2nd March 2008 (Mothering Sunday)
John 19:25-27
John's gospel deliberately mentions episodes not found in the other gospels. His words to his mother and 'the beloved disciple' are only found here. (Traditionally the 'beloved disciple' was assumed to be John, the brother of James and the author of this gospel or the material it was based on.) Apart from 'I thirst' these are the only words of Jesus from the cross that John mentions. He was probably not simply adding a detail that others had missed out; he put it in his gospel because he wanted to make a point. But what exactly is the point? What does John want us to learn from this?
The most obvious point is that Jesus cared for his nearest and dearest even at the moment of his greatest anguish - 'he loved them to the end' (John 13:1). On the cross Jesus saw his mother, alone of his family, and John, alone of his twelve disciples, and entrusts them to each other. Mary and John were not closely related, and this could not have been legally binding. Jesus had brothers and sisters, but at that point they did not believe in him and probably were steering clear of trouble. Mary and John, however, were united in their deep love of Jesus and in their shock and grief at that time; to put them in each other's care was a very thoughtful thing to do.
He does not call his mother by name, nor does he call her 'mother'; literally, the word is 'woman'. This was not an insult, as it would be in England today. On the contrary, it was a respectful way of addressing her. In Uganda today older women are addressed as 'muchala', which is very much a term of respect even though it could literally be translated as 'woman'; husbands often call their wives 'muchala'. Jesus treated his mother with compassion and respect.
Jesus always had treated his mother like that, even when she was acting out of order. In this gospel the only other time she is mentioned is at the time of the wedding at Cana, where she passes the burden of there being not enough wine over to him. On that occasion he also addresses her as 'woman', and seems to rebuke her, telling her that his hour had not yet come; nevertheless, he dealt with the problem by turning water into wine. The other gospels tell of another occasion when Jesus' mother and brothers hear of his busy lifestyle and try to take him away from his work; when told that they were asking for him he said that those around him listening to him were his mothers and brothers and sisters. Again, it looks like a rebuke; and it seems as if his family really did not understand what Jesus was doing. But the love and devotion of his mother remained, as shown by Mary's presence at the cross, and despite her lack of understanding Jesus treated her respectfully and lovingly.
We are told that from that moment John took Mary to his own home. It is possible that John had a home in Jerusalem; he was known to the chief priest's household, and it could be that the Zebedee fish business had a Jerusalem outlet. We do not know where Mary had been staying up till then; it may be that she would have been grateful to go to a different home, where folk would be more understanding perhaps.
There is a deeper message behind this incident that John wants us to get hold of, and that is pointed to by the fact that John and Jesus' mother were bound together by their relationship with Jesus rather than by natural ties. Through Jesus Christ and through his death and resurrection we who believe have been bound together into one new family, and our spiritual bonds are every bit as strong as our blood relationships - stronger, perhaps, in that our spiritual family will last for ever, whereas our natural family will not. John and Mary had to act on the basis of their new relationship, through Jesus, and their actions had to be practical not theoretical. If the cross does not unite us, what will?
Questions:
1) Who are the members of your spiritual family, and how are your links strengthened?
2) When we suffer, we naturally focus on our own needs. How can we learn to be like Jesus and to focus on others even when our needs are greater?