By REV. DR. BRIAN GIGEE
“Jesus Loved His Momma!”
“When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son! Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.” –John 19:26-27
“Jesus loved his momma!” A church sign said so. The Bible says so, too. We’re supposed to love our mothers. Most do. Yet, some can’t, and some won’t. It takes time in life to learn that we don’t always get the relationship with our mother we desire. Some mothers don’t want to have the relationship their children desire and still that goes both ways as some mothers get less than they want or worse… they get the love they deserve. The reason the Bible tells us to ‘honor’ mothers and fathers is because we don’t get to pick them… it takes an effort, and in doing so many find out over time our parents can be more than father and mother… they actually become a friend, a confidant, and a guide! And still, the worse thing for a mother is to watch her child die. Jesus loved his momma and she watched him die.
There are always four parts to a story. The beginning, the end and all that goes on in the middle and still the most important part is what we make of that story when all is said and read. Jesus’ story with his mother was a brief 33 years… ending very abruptly. How it started is all on God and plays out big in how Jesus treated his mother.
How could Jesus not love his momma? Out of all the women in all of creation, God chose a young woman… unknown yet full of faith and hope. She received a visiting angel with grace and accepted this call to be the “mother of God!” The Greek Orthodox Church refers to Mary as “Theotokos” … “THE GOD BEARER,” a name Jesus’s mother has worn well over the centuries. I have her icon neatly displayed in my office. And despite God’s intervention of her marriage and family plans with Joseph, Mary proved to be a typical Jewish mother living out her Hebrew faith with all the love and foibles a mother can engage. Yet, when the time came, Mary stayed close to Jesus and was within ear shot on the day of his death. Point? Sons leave their mothers, but mothers never leave their sons.
Mary was a typical mother? Sure. When owning up to being with child, she scampers off to her cousin, Elizabeth, to share the great news! What mother-to-be keeps that news to herself? Life is best lived close to family. Life is to be shared and lived out in community as well. She was faithful and brought him to the temple to be given a name and be circumcised. She and Joseph gave him not the name they would have desired… but rather gave Jesus the name God’s angel requested… Joshua… “Ya-Shoo-Ahh” in Hebrew… unlike how we would say “Joshua” … but then… “Jesus” … in English… the name that means… “God is generous!” You do know that, right… God is generous? God is… and Mary trusted God’s generosity! But that’s not all…
One Passover when Jesus was about 12 years old, his parents lost track of where he was. They traced their steps and found Jesus teaching the religious leaders in the Temple… the last place they looked! Then there was that time when his mother challenged him to be who he was intended to be as he brought a new kind of joy to a wedding at Cana when they ran out of wine. Faith matters. And like any grieving mother having witnessed her own child’s death, Mary was present with the other women on the first Easter morning to learn the lesson… Jesus’ words are trustworthy… every day… all the time.
Jesus loved his momma … as even in his dying showed us that there is still living to do providing for her care in her days still to come… and on weekends like this… I miss mine! Happy Mother’s Day to all the momma’s out there and for all who provide ‘motherly’ love!
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
