Although Many is one of the most important people in all of the Gospel story, she doesn’t have many speaking parts… but the ones she does have are incredible. As far as her best lines, I declare a tie between “May it be done to me according to your word”, which was her response when asked to become the mother of the God’s son and “Do whatever he tells you” from today’s wedding feast at Cana reading.

If we were to live our entire lives based on what is being expressed in these two, simple sayings, then I think we would do just fine, which is why so many of us have a such strong devotion to Mary. I know that I certainly do. But as I was thinking about today’s Gospel, it occurred to me that there are four distinct versions of this devotion. I call this: The Four Marys.

The first is when we call out to her if we’re in trouble. I call this “The Spare Tire Mary”. Yes, spare tire, like the one we have in the trunk of our car and which we don’t think about very often, but are sure glad is there when we need it. We often don’t develop any kind of relationship or connection with this version of Mary and we don’t learn much about her, what she did and sacrificed, and the incredible impact she has had on the world over the past two thousand years. She is, after all, stuck out back there in the trunk.

The second is when we pray to her with our special intentions. I call this version “The Vending Machine Mary”. Like a vending machine, we approach this Mary when we want something and the coin we deposit into the machine is our prayer; we hope that whatever it is that we’re hoping for will drop into the tray right in front of us. The problem here is that this is typically a one-way street; we approach this Mary only when we want something.

The third is when we ask Mary to put in a good word for us up above, to be an intermediary. I call this “The Broker Mary” because she helps facilitate communication with the Father in heaven. This version of Mary is awesome because she does do this for us… but… I believe she is more than this as well. 

This leads us to the fourth version, which I call “The Role Model Mary”. 

When Gabriel asked her to carry and care for the Savior of all of Humanity, she said yes. It was a direct question to her and she did not pause. Why? Because she trusted.

But then in Cana, when there was that awkward moment when the wine ran out, Mary became concerned and called her son to action. She clearly had a deep vested interest in this, likely because the wedding was for a good friend or family member. We often hear the words that Mary said to the servants “Do whatever he tells you” as the spark that ignited Jesus’ entire public ministry, as the very directive he needed in order to begin. But look at it through the lens of The Role Model Mary. “Do whatever he tells you” can mean: I don’t know what, if anything my son is actually going to do right now in this difficult spot, but it’s ok – just do whatever he says. Because I trust him.

Mary is the ultimate role model, the ultimate disciple of Christ… and though we sometimes can cry out to her when we are in trouble, reach out to her when we want something, and ask her to speak to the Father on our behalf, I think we would do well to consider her to be our role model and then, to try to follow her example. 

Her example… of trusting her son.