Catholic Thought discussion

Step 7: She Still Says Yes – Mary’s Choice at Cana (John 2:1-11)

When Mary intercedes on the wedding party’s behalf that they have run out of wine she reveals her deep care for others. Here we see a demonstration of her intercessory role.
In his response Jesus uses the word “woman” to address his mother, which seems to be unique in all antiquity. As per John’s Gospel, Jesus using this term for certain women means that he had “a positive relationship” with them.

In the Gospel of John the opening chapters uses imagery taken from Genesis. This has significance for the placing of “The Wedding at Cana”, for it takes place on the third day after the fourth day. Added together this is the seventh day. “The wedding at Cana takes place at the climax of the new creation week.”

The “hour” of Jesus in the Gospel of John refers to the time of appointment by the Father for Jesus to accomplish his mission. […] Mary is asking for a lot more that a good supply of drink for the wedding feast. The wine she requests is really the messianic wine – the symbolic wine that the prophets foretold would accompany the messianic age

As Jesus is going to fulfill his mission, so will Mary. She had been foretold in Genesis 3:15 as the "woman" whose son will defeat the devil.

Step 8: Total Surrender, Total Trust (John 19:25-27)

Jesus hour, the cross, has come. Mary is one of four who stand at the cross along with the beloved disciple, John. All others have deserted Jesus. The day before, Jesus had made an analogy, that their sorrow will be turned to joy, just like a woman in labor will rejoice at the birth of her child, all pains forgotten. Now, at this dark hour, the only thing Mary has is her faith. This is when her trust in God and her son are tested the most. Will all that has been foretold be true? She abandons herself again, like so many times before, to the mystery before her.
And what about the Apostle John? As the only one of the Disciples there, he became the embodiment of all faithful disciples. And Jesus by giving his mother in his care makes her the mother of all the faithful.

Part of the wedding feast explanation seemed to be a stretch for me. Sri says Jesus was simply a guest at the wedding. Yet perhaps not? What if Mary and Jesus were connected via some network of kin that indeed would have made Mary feel she needed to take action to help. Scripture doesn't tell us. On the other hand, I've always been perplexed by the reply Jesus initially gives Mary.

But I wasn't convinced by the connection of creation/Eve with Mary as a way to explain Jesus' use of the word "woman." I prefer the simpler reason I learned in the past - that the word "woman" could be used as a term of honor in the biblical world. Sri also notes that.

I loved the way Sri emphasized how Mary "noticed the family's needs before anyone else did" just as Mary in Heaven continues to notice our needs and brings them to Christ. It's another good point to share with those who don't understand our devotion to Mary.

Gerri, the word, "woman," is carefully chosen. . Sri doesn't do a great job on the theology. The use of the word "woman" in John's Gospel - and it's used in a number of places, but twice with Mary - is an allusion to the use of "woman" in Genesis 3:16. Brant Pitre's book Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah really explains it.

While I don't know what the tone and complete connotation of the word carried, it does not carry the same derisive connotation that we would use today. Remember, you are looking at an English translation of a Greek word used two thousand years ago, which was an allusion to a Hebrew word used over a thousand years before that. Jesus is not scoffing at His mother.

That said, I once heard Fr. Simon from Relevant Radio say that he thought the proper translation should be "My Lady," as in a sort of Medieval sense. I don't know if it should be that elevated. The counter argument to that would be that it would lose the Genesis allusion. Part of the Genesis allusion it seems to me requires a more pronounced gender prominence, something that emphasizes the femaleness of a woman's identity. Not that My Lady doesn't carry femaleness but I think it's supposed to be more prominent than that. I don't think English has the perfect translative word.