Intercession: Difference between revisions
→The Wedding at Cana
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=== The Wedding at Cana === | === The Wedding at Cana === | ||
Saint Mary, the Mother of God, intercedes to Jesus on behalf of the wedding party, which has run out of wine:<blockquote>On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/2:1 John 2:1-3])</blockquote>Jesus replies,<blockquote>Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/2?4 Jn 2:4])</blockquote>A couple things to note here: | Saint Mary, the Mother of God, intercedes to Jesus on behalf of the wedding party, which has run out of wine:<blockquote>On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/2:1 John 2:1-3])</blockquote>Jesus replies,<blockquote>Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/2?4 Jn 2:4])</blockquote>One can contemplate forever this passage (what an eternal reward that would be!), but for our purposes<ref>For example, Augustine mentions that the heretical Manichæans claimed that Jesus' "mine hour is not yet come" justified astrology [https://catholiclibrary.org/library/view?docId=/Synchronized-EN/Augustine.OnGospJohn.en.html;chunk.id=00000301 (Augustine of Hippo, Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel according to St. John Tractate VII, no. 8)].</ref> regarding intercession, we'll focus on the aspect that Jesus demonstrates to Mary that in this instance, he will only act here on her request -- she must ask for the intercession. She understands him completely, then turns to the servants, saying probably one of the most concise instructions in the Gospel ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/2?5 Jn 2:5]): <blockquote>“Do whatever he tells you."</blockquote>A couple more things to note here: | ||
# Mary was a guest and thereby had no obligation or duties over managing the wine. | # Mary was a guest and thereby had no obligation or duties over managing the wine. | ||
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## we cannot say if she merely heard it it-- which is unlikely, as Jesus would have, too, or if the problem was brought to her -- more likely. | ## we cannot say if she merely heard it it-- which is unlikely, as Jesus would have, too, or if the problem was brought to her -- more likely. | ||
# Jesus requires that Mary ask him | # Jesus requires that Mary ask him | ||
## thus marking the distinction between believers and unbelievers | ## thus marking the distinction between believers and unbelievers | ||
## i.e., [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?8 Mt. 7:8]: ''"For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."'' | ## i.e., [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?8 Mt. 7:8]: ''"For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."'' | ||
### see also [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/5?14 Jn 5:14]: ''"And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."'' | ### see also [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/5?14 Jn 5:14]: ''"And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."'' | ||
# As she orders the servers to "Do whatever he tells you" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/2:5 Jn 2:5]), | # As she orders the servers to "Do whatever he tells you" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/2:5 Jn 2:5]), Mary shows us her intercessory role as "mediatrix" in 1) bringing the problem to Jesus; and 2) directing the servants to follow him. | ||
Thus we see the power of intercession that belongs to the Holy Mother<ref>Calvin, apparently, argued that Mary was merely reporting the situation and not asking for Jesus' intervention. That view is needed to deny Mary as intercessor (i.e. praying to her, which Calvin denied). From NetBible: | Thus we see the power of intercession that belongs to the Holy Mother<ref>Calvin, apparently, argued that Mary was merely reporting the situation and not asking for Jesus' intervention. That view is needed to deny Mary as intercessor (i.e. praying to her, which Calvin denied). From NetBible: | ||