Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Seeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother: “Woman, there is your son.” In turn he said to the disciple: “There is your mother.” From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care.
John 19:25-27
Mary stands at the foot of the cross with the youthful apostle John. In this scene, we see the beginning of the church. Jesus gives Mary to John as his mother, and he tells Mary that John is her son. John represents all of us. He represents the visible church. Mary is the mother of the church.
Mary is a model for the church. We are asked to be like Mary and accept the word of God even when we don’t fully understand it. We are asked to be receptive and patient as we wait for God to work out his plan of salvation. As Mary stands by the Cross, she knows better than anyone else the horror and injustice of what is happening. She received the Annunciation directly from God’s great messenger, the Archangel Gabriel. She is this day living out the prophecy she received from Simeon when she presented the infant Jesus at the Temple. And her heart is being pierced by the sword of sorrow.
John is the youngest of the apostles by a large measure. In may of the gospel stories, he trails along with his older brother James and with the apostle Peter, so he has seen the wonders of the Son of God. But he is not the leader of the visible church. It was Peter who was called the rock and upon whom Jesus instituted the visible church on earth. So John stands for all of us who are not the leadership of the church. Notice in this scene that the leadership of the church has run away. Only our Mother stands with us in our hour of tribulation.
Mary is the Mother of the Church. She cares for it as only a mother can. She has appeared many times over the centuries to call it back to the will of her son Jesus Christ. As she did in the wedding at Cana, she comes back from time to time to remind us to do whatever he tells us. On Good Friday, we deeply experience the distance between us and our heavenly father. In this word, Jesus gives us an intimate mother from whom there never is any distance. She is ever close to us, no matter how far from us God feels. We can turn to her when we feel we cannot see him. She will show us how to live faithful lives with incomplete knowledge and unclear sight. She will show us the path of humble acceptance of God’s providence, patiently waiting for his will to be done.
Let us take strength from our mother to be like John, willing to stand with Jesus in his hours of torment. Jesus is persecuted today as he was on Good Friday. Arrayed against him are determined enemies, principally secular modernists who have rejected obedience to the truth of God and have taken up as if it were a new discovery the ancient lie of the devil. These enemies proclaim that our heavenly father is a liar, and we should not trust in him but depend entirely on ourselves for everything that is good. This was the lie of the serpent in the garden, and it is the lie of the world today. And sadly, the smoke of Satan has entered the church.
But we know Good Friday is not the end. The Easter resurrection will come for us. The promise of heaven is true for those who trust in God despite the assaults of the enemies of the church. God has a plan. Good Friday is truly good because Mary’s son makes the ultimate sacrifice. And the joy of the Easter victory will surely follow. We can stand like John in the company of our mother and be true disciples of Jesus on the cross.
Bound in Love 
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