at the moment. He saw the hut on the back of the truck and asked if he could help. A miracle. No way could Sue or this foster mom lift this mini-house. Thankfully we got it through the front door of the porch.
If you did not know this fact, Jesus is in the business of converting our shortages into abundances.
So I have a question for you. What's your shortage? What appears hopeless? Maybe it seems Covid will never go away. Or, something small like a habit that's become an addiction. What appears impossible. What in your life appears unsolvable, something missing that no one or nothing could possibly replace?
Now, it may seem like a small thing to you and me to bother the Son of God. We're embarrassed to say, "Jesus, we got a little wine problem over here. We got a delivery to make but need a little help. But when Mary sees a shortage, she doesn't hesitate. She goes directly to Jesus because she knows that Jesus cares about the details of her life. And with him, nothing is impossible.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who are facing something small or something big that won’t go away. Like digging out of two feet of snow after a winter storm. Where there had been 150 gallons of water, now, there's 150 gallons of beautiful wine. Mary points the way to her son and we learn why he does the things he does. Jesus does this not to impress people, not to prove anything, but simply to reveal his glory. Where we see hopelessness, Jesus envisions abundance.
