_*“When Jesus saw his mother, and the
disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold,
your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’” (John 19:26-27)*_
Every year,
on the day just after Pentecost Sunday, the church celebrates a very special
memorial called Mary, the Mother of the Church. Having completed the seven
weeks of Easter, today is a day for us to pause a while and remember the special
role of Mary in the course of the whole Easter festivities and in particular,
to examine the full weight of the words Jesus spoke the foot of the cross: “Behold,
Your Mother.”
In our first
reading today, we are reminded of the words God spoke just after Adam and Eve
had eaten from the forbidden tree. In cursing the serpent who tempted them, God
said: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her seed…” Who was God referring to as “the woman”? And what does God mean by
her seed being at enmity with the seed of the serpent?
When we
take out time to examine this first reading carefully, we cannot but reach the
conclusion that the woman in question was not Eve but another kind of Eve; the
new Eve who gave her consent to God in his plan to undo the mistake of the
first Eve. This woman God speaks about in Genesis is Mary and her seed is
Jesus. This is why satan tried all he could to stop Jesus but was suffered a
final blow on the Cross of Calvary.
You see,
when Jesus uttered those powerful words, He was not simply speaking to John as
one person, Jesus was speaking to the entire Christian world. “Behold, Your
Mother.” In that very hour, John took Mary
to his own home. This singular act of John, the Beloved is the reason why the
church holds Mary with such high esteem among the saints.
Mary holds
the title of the Mother of the Church because she was present as a Mother
throughout all the events that marked the beginnings of the church. When Jesus
appeared to his disciples after rising from the dead, Mary was there. On the
day of Pentecost, the day the church was born, Mary was there. Like a very
responsible and caring mother, Mary has never abandoned the church. All the
apostles addressed her as Mother and treated her with respect and dignity.
When we
call Mary our mother, we do not worship her, rather simply give her the honour
she rightly deserves. Just as John took her home upon hearing the words, “Behold
Your Mother” we also take Mary home through our devotional practices. One may
ask, does Mary deserve this title? What makes her mother of the church? Who is
a mother?
Indeed, Mary
truly deserve this title because, like all mothers, she played and continues a
play a sacrificial role in the upbringing of her children. This is a woman who
risked everything in accepting to be a Mother even though she was still a
virgin. She abandoned her plans and accepted to the used by God. This is a
woman who was with Jesus throughout his hidden years of formation and remained
with him all through his public ministry. This is a woman who instigated Jesus very
first public miracle for the good of the couple in Cana.
This is a
woman who cares deeply for every Christian. Through Mary’s intercession, the
church has recorded and continues to record countless testimonies. Mary has proven
beyond every doubt that she is more than just an envelope, she is a woman we
can talk to, a woman we can rely upon to help her talk to her Son, Jesus Christ
who is the one mediator between God and Man (2nd Timothy 2:5). Mary
does not drag the function of mediator with Jesus, but as they say, blood is
thick, Mary’s blood flows in Jesus. She is close to her son Jesus and she can
surely help us talk to Him.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, may your Mother intercede for us both now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have
Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Memorial of Mary, Mother of
the Church. Bible Study: Genesis 3:9-15,20,
Psalm 87 and John 19:25-34).
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