Able to Love without Requiring Love in Return: Mary in Scripture

A reality of motherhood is loving someone without receiving any love back from them. This happens in more than just pregnancy. There are times when we all act out of love for a child, a spouse, a family member, a friend, a co-worker, a stranger, and do not expect to receive anything, any love in return. Our motivations are not selfish – I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Instead, we act simply because we love them.

We see this quality in Mary. At the Wedding Feast in Cana, Mary comes to Jesus because the couple has run out of wine. Perhaps Mary was a friend of the couple and was helping coordinate the serving. She may have overheard the servers commenting that the wine barrels were running dry. Maybe she went to refill her own glass and was told there wasn’t any wine left. We don’t know the circumstances, and they don’t really matter.

What we do know is that to run out of wine, especially at a celebration like a wedding, was a major social faux pas. Mary, out of love for the couple, brings the issue to her Son. She does not seek attention, she does not even involve herself with the solution. She simply tells the servers to “Do whatever he tells you.” She acts as a mother would, motivated to act from a place of love.

What is something Jesus is asking you to do? Ask Mary our Mother for the strength and support to “Do whatever he tells you.”