Restoration and Responsibility

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,^[b] here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.  John 19: 25-27

The third word of Jesus from the cross is all about Restoration, Relationships and Responsibility.

I asked a young mother  how did  she feel when her  son had a deep cut on his head, she told  me she was concerned and felt a deep pain to see her son suffer. She then went into action in getting him medical aid. This is natural and all mothers who are at this worship service may have  experienced this emotion. 

Now if a mother were  told that a “ Sword will pierce through your own soul also”  what  would she expect? 

At the cross a mother is seeing the sword  pierce through her heart and soul and she is holding back tears, and is  unable to take action to support her son. She would want to tend that nail pierced hands, and clean the  striped back or  perhaps remove the blood the head.

Her  focus is on the  immediate and now.

The unexpected happens at this context. The person who is being hurt the most is the one who takes the initiative.   While  at the cross, we are  looking at the Cross, on the other hand,  Jesus on the cross is viewing our tomorrow and the day after.  Jesus demonstrates his responsibility through the Third word. 

Jesus foresaw the pain of a widow who will be without her son and responded to that pain.  Dear Friends  Mary did not express her pain.  The message for all Mothers is that Jesus knows your inner fears and pains. You do not have to express them or talk about them.  Jesus understands  your loneliness. You just have to lay them at the cross.

The  third word also  fulfils the commandment ““Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Jesus entered the Life of Mary and spent 33 years with her.  At Calvary, she feels a loneliness at having  lost  her husband and now an impending loss of a son.  Jesus does not leave you incomplete when he enters your life. In fact  Jesus restores everything.  When we see the tragedy of Judas, we get to see the character of Satan, who enters with our consent and leaves at his will. Jesus will not leave us nor forsake us.

Jesus restored a Relationship which in that society was very important to give Status to a woman. Jesus  gave a son to Mary.

Shall we focus now on the son to whom Jesus gave a mother.

John  was the disciple whom Jesus loved. Jesus had  confidence in him.  The disciple also loved  Jesus.  This  means that  they both shared a good relationship and exchanged ideas.  They would have  discussed  strategy, they would have planned and worked together.   When you love some one do you share a special relationship with that person?

Love is just not a static feeling,  Love implies Sharing, it implies dialogue and action. It also means taking a risk and standing for the person  you who loves you.

John  followed  Jesus to the  cross. 

Jesus loved John so he trusts him with the care of his mother. To put this in perspective  whom can anyone  entrust our mother’s, or daughters when there is a  fear for the   safety of women in our city.  Jesus could trust John  to take care of his mother. 

Jesus said  Here is your  mother  to John.  John took immediate action.

He behaved like a son to  Mary immediately. The reading  says from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.  By behaving like a son, the scene at the cross became a home immediately.

Why did Jesus ask John to take care of his Mother?

Since John loved  Jesus,  he was waiting at the cross. He  has not waiting   at the  cross because Jesus will ask him to take care of His mother. Since John was waiting at the cross he was given this responsibility. Today if we truly love Jesus are  we waiting at the Cross?  Do we dare to be  at the cross despite popular culture says and public opinion? John was at the Cross, Therefore  Jesus gave him a responsibility of Trust. Friends where are we today?  Have we run away scared or  Are we  waiting at the cross to accept  responsibility.  The  harvest is plentiful and the labourers are few

Why did  Jesus call Mary  “ woman “     In the  Gospel of Mathew  Jesus said

⁴⁸ He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” 

There fore  Jesus  addressed  Mary as woman,  He clearly  differentiated His Divinity from His Humanness.  As far as Jesus was concerned who ever does the will of my Father is my brother, sister and mother.   Since we all have a Heavenly Father,  that relationship is not  spoken off.  Jesus has given the universal definition of relationship, today  there are parents who need care and attention and children who need guidance and love.

Dear Friends as We wait at the Cross to do the Father’s will, allow Jesus to Restore our Relationships and give us  Responsibility.

May we  like  Mary  pray “I am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled.” 

What will be your first words from your Cross

Here a few verses from the Bible which are the words of Jesus.

1.       Do not Judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven - Luke 6:37.

2.       But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you - Mathew 5:44.

3.       For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive them your father will not forgive you - Mathew 6:14.

4.       If you hold anything against anyone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive you - Mark 11:25.

5.       My command is this, “Love one another as I have loved you.” - John 15:12.

What do these familiar verses mean to us? These are teachings of Jesus and we can say they are ideas and concepts. We often say “people say many things but they behave differently”. We also use the expression “actions speak louder than words” and agree with that expression.

Let us move to Calvary and picture Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who fed over 5000 men, who touched lepers, or walked on the water, is now on the Cross. He is crucified; his hands are nailed and he cannot touch a child or a sick person. His feet are nailed and he cannot walk to Lazarus’ or Jairus’ house.

What actions can he perform? He uses his lips – to pray for us. In doing so, see the congruence with his words we heard earlier and this prayer, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  This prayer is in harmony with his teaching in Mathew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

We have two things to learn from this prayer for us.

1.       Jesus forgave sins of people. He has the power to do so, yet in this case he asks God to forgive our sins. Why does he do that? What is the example Jesus is giving us? He is saying, “Even though I am violated and am about to be killed, I will pray for those who persecute me. Those who persecute me may or may not repent of their sins.” In forgiving others we create a forgiving spirit in ourselves. Having a forgiving spirit drives away hatred and malice. It gives healing to our body and spirit. If we nurture hatred, a part of us dies with the hatred.

2.       This is a powerful testimony of being different. In also saying, “I thirst” and “My God, my God why have you forsaken me”, Jesus gives us a picture of his humanness. This is a testimony to others that we are different and dare to be pleasantly different.

 Jesus said, “If any man would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.”

My dear friends, are we willing to take up the cross daily to follow him? It seems practically different, yet we must strive for it.

Here’s a point to ponder: We just heard Jesus’ first words from the cross.  When we take up the cross to follow Jesus, what will our first words from the cross be?

We have three examples of first words from the cross.

1.       There is a word of Ridicule:  The thief on left was angry and irritated. He deplored his plight. May be there was injustice in his case, or perhaps his punishment was greater than his sin. We may never know what his emotion was, but what we know is that his first words were words of ridicule from the cross. In so doing, he failed to see the Saviour.

2.       We next have an example of repentance. The thief on the right, correctly identified Christ. When he looked at Jesus on the Cross and his own cross, it was too difficult for him to bear. He rebuked the other thief’s ridicule and asked for forgiveness. We have an example here, as the repenting thief on the right set himself apart from the world. He was courageous to take a stand. The words of repentance draw us near to Jesus.

3.       Next we have an eloquent example of reconciliation. In forgiving others Jesus brings about reconciliation. It means that you become friends with those who persecute you. Jesus made the prayer of the angels at his birth “peace on earth and goodwill towards men” a reality with forgiveness and love.

When we are hurting, there are three ways to respond, either by

                                                ridicule, 

                                                repentance or

                                                reconciliation. 

We are given a choice... may we choose the right response to glorify God.

Here’s a small prayer to set us on track: O Lord because we often sin, and have to ask for pardon, help us to forgive as we would be forgiven. Neither mentioning old offences committed against us, nor dwelling upon in thought; but loving our brother freely as you freely love us. In Jesus name. Amen.