One of the mistakes we often make when reading scripture, especially when it comes to the gospels, is that we think they tell exactly the same story, but they don’t. Most of you have heard me say this before, but each of the gospel writers has a particular story, a particular view point, a particular emphasis that they want to talk about in telling the story of Jesus, and so we have to pay attention to those particulars in order to get at the heart of their message. Remembering they are writing theology, not biography. This is particularly true with the Gospel of John, which is just radically different from what are known as the synoptic gospels, that is Matthew, Mark and Luke, which basically have the same synopses, even if they might have different details. But in John, while we see some overlap with the tradition about Jesus contained within the synoptic gospels, we also see a tradition that seems to be independent from the synoptics. While this will become clearer in the next few weeks, just one illustration from the passage we heard today can show the large differences we can see.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, does Jesus carry the cross out to the execution site by himself? No, Simon of Cyrene is pulled off the street and forced to carry it for him. But, today’s passage says that Jesus carried the cross by himself as he went to the place of the skull. I can make an argument for why I think John does that, but that’s perhaps for another day. Now, in reality, John is not the only one to have differences at the cross, as, again, all of the them have differences, and if you want a nice little Lent or Easter practice, I would encourage you to go through each gospel and mark out the details each tell of the crucifixion and resurrection in four different columns, one for each gospel, and then note the similarities, but also the wide differences. I think most of you will be surprised. But, it’s really the differences that also mark the heart of this Lenten series, because we are talking about the 7 last statements Jesus makes from the cross, which, for the most part, also tend to be unique to the gospel in which they are found, and today it’s Jesus statement to his mother and to the beloved disciple.
So, as usual, some background. First, we don’t know who the beloved disciple is. Tradition has held that it is the disciple John. But other speculation has said Lazarus, who Jesus raises from the dead and whom we are told that he loves, as well as his brother James, and of course the much more recent speculation that he is actually a she and is Mary Magdalene. I think that last one is highly unlikely, and certainly doesn’t fit this passage, and I think that John is as good of a guess as any, unless we are thinking that the beloved disciple is a stand in for who we are to be as disciples. Secondly, it’s not entirely clear who is standing at the cross, and notice that the women are at the foot of the cross and not standing at a distance as they are in the synoptic gospels. There is no punctuation in Greek, and so translators have to guess at where breaks are, and here there are some discrepancies. In the NRSV, which is what we heard this morning, there appear to be three women, Jesus mother, who is not named, his mother’s sister, Mary of Clopas and then Mary Magdalene. Now if you read the NIV, it has four women: Jesus’ mother, unnamed, his aunt, also unnamed, and then Mary wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene, and just so you know it would not have been unusual to have this many Mary’s around as more than 25% of the women who are mentioned in all sources we have from first century Palestine, and not just from scripture, were named Mary. But, I think the even more important part of this is knowing the intimacy of this scene.
In the middle ages, artists began picturing the crucifixion as being on really tall crosses, but as best as we can guess from the available information that was not the case. Instead we should imagine Jesus being like this (stand on the chair) with these women and the beloved disciple standing right there when Jesus says to them “Woman, here is you son” and “Here is your mother.” There is a closeness and directness to this scene, as well as the other scenes at the cross that we probably normally miss. Now, you might be thinking to yourself that Jesus calling her “woman” seems rather dismissive, and in some ways, it does. Except, nowhere in the gospel of John is Mary’s name ever actually used. In fact, Mary only appears one other time in the gospel and that is at the wedding at Cana, where Jesus turns the water into wine, and it is his mother who pushes him into that miracle. And how does Jesus refer to her in that story? As “woman.” So, it doesn’t seem to be as dismissive as we at first might see it.
Additionally, there has been a tradition of interpreting this passage as just a representation of the patriarchal nature of 1st century Palestine, in that a woman needed to be in relationship with a man, not just for identity, but for protection and support. And there is probably something to that, but if that was the only reason Jesus said this, then all he would have to saw to the disciple is to take care of her. But he doesn’t. Instead, he gives both new roles and new responsibilities, he gives both new relationships. Here is you son. Here is your mother. And we can see that because the Greek word used here for home, does not refer to a physical building, but instead to a familial relationship in which they are both responsible for each other. It’s like when we say this is a difference between a house and a home. Now it’s possible that Mary did actually go to live in his house as well, but what Jesus is doing, in the moment of his death, is to create a new relationship to form a new family. Earlier in chapter 16 Jesus had said, “The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone.” Here that proclamation to the disciples is reversed, that while others have indeed scattered, here is the person who might be said to be his original disciple, his mother, and the beloved disciple, who are there at the cross and who will become home for each other. They form the new family that will become the church and serve as the example of what the church is supposed to be.
That is the reason that some have argued that neither the disciple nor Mary are named. It’s because while they represent actual historic figures, they are also set to represent us as well. That we are to see ourselves melded into this family of Christ, to truly understand that when we become baptized and are adopted by God as beloved children, that we also become brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, in the faith. And John has already told us that this will be the case because in chapter one John says about Jesus, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” Jesus forms a new family that day on the cross, a family which continues to us today, and we are called to see each other as brothers and sisters, as mothers and fathers. Here is your son. Here is your mother.
Even though as a society we have the ability to be more connected than ever, the truth is, we are more alone than ever. But the church, when it is at its best, creates, promotes and provides community and family, not based on blood relations or on shared opinions, but on belief and worship of God and his son. One of our strategic goals is to make sure everyone is cared for in times of triumph and in tragedy. That means being there, supporting one another, being present. It doesn’t mean having to know what to day or what to do, it just means telling our brothers and sisters than we care about them. I can speak from experience that in the worst moments of my life, knowing that someone was there for me has made all the difference. The first funeral I ever performed, just a month and a half into my first appointment, was for a 15-month-old who had died, and in the audience that day was a member of the congregation who didn’t know the family but who showed up, she told me, so that I would have someone in the congregation who was working and praying for me, as I worked and prayed for the family. I later found out that Susan had also lost a child, and so knew what the family was going through. I know that for many of you, and for many others that we also support, that knowing that your church family was there made a difference for you.
But one caveat on that is notice what Mary doesn’t say. She doesn’t say “No, I’m okay.” “I’ve got this covered.” “I’ll let you know if I need anything.” “I’ve got other children to help me if I need it.” She doesn’t say any of those things. Instead she allows the beloved disciple to serve her, and she, more than likely, also serves him. Because one of the biggest ways we can be of service is to allow others to serve us. To admit, as hard as it might be, that we cannot do it alone, and that we need help, or that we are willing to allow others into our lives to let us know that they care at times when it might be uncomfortable for us to do that. Jesus calls for both his mother and the disciple to drop their guard and allow the other to be a part of their life and to participate in their life as they would with a blood relation, and we should too.
Additionally, there is a generational reality represented in this story, and another of our strategic goals is to support and expand the programs and ministries we offer for middle and senior high students, but we cannot do that without your help, to have you hear “Woman, here is your son” and “Man, here is your daughter.” And to reach out in powerful and meaningful ways, especially at a time when they are not listening to their real mothers and fathers because they are clueless. As some of you have heard me say before, the church is the last truly intergenerational organization left in society, and when we are at our best we make use of that and support and promote and create that reality. And that also means recognizing that it doesn’t just go one way, of us to the youth, but also allowing the youth to teach us and be open to ways they can serve, because it is the beloved disciple who takes Mary into his own home.
While we have many gifts, there is but one Spirit, while we are many people, we are but one body, and we are called, as Paul tells us, “into one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” And Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” Amen.
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