Behold Your Son/Behold Your Mother
Several
years ago I presided at a funeral. I do not remember today whose funeral it
was—maybe a parishioner or extended family of a church member. What I remember
was a comment shared with me following the burial at the cemetery. A young man
approached me, shook my hand, and said, “I could tell you really believed what
you said.” This was not the usual, “Nice service,” or “Good job” preachers
normally hear after a funeral. I was sort of taken aback. My response was
pretty strange: “Well, yeah.” Not the most pastoral response ever. But my
immediate reaction was: “Of course I believe this stuff. I am a Christian. I am
a pastor. This is what I do. Well, yeah.”
For the
Gospel of John, the issue of what we believe is central. In fact, of the 173
times the word believe appears in the Bible, 57 of them are found in John! Many
of us can recite John 3:16 from memory: “For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Jesus
is profoundly interested in what we believe—and why—and he is constantly
provoking and inviting others to believe in him: “This is the will of God: that
you believe in the one he has sent.”
At the foot
of the Cross, only in John, a scene of profound love occurs. We see two people
who believed in Jesus: his mother Mary and one of his disciples. The two hold
each other on a day of great pain and grief. Looking down at them, Jesus
remembers each—the memories, the stories, the lives they shared together.
The Gospel
of John says nothing about Jesus’ birth. The only reference we find to Mary
aside from Jesus’ Cross is at a wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2). When the
staff runs out of wine, Jesus’ mother informs Jesus about the situation. Jesus’
response to his mother is questionable: “Woman, what is that to me? My hour has
not yet come!” Some object to Jesus’ use of the term woman to refer to his mother. Would any of you say that to your own
mother? You might—once! But he was not being ugly. “Woman” was a common way of
addressing women in public in his day. Anyway, following Jesus’ comment to her,
she says to the steward, “Do whatever he says.” In this comment I detect a
couple of messages: Pride. This is my boy. He’ll take care of this. Faith.
Jesus has power and ability and can make any situation right.
Cana is the
only reference to Mary outside of the Cross—but not so for Luke. Luke tells us
Mary’s response to the angel’s proclamation that she will give birth to the
Messiah: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to
your word.” At his birth, Luke tells us shepherds visit the Christ child and
leave proclaiming his glory. Luke says, Mary treasured all these words and
pondered them in her heart.” A week later the infant Jesus is presented in the
Temple. An elderly man, Simeon, holds the child and says to Mary, “This child
is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel…and a sword will
pierce your soul too.” When Jesus was 12 the Holy Family returned to Jerusalem
for Passover. A day into their return journey home they noticed Jesus was not
in the traveling party. Panicked, they find him in the Temple, teaching the
religious leaders. When his parents expressed their concern, probably
threatening to ground him or take away his mobile phone, the preteen Jesus
says, “Where else would I be? Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?”
Upon their return to Nazareth Luke tells us Jesus was obedient to his parents,
and Mary “treasured all these things in her heart.”
Now,
standing at the foot of the Cross, his mother remembers these and other stories
of her son. We share her grief. But she experiences more than just loss—she
sees in his eyes the very heart of God. The Church teaches that Mary was Jesus’
first disciple. From the moment of his conception Mary shared in his life—not
only as a mother but as a faithful, committed follower. She did not abandon him
at the end. Those condemned to crucifixion were not hung 20 feet in the air or
so as it is often depicted in art—it was more like seven feet above ground. So
Mary is not quite eye level—more like waist level—and she is able to clearly
hear Jesus’ words from the Cross, referring to the disciple standing with her:
“Behold your son.”
Who is this
disciple? Well, he is unnamed in John, although most simply refer to him as
“John.” We’ve only met him the night before, when Jesus shared a final meal
with his disciples. Although he is unnamed we know a great deal about his
relationship to Jesus. John tells us this disciple was seated right next to
Jesus at the table, a place of great respect and honor. The disciple is
referred to only as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Literally the Greek text
says this guy sat at Jesus’ breast. The two enjoyed an intimacy Jesus shared
with no one else. He learns that Jesus is faithful to his promise. Just the day
before, Jesus said to all the disciples: “I will not leave you orphaned.” While
the other disciples are absent from the Cross, this guy is right there,
accepting the responsibility for caring for Jesus’ mother: “Behold your
mother.”
By linking
these two together, “Behold your son/Behold your mother” Jesus creates a bond
of intimacy, trust, and mutual affection. The only thing these two share in
common is their love for, their belief in Jesus. He is their Lord, their
Christ, their Savior. Their faith is obvious to us—they are present to the end.
Their relationship to each other—and to Jesus—marks the very best definition we
have for church. A community of like-minded folk who love and care for one
another as a result of their relationships to each other and the one they
affirm as Lord and Savior.
Following
Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Gospel of John says,” Now Jesus did many
other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this
book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his
name.” We are invited to accept Jesus’ great love for us and become his
disciples. To put it another way, from his Cross, looking upon each of us with
the same love and compassion he had for Mary and the disciple, a love you and I
could never imagine or understand, Jesus asks each of us: “Do you believe
this?”
If you have
not known this love before this morning, may you receive it right now. Jesus
said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s
friends.” You are Jesus’ friend. He loves you—all of you—your brokenness, your
imperfections, your mistakes. Acknowledge Jesus’ Lordship of your life and walk
in the abundant life he promises for all who love him.
If you have
already accepted Christ’s love for you and count yourself as his disciple, then
live out your love in faith and obedience: “By this everyone will know you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
If I had a
time machine, there are many places in the past I would want to visit. One
would be that cemetery in Duncanville a decade or so ago. When the guy says, “I
can tell you really believe this,” I would have a more thoughtful, articulate
response—more than, “Well, yeah.” Mary and the disciple share Jesus’ love for
them, and that love creates a bond that can never be broken. In his love is a
longing, a community, an authentic relationship that gives our lives meaning.
St. Augustine said, “You have made us restless, O Lord, and our hearts are
restless until they find rest in you.” May each of our restless hearts find
their rest in the love of Jesus Christ!
Behold your
son.
Behold your
daughter.
Behold your
mother.
Behold your
father.
Behold your
sister.
Behold your
brother.
Behold your
neighbor.
Behold your
friend.
In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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