J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“A Mother Near The Cross ”
Scripture: John 19:25b-27
May 11 , 2008
The time has come when it has fallen to my sister and me to assume more responsibility for our parents. Many of you know what I’m talking about. You’ve already had firsthand experience in caring for those who have spent their lives caring for you. Most of the time biology is like a stream that flows downhill from older to younger, but there comes a day when the current gets reversed and the responsibility shifts in an upward direction from young to old. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, rest assured that the day will come when some day you will.
At least I hope that day will come. All of us know of those family situations where the parents age but the children are so preoccupied with their day to day activities that they have no time or energy to care for those who are nearest and dearest, and who can no longer care for themselves, and they have no problem justifying their neglect. “I’m busy. I have my own life. I have responsibilities that only I can take care of.” On the surface it seems so logical and justifiable. But life doesn’t play out on the surface. Life goes on in the depths, where things tend to get both muddy and murky.
No one should ever be too big or too busy or too self-absorbed to forget about those who gave us life, especially our mothers.
I say that because of this story from John’s gospel. The context of the story is the crucifixion of Jesus. When we stop and think about the greatest work that Jesus ever did, none rises to the level of the Cross. None comes close to what Jesus did that Good Friday, for at Calvary Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world. At Calvary Jesus lived out his reason for being. What was it he had told his disciples? “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). In other words, the crucifixion was the one time in Jesus’ life when you would think he would have been absorbed in his God-given task and would have been excused from focusing on anything or anyone else. But he wasn’t. In spite of his pain and in spite of his suffering, Jesus didn’t forget the one who had given him life, and in his hour of greatest need thought not only of himself; he thought also of his mother.
It’s one of the famous “last words” of Jesus from the cross. Looking at the disciple whom Jesus loved, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” Knowing that his time on earth was coming quickly to a close, he did not neglect his responsibility as a son to his mother, and in so doing, left us a lasting example of how we who call ourselves his followers must be careful always to do the same.
Today, as you know, is Mother’s Day. But do you know the history of Mother’s Day. Many think that the origins go back to 16th century Ireland and the practice of visiting one’s “mother church” three Sundays before Easter, where adult children would be reunited with their mothers. In the United States, Julia Ward Howe borrowed the idea soon after the Civil War and wrapped it with a call for peace and disarmament. But the idea as we know it today really didn’t catch on until the first part of the 20th century, when a woman by the name of Anna Jarvis, in an attempt to honor the faithfulness of her own mother, started a campaign to honor mothers everywhere. Quickly, the idea caught on so that today, Mother’s Day is one of the most popular family days of the year. Many of you are here today out of tribute for your mothers. And for those of you who aren’t able to be with your mothers today, I trust that if she is still living, at some point you will be talking to her, or if she’s gone on to be with the Lord, at some point today you’ll be giving thanks for her.
What is it about mothers that compels us to honor them? We could talk about their sacrifice and how they are so often willing to go without. We could talk about their devotion and how they are always in our corner. We could talk about their intuition and how they know us better than we know ourselves. However, we could probably sum up all of those qualities and more by saying simply that more than any other human being on the face of the earth; it’s our mothers who can make us all that God has created us to be.
Leonard Ravenhill was a famous English evangelist in the last half of the 20th century. In one of his sermons he told about a group of tourists who were visiting a picturesque village and happened across an old man who was sitting beside a fence. In a rather disrespectful and patronizing way, one of the tourists asked the man, “Were any great men born in this village?” To which the old man is said to have replied, “Nope, only babies.”
Do you see the significance of the story? No one is born great. No one is born to excellence, not even those who come into this world with the proverbial silver spoons in their mouths. All of us come into this life unable to care for ourselves, unable to fend for ourselves. And from the very beginning, it’s the women who give us life who answer that inner call imparted to them by God and dedicate themselves to nurturing us in a way that we become far more than we ever could have become on our own.
That was even true of Jesus. It’s John’s gospel that tracks the mother of Jesus from beginning to end. The first time she appears is on the occasion of his first miracle, the changing of the water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Remember the story? Jesus is there with his disciples when the unthinkable happens. The family of the bride runs out of wine. The mother of Jesus turns to Jesus, knowing already that he has the power to do something about this unfortunate situation. At first Jesus defers. “My hour has not yet come,” he says to his mother, a first glimpse at how he knows that his whole life will be pointed toward the mount called Calvary. If we had been present, most of us would have just taken Jesus at his word and been content with whatever the hosts would have chosen to serve in his place. But not Jesus’ mother – she knew that her son possessed a heavenly power that could even in that situation bring glory to God. And so looking in the direction of the servants, she instructed them, “Do whatever he tells you” – a word not only to the servants but to all who have ears to listen. “If there is something in your life that is lacking, turn toward Jesus and do whatever he tells you.” And when the servants do as the mother of Jesus instructs them, Jesus fills the stone jars with water and in the power of God reveals his glory by turning it into thirst-quenching wine.
Throughout the gospel, Jesus’ mother is always there, but always in the background. In fact, it is one of the ironies of John’s gospel that Jesus’ mother is never mentioned by name. Even in our text for the day, all of the women who drew near be with Jesus when his “hour” finally came, the only one whose name is not listed is Jesus’ mother. Why is that so? Might it be that what John was emphasizing was not so much the identity of Jesus’ mother as the depth of their relationship?
Life doesn’t play out on the surface. Life goes on in the depths, where things tend to get both muddy and murky. And when we find ourselves in that sort of place, it’s a comfort to know that we are never alone. Jesus cares for us. Jesus provides for us. And sometimes his care and his provisions come through others, such as what mothers do for their children and what children do in return for them.
What have you done for your mother today, or what are you planning to do if she is still living? How have you honored her, or how are you planning to do so? It may mean that you may have to postpone some considerations that have to do with yourself so that you may focus better on the command Jesus has given you to love one another as he has loved us.
I love the story of the woman who was giving the Children’s Sermon in her church on Valentines Day, another important holiday. Children’s sermons are always potentially explosive moments in worship, simply because you never can predict what at some point might be said. Most of the time, the explosion happens from the children’s side of the equation, but this time it blew up on the teacher’s end. She talked about how Valentine’s Day is a time of the year when we honor the people we love, usually with a card of some kind. Then she proceeded to hand out a blank Valentine’s Card to each child with this instruction: “Give the card to your parents – or to someone you love.”
All true love begins with those who are closest to us, and only then ventures out into all of our other relationships. It’s hard be serious about following Jesus’ command to wish for the best and work for the best in the lives of others when we are unwilling to do so with those who have given us our very life – our mothers.
When Jesus looked down from the cross and saw his mother among the women, he realized how tough the future would be for her and made sure that her needs would be cared for. So, he honored her.
And on this day, we have opportunity to do the same, by our actions or by our memories. To us disciples who have gathered for worship today, the word of Jesus still rings true: “Here is your mother.” How we treat them says so much about how we love them, and not only does it speak to how much we love them, because the command to do so comes from Jesus, it speaks to how much we love him, too.