While John the Baptist was a desert ascetic, Jesus fully engaged in both time alone and time with others. Here we see him at a wedding, apparently celebrating a couple's beginning of their life together. We also see him in a bit of a tiff with his mother. Perhaps the happy couple will, sooner or later, also develop some conflict. But today the tension is between Jesus and his mother. She sees a problem at the party and pressures Jesus to do something about it. He responds in the negative. The he stops and thinks about. Later, he changes his mind and does what she had asked, thereby beginning his public ministry.
A friend once told me that she saw this as the mother bird pushing the baby bird out of the nest, knowing that the baby was ready to fly. Maybe. The larger point is that even Jesus needed other people to become fully himself. It is in relationships that each of us become who we are.
To ponder: What are the relationships that have been the most important in growing you up?