That God cannot interfere to modify His plans, interfere without the change of a single law of His world, is to me absurd. If we can change, God can change, else is He less free than we! His plans, I say, not principles, not ends: God Himself forbid!–change them after divine fashion, above our fashions as the heavens are higher than the earth. And, as in all His miracles Jesus did only in miniature what His Father does ever in the great, in far wider, more elaborate, and beautiful ways, I will adduce from them an instance of answer to prayer that has in it a point bearing, it seems to me, most importantly on the thing I am now trying to set forth.
Poor, indeed, was the making of the wine in the earthen pots of stone, compared with its making in the lovely growth of the vine with its clusters of swelling grapes–the live roots gathering from the earth the water that had to be borne in pitchers and poured into the great vases; but it is precious as the interpreter of the same, even in its being the outcome of our Lord’s sympathy with ordinary human rejoicing. There is however an element in the origin of this miracle that makes it yet more precious to me: the regard of our Lord to a wish of His mother. Alas, how differently is the tale often received! How misunderstood!
His mother had suggested to Him that here was an opportunity for appearing in His own greatness, the potent purveyor of wine for the failing feast. It was not in His plan, as we gather from His words; for the Lord never pretended anything, whether to His enemy or His mother; he is The True. He lets her know that He and she have different outlooks, different notions of His work: “What to Me and thee, woman?” He said: “My hour is not yet come.” But there was that in His look and tone whence she knew that her desire, scarce half-fashioned into request, was granted.
What am I thence to conclude, worthy of the Son of God, and the Son of Mary, but that, at the prayer of His mother, He made room in His plans for the thing she desired! It was not His wish then to work a miracle, but if His mother wished it, He would! He did for His mother, what for His own part He would rather have let alone. Not always did He do as his mother would have Him; but this was a case in which He could do so, for it would interfere nowise with the will of His Father. Was the perfect son–for, being perfect, He must be perfect every way–to be the only son of man who needed do nothing to please His mother??–nothing but what fell in as His plan for the hour? Not so could He be the root, the living heart of the great response of the children to the Father of all! Not so could the idea of the grand family ever be made a reality! Alas for the son who would not willingly for his mother do something which in itself he would rather not do! If it would have hurt Nis mother, if it had been in any way turning from the will of His Father in heaven, He would not have done it: that would have been to answer her prayer against her. His yielding makes the story doubly precious to my heart. The Son then could change his intent, and spoil nothing: so, I say, can the Father; for the Son does nothing but what He sees the Father do.