“Behold, your Mother” (St. John 19:25–27)
St. Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I personally think this is one of the most touching scenes in the Gospels. I think it’s also the one time when I actually imagine the scene from Jesus’ perspective. Hanging on the cross, looking down at the people standing by, many are laughing at Him, some are crying. And there, at His feet, eyes looking up at Him, tears running down their faces: Mary, His Mother, and John, His disciple.
Several times, John, the author of this Gospel, identifies himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. This doesn’t mean Jesus loved John more than the others, but that John chose to identify himself based on Jesus’ love for him, rather than his love for Jesus. What a wonderful way for all of us Christians to think: I am someone whom Jesus loves. Although, there may also have been some special bond of brotherly affection between Jesus and John, because Jesus entrusts His Mother to John’s care. Now also imagine how John felt, watching his friend, his teacher, his Lord, dying before his eyes, the life literally draining out of Him as the blood dripped down. Perhaps only a soldier who has held his comrade in his arms while he died, knows what this is really like.
And then there’s Mary—the most blessed among women (Luke 1:42)—the humble girl chosen by grace to become the Mother of God. She’s older now, and she can barely stand for grief, leaning on John’s arm, looking at the little Boy she bore and nursed; the young Man she taught and watched as He learned from His step-father Joseph; the Man she knew as her King, but still the little Boy who used to sit on her lap. And the forehead she used to kiss is now crowned with thorns. The hands she used to hold are pierced through with nails. Her very soul was run through with a sword, because there was nothing she could do to save her little boy—nothing she could do except trust that He was saving her.
Jesus looked down at these two and loved them. He cared for them so that they could care for each other. He said to Mary, “Woman, behold, your son!—look at John, Mother. He’s your son now.” Then He said to John, “Behold, your mother!—she’s your mother now.” So, John had someone to love him and pray for him as he began his life of service as an apostle. And Mary had someone to look after her, to provide for her and keep her company as she ended her life as a widow. This was definitely true in a physical sense: from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. The histories of the apostles that have been handed down in the church tell us that John eventually settled as bishop in Ephesus, and that Mary lived with him there until she died.
But there is also a spiritual meaning here. God settles the solitary in families (Psalm 68:6). He builds community. And Jesus makes us members of His family. The Son of God gives us His own Father to be our Father. So, it is only natural, and quite a beautiful thought, that He also gives His Mother to be our Mother, like He did for John. Because, in truth, we are the brothers and sisters of Jesus. But also, with Jesus as our Brother and God as our Father, our true spiritual Mother is the Church. St. Paul tells us this is so: The Jerusalem above—the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church—she is free, and she is our mother. (Galatians 4:26).
So, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, has also come to be a symbol of the Church, the Mother of all believers. And this fits well with the relationship between John and Mary. John, the apostle and minister of the Word, is given by the Lord to Mary, representing the Church. Pastors are given to the Church. Pastors are not OVER the church any more than a son is over his mother. And Mary, representing the Church, is given by the Lord to John, the apostle. The Church is given to Pastors. Pastors are to care for the Church and provide for her with God’s Word.
But one other thing we should remember that mothers do, especially during this season of Lent: Mothers discipline their children. And Holy Mother Church lovingly disciplines her children too. Just as a faithful wife takes her cues from her loving husband and father of her children, Mother Church takes her direction from God our loving Father. So, the Church gives us three disciplines for us to practice, to help train us in righteousness and to set our minds on heavenly treasure: fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. And just as Mary, the Mother of God, is an image of our Mother the Church, so also, Mary’s life can be taken as an example of these three disciplines. Just as a Mother serves as an example for her children, so Mary is also an example for Christian life. She acts as a Mother to us all as she shows us how Christians should think and live. Mary is the model Christian—not because she is perfect, but because she, a sinner, so clearly lives by faith in Christ and His Word.
So, take fasting—abstaining from food. The point is to direct our minds away from earthly things toward heavenly things. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). There is more to real life than the daily bread that keeps this mortal flesh going for a while. The bread that gives nourishment to the soul, the heavenly manna that sustains eternal life is the Word of God. This is the Word Incarnate Himself, and also His Word given to us in the Scriptures.
The idea behind fasting is that we spend a little less time preparing and eating food so that we can spend more time on God’s Word. In our day when it’s so easy and quick to get food, it might be better that we fast from bigger wastes of time—things like TV, movies, Facebook. Instead of watching another show on Netflix, spend twenty minutes reading the Bible. But fasting from food is still a good old custom, and the fact that food is so easy to come by might be reason enough for us to remind ourselves that actually our life is still very fragile. Skip a meal, and the stomach rumbles, and we are quickly reminded that we cannot sustain ourselves physically. We can’t sustain ourselves spiritually either. We must live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. We need to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them.
In this way, Mary is a beautiful example of how Christians live on the Word of God. Twice, Luke tells us how Mary received the Word of God. On the night her Son was born, she listened to everything the shepherds said, and Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:17–19). Twelve years later, Joseph and Mary found their boy teaching the teachers in the Temple. And He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?” And they did not understand the saying that He spoke to them… But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart (Luke 2:48–51). The Word didn’t just go in one ear and out the other for Mary. She heard it, marked it, and inwardly digested it. The Word was her food.
Jesus even points this out about His Mother. One time when He was teaching a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “Yes, but more than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27–28). Jesus says, “You’re right. My Mother is blessed. But the real reason she is blessed is because she believes and treasures God’s Word.” Jesus Himself holds up His Mother as an example for all Christians.
The second discipline Holy Mother Church has for us children is almsgiving—giving to the poor. And when thinking of the poor and needy and lowly, we should think of Mary’s Song, the Magnificat: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden… He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away (Luke 1:46–55). Mary was a nobody from nowhere. She is the representative of all poor and lowly sinners who are raised up by God to a blessed state.
And that is the key to almsgiving, the thing we have to believe if we are to truly give to others out of love. We have to understand that we are not high or mighty or wealthy or full on our own. Without God, we are empty. So, having been filled by God’s goodness, we can share others. Having received mercy, we show mercy. We know that we are no better than others, no more deserving of good things than anybody else. So, we show charity to others, even to those who may not deserve it. Having been raised up by God we raise up others. Having been fed by God we feed others. Having been loved by God we love others.
The third discipline to learn from our Mother is prayer: simply speaking to God. Prayer comes from simple faith. It’s speaking to God the way family members speak to each other, not rudely, but safely, with love. “I know they love me and I love them so we are free to talk with each other.” And so, look at how Mary talks to her Son. At the wedding at Cana, Mary and Jesus are both invited guests, and when the wine runs out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine” (John 2:1–11). See how she just simply tells Him what’s wrong. She doesn’t tell Him what to do about it, or try to bargain with Him. She just lays out the need.
And He doesn’t rebuke her with anger. (Sometimes we read it that way, when He says, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me?” But remember, He also calls her “Woman” while dying for the cross and loving her). Jesus gently reminds her that this is not the time for His true glory, the glory of the Savior accomplishing the forgiveness of sins. (Later, she would see that gruesome glory at the foot of the cross). And Mary knows He’s not angry with her because after He says that, with full faith in her Son’s goodness, she says to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” She doesn’t know what He’s going to do, how He will answer the prayer, but she knows whatever He does will be good.
So, when you pray, simply tell God what’s wrong, lay out the need. And then trust that whatever He does will be good. He will either give you what you ask for, or He will give you something better.
Now, prayer is not only asking for things, but it’s also a way of saying your “Amen” to God—committing yourself to Him, submitting to His will. And once again, Mary is a wonderful example, this time right at the very moment that she becomes her God’s Mother. The angel Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would conceive the Son in her womb, and Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). You don’t have to be the Mother of God to say that. This is the attitude of every believer. Thy will be done, O God, not mine. Amen. I am Yours.
Of course, none of this means Mary is our Savior or the foundation of our faith. Mary herself would be appalled at such an idea. But she is our Lord’s Mother—and that is a staggering thing—the Creator of the Universe has a Mom! But also, you are your God’s true children, brothers and sisters to the Creator of the Universe—and that is an equally staggering thing! Through Mary, your God shares your flesh and blood. The Child of God became a Man so that we might become children of God. Ultimately, Mary is not in a higher state than any other Christian. In fact, we share her blessed position as we share her faith. She remains a humble example for us, representing our Mother the Church, representing all her children, all Christians.
So, we can join our Lord’s Mother, kneeling at the foot of His cross, cleansed and redeemed by His holy blood. There we are comforted and held up by His apostles and ministers who speak God’s Word to fill us, giving us something to treasure. And so we trust Him, no matter how much it might hurt and pierce our soul. We love Him—Mary’s Boy, God’s Son, our Savior. And we pray to Him, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your Word.
In Your Holy + Name, O Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Immanuel, Charlotte, IA, and Trinity, Clinton, IA, and other congregations of the Clinton Circuit
