- Feb 5, 2002
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“And Jesus said to her, ‘O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come’ ” (John 2:4).
Sometimes Jesus says something that seems very odd. This is one of those times.
Why would he talk to his mother that way?
Well, there are many possible reasons. But the main reason, I believe, is that he wanted to echo other biblical uses of the title “woman” — one from the past and one from the near future.
For in just a few years Jesus would again address Mary as “woman.” When he hung dying on the cross, he called her “woman” as he gave her as mother to his beloved disciple, John (John 19:26).
But his use of the word also echoes the first book of the Bible. There, “woman” is the name Adam gives to Eve (Genesis 2:23). Jesus, then, is addressing Mary as Eve to the New Adam — which heightens the significance of the wedding feast they’re attending, whose historical bride and groom are never named.
“Woman” redefines not only Mary’s relationship with Jesus, but also with all believers. When Jesus gave her over to his “beloved disciple,” in effect he gave her to all his beloved disciples of all time. Like Eve, whom Genesis (3:20) calls “mother of all living,” Mary is mother to all who have new life in baptism.
At Cana, then, the New Eve radically reversed the fatal decision of the first Eve. It was “woman” who led the old Adam to his first evil act in the garden. It was “woman” who led the New Adam to his first public miracle.
Continued below.
angelusnews.com
Sometimes Jesus says something that seems very odd. This is one of those times.
Why would he talk to his mother that way?
Well, there are many possible reasons. But the main reason, I believe, is that he wanted to echo other biblical uses of the title “woman” — one from the past and one from the near future.
For in just a few years Jesus would again address Mary as “woman.” When he hung dying on the cross, he called her “woman” as he gave her as mother to his beloved disciple, John (John 19:26).
But his use of the word also echoes the first book of the Bible. There, “woman” is the name Adam gives to Eve (Genesis 2:23). Jesus, then, is addressing Mary as Eve to the New Adam — which heightens the significance of the wedding feast they’re attending, whose historical bride and groom are never named.
“Woman” redefines not only Mary’s relationship with Jesus, but also with all believers. When Jesus gave her over to his “beloved disciple,” in effect he gave her to all his beloved disciples of all time. Like Eve, whom Genesis (3:20) calls “mother of all living,” Mary is mother to all who have new life in baptism.
At Cana, then, the New Eve radically reversed the fatal decision of the first Eve. It was “woman” who led the old Adam to his first evil act in the garden. It was “woman” who led the New Adam to his first public miracle.
Continued below.
Why Jesus called his mother ‘woman’
Sometimes Jesus says something that seems very odd. This is one of those times.
angelusnews.com
