Behold, Your Son... Behold, Your Mother

Midweek Lenten Meditation

March 23, 2022

John 19:25-27

 “But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’  Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

Epitaphs – carved into stone, wood or metal – they offer a lasting message long after loved ones die and memories fade. Through poetry, Scripture, and prose, epitaphs seek to sum up in one last message the life and purpose of those for whom they stand. But Jesus had no epitaph. Instead, during the final hours of his life, Jesus mapped out his way of suffering with seven last words, remembered and recited throughout the ages; touchstones along his way of sorrow. The meditations for these midweek Lenten services will focus on Jesus’ seven last words as found in the Gospels. They provide glimpses into his suffering and loving final thoughts. And so we listen to them as Jesus speaks to us even now. Today we focus on the third of Jesus’ final words: “Woman, behold your son… Behold, your mother” (John 19:26-27).

So often when we think of Jesus and his mother, it is at his birth. This is the familiar Christmas picture of Mary holding her newborn Son in her arms. It is a beautiful image that is at the heart of our Christmas celebration. By coincidence, the Annunciation of Our Lord is just two days from now. On March 25, the Church remembers and gives thanks for the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would be the mother of the promised Messiah, reminding us that exactly nine months from that day is the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25. All of this stands in stark contrast to mother and Son as we see them today: he, suspended in agony on the cross, and she, standing nearby watching him die. And if it is true, as Michelangelo depicted it in the Pieta, Mary held her Son once again after he was taken down from the cross; his lifeless body draped in the arms of his mother. It is often said that there is no grief like that of a parent whose adult son or daughter dies before they do, and so it must have been with Mary.

But before this, in unspeakable agony on the cross, Jesus provides for his mother, ensuring that she is taken care of. John’s Gospel alone records this touching note of Jesus’ Passion. John’s Gospel also refers a number of times to “the disciple whom he [Jesus] loved,” and that is John’s description of himself. The good news is that John is not the only disciple whom Jesus loved. Through his life-giving death upon the cross, through his cleansing blood that was shed for us and for our salvation, we also are disciples whom Jesus loves. We did not stand by the cross of Jesus as he gave his life there as John did. But we do stand by the cross in our lives today, honoring the sacrifice which he willingly paid to purchase our redemption.

What began at the Annunciation and at the Incarnation was completed here at Calvary. Jesus’ life began in the wood of his crib as Joseph may well have leaned over the cradle with Mary and say, “Behold your son!” And now what began at the crib has come to the cross. There is a dark and painful echo of those words as Jesus himself speaks to his own beloved mother, “Behold your son,” as he commends his mother into the care and keeping of his beloved disciple. Life has come full circle. The “little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay,” now the sinless Lamb of God on the tree of the cross, will soon sleep in a borrowed tomb until he bursts death’s strong bands on Easter morning.

In our own lives, we also want to provide for our loved ones, ensuring that they are taken care of should anything happen to us. We commend them to others who will fulfill that responsibility. Sometimes that responsibility is given to those who are not related by blood, who are not family, as John was called to do for Mary. But family can take many forms. We are born into a biological family, but we are reborn into the family of faith through the cleansing waters of Holy Baptism. Baptized into Christ’s own death and resurrection, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:1-11). Flowing out of our baptismal identity in Christ, we love one another and care for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ as Jesus’ own words are fulfilled in each of our lives: “Behold, your mother… Behold, your son.” Amen.