On the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

One of the optional Gospel readings for today’s feast comes from the Fourth Gospel – John 19:25-27:

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there 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 the disciple took her into his home.

In the Gospel accounts of the Passion, Jesus only spoke seven times from the cross – and these were not throwaway comments. What was he doing on the cross? Accomplishing our salvation. And so, everything he said from the cross has to do with exactly that. We should pay close attention to his words. When Jesus entrusts his mother into John’ care, he’s not simply making domestic arrangements, but making a powerful point about life in God’s family, the Church: We can’t claim to have God as our Father, or Jesus as our divine elder brother, without having Mary as our mother.

Interpreters of John’s Gospel often point out that John, the son of Zebedee, although in all likelihood the author of this Gospel, never identifies himself by name in the book. Instead, he refers to himself as the “beloved disciple”, or “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. This is more than mere humility on John’s part; he is making a profound theological point: he (and his conduct) represents the model disciple of Jesus. It is John, who, unlike the others, doesn’t desert Jesus, remaining by the cross to comfort the Blessed Mother. And it is the “beloved’ disciple” who takes Mary into his home. Like him, all of us “beloved disciples” of our Lord must invite Mary into our “homes” – our very lives – and learn from her how to love Jesus more and more each day.

Postscript: For those of you in the GTA, my Bible study on The Gospel of John begins this Thursday! For more information, please email me using the “Contact” tab on this site.