Timely lesson for Mother's Day

The Biblical story of the wedding at Cana, in which Jesus performed his first recorded miracle, is also a classic tale of the interaction of mothers and sons.

You don't have to be a Christian to appreciate the story, either (though, obviously, it helps). In John 2:1-11, Jesus and his mother are attending a wedding in Cana when the feast runs dry. Moms, masters at entertaining, understand what a disaster it can be to deal with thirsty guests; so Mary asks her son to fix the problem.

Though Mary was well aware of Jesus' divine abilities, her son wasn't yet ready to demonstrate them to the world. So he had a reaction typical of sons asked to do something they don't want to, amounting to "Aw, Mom, don't make me."

Mary ignored the protests, though, and told the servants to follow her son's instructions -- making the motherly assumption that her son also would do what he was told. Jesus did, telling the servants to fill six stone jars with water, and then take some of it to the caterer.

Also doing as they were told, the servants surprised the banquet chief with wine that was of even better quality than the depleted vintage. And though it's not recorded, it is easy to imagine the pride Mary felt in her obedient son.

The lesson here for Mother's Day? Mothers are always mothers, and while they may not always be right, they usually are.

Happy Mother's Day!