Near The Cross

Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home. John 19:25-27

WE MAY BE TEMPTED to think that if we had the perfect child, parenting would be so much easier. But Mary did have the perfect child. And her life was filled with difficulties related to this child. They began with the humiliation of being pregnant before she and Joseph were married. Later, Simeon’s words “a sword will pierce your very soul” (Luke 2:35), spoken when Jesus was an infant, must have come to her mind on many sleepless nights. No doubt she wondered what Simeon’s words would mean for her.

When Jesus prophesied in their hometown synagogue, surely Mary would have been there. She must have been gripped by terror that day as the people in the synagogue took Jesus to a steep hill, intending to throw him over. Then came the day when Mary went to the house where Jesus was teaching. Instead of coming out to greet her, Jesus pointed to the people gathering around him and said, “These are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:34-35).

What sustained Mary through these experiences? Perhaps she remembered another prophecy Simeon had spoken over her newborn son: “He is a light to reveal God to the nations” (Luke 2:32). She had seen the glory of Jesus. John describes the wedding at Cana, when Jesus turned the water into wine after his mother asked him to act, as “the first time Jesus revealed his glory” (John 2:11). This glimpse of his glory must have helped sustain her on that day when she saw his agony on the cross, that day when she felt a sword piercing her very soul. On that day, everything changed in regard to her relationship with her son. He transitioned from son to Savior. While Jesus was hers by birth, she became his by faith.

Lord, on those days when it seems as if there is a sword piercing my soul, give me a fresh glimpse of your glory. Remind me of your ability to turn the emptiness of our lives into fullness of joy, just as you turned water into wine.