Just Do It!

The beloved apostle John informs us that six stone waterpots were set there for the Jewish custom of purification. Each pot could hold about twenty or thirty gallons of liquid.

They just happen to be there.

One can call this a coincidence. 

Or, one can say that God uses random objects that 'just happen' to be handy to accomplish His purposes.  Even ‘religious ritual’ objects.

I like that a lot.  Because we too often turn what used to be meaningful expression of our relationship with God into an almost meaningless religious ritual.

God, however, can use even that and transform it into something extraordinary… something definitely ‘outside the religious box’.

But, enough about the pots for now and back to Mary’s word:

Whatever He tells you to do, do it.

This is what Jesus tells the servants to do:

Fill the waterpots with water.

This sounds simple.  In fact too simple.  I'd rather have a 5-10 step convoluted list of instructions. That sounds more impressive. More professional and expert-like. 

On some days, I might prefer to be asked to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and jump off the cliff.  That certainly would catch the eye of the world. 

But, when I am asked to do something simple, instead of doing it, I start asking questions:

What does He mean by ‘fill’? Is it half-full, or two-thirds? 

Is he planning to move the pots or leave them there? 

What does He intend to do with all that water?  I don't want to waste all this energy doing something for no apparent purpose! 


Does He realize these are sacred objects used for sacred religious purposes? 

Should we use tap water? Or filtered water? Or Avian?  Or Nestle Pure Life? Or Zephyrhills?

And so on and so forth.

But, Mary said,

Whatever He tells you to do, do it.

Even if it’s simple.  Especially if it's simple! 

Even if it doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. 

Even if it is counter-intuitive. 

Even if it might be counter-cultural. Especially if it's going against the flow of the existing religious culture of the day.