"Not one more task!"

John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.[a] 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

If you have ever worked at a large banquet or wedding, you know it is a tremendous amount of work.  I helped "do" a wedding for a friend's daughter once --- I packed a van's worth of decor, punch bowls, food, drinks, forks, napkins, balloons and chairs to the venue....after unpacking, hoisting, unloading at the church, setting up tables for over one hundred guests, my mind continually raced.  "What do I need to do next?  What am I missing?" I bore this constant pang of "this must be perfect!" Those working behind the scenes of any major celebration know the pain of back, feet and arms.....there is never a moment to rest.  Now take your mind to this Cana wedding.  The servants have been working for days now, and the feast is on.  Often these events would last a week. As fatigue set in, I'm sure morale sunk.  "How much longer until all of this is over?" 
Then comes the ultimate failure:  the wine is out.  No more. Any source of wine would be miles away to procure. Not only was this a planning error, it was an insult to the bride and groom..... A master defeat that would mark this couples entire life.  "Remember the wedding where they ran out of wine? How embarrassing!" people would say for years. 
To the servants in comes a  woman who says, "Do whatever this man says."  And she leaves.  These are the last recorded words of Mary, Jesus' mother.  What a wonderful way to be remembered.  She tells others, "Do what this man says."  She glorifies not herself but her Lord. 
I'm sure the servants thought, "Not one more task!" In comes Jesus.  Then the task comes.  It is not an easy one. They are instructed to fill six stone waterpots, each holding close to 30 gallons EACH.  Where would servants magically find 160 plus gallons of drinking water?  Then, have to hand-carry these gallons back to the pots. Not one more task!  I can imagine the eye-casts they made at each other, silently sharing each others' thoughts.  
Let's add another geographical note:  Cana is 700 feet higher than Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee.  Not only was this a grueling task, it was all up-hill.  The Bible tells us not how they did this or what help they used, only that they obeyed.
I love this story of Christ's first miracle, as it's a wonderous revealing of His glory.  John tells us this in verse 11 when he says, "Jesus manifested forth His glory".  Who first saw this glory?  Not the master of the feast, not the bride/groom, but the servants.  The ones who bore the water.  They were secret observers of God's glory, back behind dirty dishes and extra chairs. God's glory --- shown to the hired help.  I love how John adds the detail "but the servants which drew the water knew..." 
When I am tired, already deeply entrenched in a stressful task, I often balk when God says, "Do whatever my Son tells you to do."  I rub my tired eyes, clutch my tired back, and think, "Not one more up-hill task, Lord!"  Then I think of these servants, who pushed through the strain and obeyed the stranger.  They had no warning, but they had first-row tickets to Christ's glory.  What a reward!
How much more are we than these servants!  We live in the age of grace, we know who this Stranger is.  He is our Lord, the one whose love held him to a cross to bear our shame. Knowing this, when Christ asks us to bear his water, how can we refuse?  
Here is one more nugget from this story.  John tells us after the miracle, when the Master praises the best-tasting wine, "...and His disciples believed on Him."  We don't know how many disciples Jesus had at this point; it is only 3 days after his temptation in the wilderness.  The obedience of the servants ushered in Christ's glory which resulted in belief from those around. Their obedience planted God-seeds in other's hearts.
Often, when we obey the Lord, the results are observed by others.  When His glory is revealed in our weakness, others see that and say, "It can only be from God!  Praise Him!" 
Obedience is a wonderful and mysterious way God chooses to have His holy will observed.  Looking at the story, Christ could have easily filled the jugs with wine without using the water.  He can call anything from nothing.  Instead He looked at the exhausted servants and said, "Fill these up."   Christ loved to use the "something" of someone to bring about His glory.  Remember that little boy with 5 loaves and 2 fishes?   
This was the first of 7 signs in John's Gospel.  Each sign revealed Christ as the true Son of God, fully man and fully divine. Just as the lowly shepherds were the first to see the glory of Christ's birth, the lowly servants were the first to see the Lord's hand at work. The Lord is always using us, the rejected ones, to manifest his glory. The word "manifest" is the Greek word "semeion" which means a token of confirmation of a divine work or call. What is the key that unlocks this partnership with God?  Obedience.  
When you are tasked with "Do all that your Master says", do not delay.  It  may be "one more task" on top of many ---- but God wishes to use you to manifest His glory so that others may believe.