What Advice Do I Have?

With my daughter’s wedding coming up next weekend, I wanted to write an inspirational post about marriage. Unfortunately, most of the Bible verses which clearly discuss marriage include the word submit, as in “wives submit to your husbands”. Which causes every young woman in this country to get her hackles up. I think that this word means something different today than it did two thousand years ago. But I’m not going to go there; I do not have time tonight. It’s bad enough I am writing this at 9:00 at night instead of my usual nine a.m.

What I will say however is that the women who lived during Biblical times were a strong and feisty bunch. In my Tuesday morning Bible study we are reading “Twelve Extraordinary Women” and to supplement that study I am reading “Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter”. And I can tell you that so far none of these women are doing what I would consider “submitting” to their husbands.

Yes, their husbands are the head of the household and the leaders of the family. And their wives follow that lead. But if you read much of the Bible, you will see that, behind the scenes, the wives were still running the show. Not so much different from today.

The story I want to share doesn’t involve a husband and wife, but a mother and her Son. Mary was a feisty one in her own way.

            Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. 2 Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding. 3 When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”(I can’t help but picture Mary rolling her eyes at Jesus’s statement, knowing that no matter He says, He is still going to do what His mother asks Him.)

6 In that place there were six stone water jars. The Jews used jars like these in their washing ceremony. Each jar held about 20 or 30 gallons.

            7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the top.

            8 Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast.”

            So the servants took the water to the master. 9 When he tasted it, the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from. But the servants who brought the water knew. The master of the wedding called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking a lot, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now.”

John 2:1-10 International Children’s Bible

Maybe not words of wisdom for my daughter’s upcoming marriage, but maybe a good story to keep in mind for the wedding. 

Mason Jar wine goblets for the wedding.