A question about Mother Mary

Question: How could Mother Mary's role at the wedding at Cana be seen as an example, and a demonstration of Wisdom?

Another challenging and slightly curious question!

It was Mother Mary who recognised when and where Jesus' mission was to begin, and therefore spurred him on to perform his first public miracle, at the wedding in Cana-in-Galilee. In this sense, she was wise, knowing, and active. 

Some say that it may have been Jesus' own wedding to Mary Magdalene, in which case Mother Mary was the hostess. The gospel account simply says that she 'was there', not that she was invited. This may imply that she was a member of the family of the couple, or that she had simply chosen to come along to this wedding, which in those days were customarily open, public events.

Is has been said that to run short of wine could have been socially damaging to the family's reputation: it was the responsibility of the groom's family to provide the food and drink for all the guests, as it was in their home that the ceremony took place. Sometimes they would ask wider family and friends to help with this, so it has been suggested that not to have enough food and drink implied that the family didn't have enough friends.

Mary was the first one to foresee this 'crisis' - and she knows who to turn to in order to avert it: her son Jesus. If it was not Jesus and Mary Magdalene's own wedding, then Mary's intervention can be seen as compassionate toward the bridegroom's family, to save them from embarrassment. In this context, Mary is a benefactress, intercessor, mediator, and example, bringing others' needs to Jesus.

This story demonstrates that Mary had instinctive faith in her son. He has not yet, so far as we know, performed any miracles, yet there is no question in Mary's mind that he is capable of resolving the situation. And so, despite his initial questioning of what it has to do with him (since in his view his 'hour' has not yet come) nonetheless she tells the servants to do whatever he tells them. She has complete confidence in him, and knows that he will, in fact, take action following her gentle, motherly nudge. In this sense, Mary is like the voice not of our conscience, but of our own wisdom, prompting us when to take action and in what way. She is the Wisdom behind our little wisdoms. 

Jesus addresses his mother as 'Woman'. Some commentators have taken this to be a negative, even rude, form of address although he uses the same term on several other occasions to other women; but it is not. It is rather that Jesus is recognising in Mary something that goes beyond her being his physical mother: it is Woman with a capital W. Iin line with this, it has suggested that the title 'Woman' refers back to the story of Creation and the first Woman, Eve, and that Jesus is thus honouring his mother as the New Eve... but it seems more likely to me that, rather than being/representing Eve, the 'Woman' is the Divine Mother, partner of the Divine Father in Creation, and in the creation/incarnation of Jesus himself. He also famously refers to his mother again as 'Woman' when he is on the cross - of which more below.

But for the moment to return to the wedding story: Mary herself is not portrayed as being in any way hurt by being called 'Woman', but rather the opposite - it is then that she tells the servants to obey Jesus, confident that he is going to take some action: action which, in fact, goes far beyond what would have been necessary by miraculously supplying six stone jars full of wine, and not any old wine, but the best. So in this sense, Mary, whether or not addressed as the archetypal Woman and/or the Divine Mother, is the example of faith, trust, and confidence.

This story, set right at the start of Jesus' ministry, actually includes the last recorded words of Mother Mary, although she is very much present in some other stories. 'Do whatever he tells you' is a pretty good closing line with which to step back and allow the Son to take centre stage in the divine drama.

At the crucifixion (John 19.26-30) we are told that Jesus 'saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her. He said to his mother: Woman, here is your son. Then he said to the disciple: Here is your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture): I am thirsty. A jar of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said: It is finished. Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Setting aside the taking of the sour wine, I think that it is telling that Jesus' last act was to look after his mother, entrusting her to the care of a beloved disciple. Who that was we don't know. But until he knew the Mother was safe, Jesus did not give up his spirit: that was the finishing that was necessary. Only then could he take the next step into, and beyond, death.