what is it to me & to you?

The Gospel According to John 2:1–11 (NABRE) features the wedding at Cana and an odd exchange between Jesus and his mother. In this exchange, Mary comes to Jesus with a problem, Jesus seems to be dismissive of her concern, and then ultimately he does what she asks with no further discussion. From context, we know Jesus’ reply, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come,” must be seen as some kind of assent, though it can be difficult to see how.

The original language of this passage sheds some light on this confusing exchange. In Greek, Jesus’ question of his mother—”how does your concern affect me?”—consists of four words that literally mean “what is it to me and to you?” This is a significantly different concept. From the Greek text, we see that Jesus is suggesting not that his mother’s view and his are different, but rather that the view and concern of all humanity is different from the way in which he and his mother view the situation. Then, when Mary nonetheless chooses to make the concerns of fallen humanity hers, they become Jesus’ concerns as well. Mary calls Jesus, God himself, into action on behalf of fallen humanity, and she does so not by instructing Jesus but rather by saying to us: “do whatever he tells you.”

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