There were a number of eye opening items for me in this chapter considering my limited understanding up till this point!
Jesus was tired! He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was physically and emotionally drained during his ministry. He gave all that he had! He was driven by love for man. He looked over the faces that looked so expectantly at him, so full of hope, and he kept giving. He knew his time was limited - was short. What he had to say needed to be said now.
I really can't blame Mary for doing what she did. She saw all this happening to her son and showed her care and concern. But maybe she lost sight of who he was for a moment - not just her son but God's Son.
Not to throw Mary under the bus but just to recap, here's where Mary went wrong:
- Mary questioned Jesus' choices.
- Mary tried to pull Jesus away from his teaching.
- Mary underestimated the lengths that Jesus was willing to go in order to bring others to faith and win their forgiveness.
- Mary also suspected that Jesus was out of his mind... No one in their "right" mind would choose to do what Jesus did: climb the cross for the sake of those who didn't treat him well, who opposed him at every turn. Make no mistake: that includes you and me. (103)
As Jesus continued teaching, the crowd gathered around him and he chose not to respond to the concern of his family waiting outside for him by getting up and going to them. We read what this meant to the crowd. Not only did he stay with them, but he used it as a lesson. They were his family. "Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." Here was a Brother bound to them by an infinite, unwavering love and by the blood he would one day shed for their sake. Loneliness fled, and those hearts would never be the same again. Now I'm seeing it from the perspective of the expectant crowd and seeing what this meant to them - and to us! We are in that crowd, too and he is speaking to us. We aren't Jesus' family by birth, but we are his family by blood - the blood he shed on the cross to seal our adoption. (105)
I am praying that prayer there at the end and putting my imperfections at the cross. Make me that mother, Lord - a mother who looks to you and believes. (106)
Mothering Like Mary
Crystal seems to have as good a handle on the technology in her home as one could have. I don't quite have the same issues in my home as she does in hers but technology is still something we've struggled with as parents. My teenager is a boy and there are different challenges with how he uses technology that don't include much social media although we've had discussions about his instagram account! I'm always looking for wisdom in this area and like to hear what others are doing to parent in a way that generations before didn't have to worry about.
I like all of Crystal's ideas and it sounds as if she's doing the right thing! It does require effort and a constant awareness of what's new out there.
Ponder
Jesus regards Christian women as his own sisters and mothers. How does this affect the way you think of yourself when you look in the mirror? Instead of seeing my age spots and imperfections reflect back at me, I can focus on Jesus reflecting his perfection on me. It's not what I see but what matters more is what I can't see. That he would regard me as his family is more meaningful than whether I have wrinkles! I am worthy in his sight!!
2 comments:
Rachel’s opening paragraph of commentary reflects my sentiments about the scenario in the Scripture reading.
“Mary questioned Jesus’ choices. So have I…. As if I can teach God wisdom. As if I, with my limited human vision, can see farther into the future than my God who already dwells there.” (p. 103) Well-worded reminder!
“Mary underestimated the lengths that Jesus was willing to go in order to bring others to faith and win their forgiveness. He wouldn’t just give up mealtimes and bedtimes, he would give up his life.” (p. 103) When I get tired and hungry, my feelings of love for others become quite limited. My patience gets short, and my focus hones in on getting myself some food and/or rest. But Jesus was undeterred by his body's physical needs. To the point of death. Just like the paragraph that spans p. 103-104 says. Jesus was out of his mind with love for me. Unworldly, illogical, amazing love.
This entire chapter was just beautiful, but I think the part that was most touching to me came from the last paragraph on page 104. "Like a key sliding into place, Jesus' words slipped into his listeners' hearts. The doors behind which loneliness crouched swung open. And into those hidden rooms stepped Jesus. Not as a mere friend who might come and go according to more personal priorities, but as a brother. A Brother bound to them by an infinite, unwavering love and by the blood he would one day shed for their sake. Loneliness fled, and those hearts would never be the same again." This is who Jesus is. He knows every hidden room of my heart where lots of things worse than loneliness crouch. He does not react with disgust at what he sees, but with love for the heart he inhabits. And he cleans it out! He piles all the clutter and filth on himself, and takes it to our Father as his own clutter and filth, while I get to stand pristine as one who has never had a sinful thought in my entire life. This housecleaning is a continuous thing. He wants so much to live in me as a Brother and a Friend that he stays and just keeps cleaning as I continue to make messes. This is not a love of anything good in me that attracted him in the first place. This is not a love that has limits - I don't have to put up a facade around my ugly parts to avoid repelling him. He sees it all and stays. So I rest in that friendship. This is what I need to find ways to communicate to my children about Jesus' love.
-Mothering-
Trends in social media class – I too have attended a seminar about that, and if you have the opportunity to attend something like it, I would highly recommend it.
We moms sure know about housecleaning! But now I'll be thinking of this different kind of "housecleaning" that Jesus does inside of me:)
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