When you host people at your house, what are you called on to do? Are you the organizer, the grill master, the shopper, the cleaner, the game planner, or some combination of those things? We take hosting in our space as a responsibility to make sure everyone enjoys their time with us.
When it’s at someone else’s place, and an event they invited us to, we don’t consider it our event. If something goes wrong, we may well respond, “I’m sorry, but that’s not my problem.”
Very early in his public ministry Jesus was at a wedding in the town of Cana, just a few miles from his hometown of Nazareth. His mother Mary was also on the invite list, as were his disciples.
Partway through the celebration, Mary pulls her son aside, “They have no more wine.” An embarrassing situation for the host to say the least. Hospitality was big in that culture. You just should not run out of wine. Even today it would not be considered very hospitable to run out of drinks or food while the wedding reception was underway.
Jesus does take this on, even though it isn’t necessarily his problem. He asks for the water jars to be filled. Then his well-known miracle of changing water into wine takes place. The wine is better than the original batch offered to the guests. This was the first miracle. The first of many more to come.
Plan out your hosting events. Don’t count on a miracle to supply what you need for food and drink.
But also, don’t hesitate to go to your Savior with your requests, rooted in the Scriptures and the needs that affect you and others. Jesus does incredible works of compassion for his people! He makes our problems his own. Often even simple everyday problems. His interventions go beyond what we might think are normal ways to aid us. His help is powerful, and often surprising. And it always points to him as the Messiah, the Savior of our souls.
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (John 2:11)