There is a story that we pastors often tell stressed couples before weddings to make them laugh:
During the wedding rehearsal, the groom approached the priest with an unusual offer.
“Look, I’ll give you $100 if you’ll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I’m to promise to ‘love, honor, and obey’ and ‘forsaking all others, be faithful to her forever,’ I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave that part out.”
He slipped the priest the cash and walked away. The wedding day arrived.
When it came time for the groom’s vows, the priest looked the young man in the eye and said,
” Will you promise to prostrate yourself before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?”
The groom gulped and looked around and then said in a tiny voice, “I do.”
After the ceremony, the groom pulled the priest aside and yelled,
“I thought we had a deal!”
The priest slipped the $100 back into the man’s hand and whispered,
“The bride’s father made me a much better offer.”
Most of the time, that story breaks up the wedding stress a little bit. I do about 2-3 weddings a year for church members, friends, or other Christians looking to get married in our church. It is a privilege to walk couples through the premarital meetings and to officiate their wedding. I encourage them not to make the engagement period too short. I encourage the couples to faithfully wait for their wedding day.
Jesus was at a wedding one time, in a place called Cana in Galilee. Jesus, his disciples, and his mother were all there at a wedding celebration. In 
antiquity, wedding celebrations could last days. After the guests at the wedding had exhausted the supply of wine, the mother of Jesus quickly went to him for a solution. Jesus responds, “‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” Pretty harsh Jesus… lighten up on your own mother! It is clear that Mary was quick to jump to action and try the solve the problem. She knew the shame the couple would experience if the wine ran out at a wedding party — a public embarrassment in Mary’s day.
Jesus had his own time table. He was not overly concerned about the wine running out. Probably because he knew what was going to happen next. Jesus had the wedding servants fill six large stone jars, which together held about 180 gallons. Before the water could be tasted by the head steward it had become wine! Not only that, it was really good wine. The head servant remark, “Everyone serves the good wine first… But you have kept the good wine until now.” The couple would was most likely a very popular couple in Cana after that wedding party!
We, like Mary, are often quick to want God to solve our problems. On our time, in our way, and on our terms. We look to God and say, “You 
have to do something, and do it fast!” Like Jesus, God has other plans. Usually, God solutions are bigger than we can ever imagine. Like the selfish groom story from the beginning of this post, we want to rewrite our own vows of life. We want it our way….now!
In our time of need, we must be encouraged to wait for God’s abundant love and grace for us. We must not be impatient for God to work on our time line. Jesus told his mother, “My time has not yet come.” God’s plans are bigger than our plans. God’s abilities are bigger than our abilities. Just as Mary might have never thought that Jesus could provide so much wine, we are often surprised with God’s miracles in our lives when we wait.
Remember: Jesus responded to solve the wine problem with huge results: he made enough wine to last the party for a week! An unthinkable amount. May you be patient and wait for God to work miracles in your life. May God work in unthinkable ways to bless you!
Epiphany 2C
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