“Opening to the Perspectives of Others”

by | 17 January 2025

On the Road Together Reflection for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025 

Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

What do you make of Jesus’ response to his mother when she tells him that the wedding feast is about to run out of wine (John 2:2-3), “woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come”?

We might have all kinds of initial reactions: maybe Jesus is a little “tipsy” and enjoying the party so much with his disciples that he doesn’t want to be bothered to think about solving this particular problem- even though he and his new friends very likely were among the culprits for the short supply of wine.
Perhaps Jesus is feeling hesitant, like many of us, when we have arrived at the point of no return and are pressed by others as to whether we will step in and step up to a whole new level of public responsibility.

Or perhaps he was just kidding with his dear mother and in such a way that John wanted to capture the familiarity and playfulness of Jesus. We can imagine that this first miracle and her role in nudging Jesus was an experience that Mary treasured in her heart throughout her life, and in later years, recounted to John as they cared for one another after Jesus’ ascension.

Whatever the case, we know the rest of the story. Jesus complies with his mother as a good, though perhaps reluctant son (is this where he draws his inspiration for the two sons, the second who initially resists and then goes on to labor in the vineyard?). He performs his first miracle with such deliberate excess that we can’t help but understand not only the capacity of Jesus to transform our reality, but also the abundance of God’s goodness and desire for our joy in fellowship with his son. And of course there are so many levels of theological interpretation possible with this first public miracle of Jesus.

But what connection might we make between this passage and our exercise of leadership? When I pray with this passage, I can see in myself at times how I am so engaged in the moment, or have such a confidence in my own grasp of a situation, that I can find myself annoyed initially when someone suggests I should pay attention to something or someone else. In our team, we sometimes joke about the way people can “put their monkeys on our back,” in other words, they want to make their problems ours and have us solve them. 

But clearly, when Mary takes this initiative, she does so with care for the married couple, the wedding guests, and her interest in sustaining the conviviality of the party. And further, she knows as mothers often do, when it is time for her child to take the next step into maturity and responsibility, to enter into public life as an adult and in Jesus’ case, to begin his ministry. 

As leaders, when someone comes to us, as Mary does, with a different perspective and presents a need, do we have the humility to recognize the limits of our point of view and to receive with openness, and gratitude this perspective? How do we discern on the basis of new perspectives, how to gauge their value, importance, or urgency? And then, what do we do with them? 

In Jesus, we have an example. He pauses to listen, to determine whether his mother’s request is aligned with his purpose and role at that moment, and then how he will or will not take action. And we know the result was not only in service to the needs of the moment, but that in that moment, Jesus signals the inauguration of his public ministry and provides a window of revelation of the Kingdom of God

As we follow Jesus’s example of listening, discerning, and acting, let us keep each other in prayer along the way…

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