Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 14 May 2016 "Jesus' example of how we are to care for our mothers"

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 14 May 2016 "Jesus' example of how we are to care for our mothers"

Saturday, 14 May 2016 - "Jesus’ example of how we are to care for our mothers"
Daily Scripture: John 19:25 Nearby Yeshua’s execution stake stood his mother, his mother’s sister Miryam the wife of K’lofah, and Miryam from Magdala. 26 When Yeshua saw his mother and the talmid whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Mother, this is your son.” 27 Then he said to the talmid, “This is your mother.” And from that time on, the talmid took her into his own home.
Reflection Questions:
A widow with no son or other male relative to protect her had few legal rights and little social status in Jesus’ day. Jesus would do no less for his mother than he had for the widow in Nain (cf. Luke 7:11-15). Yet he could not just give her back the son she had borne, as he did for that widow. He had brothers, but John 7:5 said they did not believe in him yet. So in the midst of his suffering, he provided for his mother by asking one of his most faithful followers to care for her.

We often tell one another that we’ll “be there” for each other. In what ways was Mary “there” for Jesus during his earthly life? What price did she have to pay in order to “be there” as he was crucified? How was Jesus “there” for Mary, in spite of the suffering of the cross? We don’t like to think about our mortality, so we often only think about “being there” for our mothers or our children in terms of our personal presence. But every day families around us deal with the problems that come from that lack of planning. Are you willing to deal with your discomfort by intentionally making provision for those who depend on you if for any reason you aren’t able to be personally present for them?

Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for the unsentimental example you left me of how to honor your mother. Help me to follow your example in all of the important relationships in my life. Amen.
Family Activity:
Through the ages, God has used women in powerful ways to help fulfill God’s purpose. God chose Mary in particular to be the mother of Jesus knowing she would be faithful to God in countless ways. Share stories with your children about women in your lives who have been faithful to God. Talk about grandmothers, aunts, neighbors, church friends, and teachers who have been examples of God’s grace and love. Identify ways you can grow to become more faithful to God and share God’s love and grace with others. Pray and thank God for Mary, the mother of Jesus, and for each woman of God who has touched your life.
Insights from Liz Gyori

Liz Gyori serves as the Group Life Training Program Director at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
As the mother of two daughters and one son, I can imagine no greater agony than having to stand by and witness the torture and murder of one of my children. It is so painful to consider that I have never really allowed myself to “go there” and think deeply about Mary’s suffering during Jesus’ crucifixion.
The gospels tell us of a few phrases that Jesus spoke from the cross, including this passage from John, where Jesus addresses his mother and his disciple. I wish we knew what Mary said to her son as she stood nearby. Perhaps she was praying, or perhaps she was speaking whatever words of comfort and encouragement she could muster. She might have been sobbing, her words swallowed by her tears. We don’t know for sure. But she was there with Jesus – present at the beginning of his earthly life, and present at its end.
Although much of the artwork depicting this moment shows a demure Mary standing at the foot of the cross with her head bowed in grief, that’s not how I picture her in this moment. This was a woman who was faithful to God from the moment she learned she was to be a mother, in the most difficult-to-believe circumstances. She had faced her challenges with an extraordinary courage that came from her deep faith. I picture her looking straight up at her son, ready to lock eyes with him, conveying her deep love through her gaze. As his mother, she was willing to witness and share in his pain. And Jesus, knowing she was there, lovingly acknowledged her sacrificial presence and demonstrated his love for her in the midst of his suffering.
Mary showed us that sometimes the only way to express our love for someone is to be with them to witness their pain, which can be extremely hard to do. She could not take her son down from that cross, no matter how much she wanted to. But her presence conveyed the message that all of us desperately need when we are suffering: I am here with you. I see what you are going through. I love you.