SON, BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER

Ray McGlothlin is patriarch to a special family. I know Ray and this family and thought this was great verse for his wife Kay… and for the rest of us.

“Son, Behold Your Mother.”

Jesus was hanging on the cross, almost expired. Breathing was painful. Nevertheless, He breathed out His heartfelt concern for His Mother, entrusting her care to his good friend John.

Mary was a special lady, so special she has even been venerated and deified as the “Mother of God” – particularly in faiths with largely Catholic roots. But within most Protestant fellowships, such as ours, Mary, though respected, has often been relegated to Ladies’ Bible Class settings, and neglected in the church at large.

Perhaps to our own loss. For Mary herself prophesied, “All generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:48).

But when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at the temple, the prophet Simeon warned her,
“a sword will pierce your heart.” (Luke 2:35).

So it is with motherhood. Even the most blest of mothers suffer excruciating loss.

As God called Mary, so
God calls us – both men and women – to allow His Spirit to penetrate our hearts and our minds, so Christ can be born in us, as Paul said:
“I am in birth pangs until Christ is formed in you.” (Gal. 4:19).

Each of us is the Virgin Mary.
Are you the woman at the
well? You are the Virgin Mary. Are you Mary Magdalene? You are the Virgin Mary.
Are you the woman about to be stoned by the mob? You are the Virgin Mary.
Are you Jewish? You are the Virgin Mary.
Are you male? you are the Virgin Mary.

There is neither rich nor poor, Jew nor Gentile, male or female, wise or unwise, young or old, educated or uneducated, overling or underling, master or slave. We are all one in Christ Jesus. We are – all and each – the Virgin Mary.

Each one must willingly allow God’s Spirit to penetrate us so we will be “born of the Spirit”.

So let us say with Mary:

“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word be fulfilled in me” -even knowing that a “sword shall pierce my heart.”

Mother’s Day 2021
In grateful memory of Kay –
Kathryn Elaine Dollar McGlothlin, (4-29-27/10-9-17)

“Behold your mother.” Jesus