Comfort from the Cross (Final Words Part III)

Sermon Title: Comfort from the Cross

Good News Statement: Jesus consoles (comforts) us with ease

Preached: Sunday, March 20, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): John 19:25-27 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of John chapter nineteen verses twenty-five thru twenty-seven. Listen to the words of the Beloved Disciple…

²⁵Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

 Introduction:

A man, his wife, and his cranky mother-in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away. The undertaker told them, “You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150”.

The man thought about it for a while and told the undertaker he would just have her shipped home. The undertaker asked, “Why…. why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home when it would be wonderful to be buried here and spend only $150?” The man said, “A man died here about 2000 years ago. He was buried here and three days later, he rose from the dead.” “I just can’t take that chance.”

During life you will or have been asked to take many chances. You may have taken a chance on someone by asking them out on a second date. You may have taken a chance on someone who you really don’t know to help you complete a project. You may have taken a chance by fixing your own vehicle. You may have taken a chance on doing something new in your life. You may have taken a chance on a friend to help you with an assignment or help you study or give you advice as you play basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, or even soccer. You may have even taken a chance on a college basketball team to win March Madness. And you may have even taken a chance on accepting your mother-in-law into your life.

Life is filled with chances. Jesus took a chance on twelve individuals to help him spread the good news. These individuals consisted of lowly fishermen, a tax-collector, persons from the fields, and a Zealot: these individuals probably weren’t even the ideal religious elders of their communities. But he took a chance on them. He taught them, led them, nurtured them, and prepared them for being able to share the good news. Matthew states when quoting Jesus, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always…” (Matthew 28:18-20). Even though Jesus calls his disciples a faithless generation, he takes a chance on them and gives them the instructions to go, make disciples, baptize them, and teaches them all what he has taught them. However, at a time of death, those who Jesus took a chance on are nowhere to be seen, except for Mary and John.

When Jesus calls upon you, are willing to listen and take a chance on his instructions? Would you be willing to be the support system that Jesus needs you to be for his people? How can you comfort those who need comforting? Jesus, even during death, comforts us and takes a chance on us. Can you do the same?

Opening Prayer:

        Let us pray…Dear Heavenly Father, as we continue to better understand the importance of your Son’s words as he hung on the cross, help us today to provide comfort to all those who need comforting. Allow us to give affection and support to your people in a time of need. I pray that my words fall to the ground as your words settle in the hearts of all those before me. In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Body:

Our crucifixion perspective this morning comes from Mary, the wife of Clopas and sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

I begged her not to follow as Jesus was led to be crucified. “Mary, it will be too hard. You don’t want to see this,” I told her. But she said to me, “I will not let my son die alone among these wolves.” And so we went, joined by only one of the disciples, the young John, and Mary Magdalene. I wondered, “Where the other disciples were? And where were Jesus’ siblings?”

            Jesus’ mother was a strong and determined woman. And she loved her son as much as any woman ever loved a son. He was to her the joy of her life and the purpose of her existence. Jesus had sought to prepare her for what lay ahead in Jerusalem. Somehow she had always known he would die as a young man, giving his life to save the world. Although she knew the outcome, I can’t imagine what she was going through. Seeing her son hanging on the cross, covered in blood, scars caked with dirt, people yelling at him, and hearing him scream in agony with each breath that he took. Words probably can’t describe what Mary was feeling: her son was dying before her very eyes and there was nothing that she could do.

            Mary was determined to stand near Jesus as he suffered, though. She would fight to hold back the tears, seeking to show her son strength and love. She would do all she could, standing there, to ease his pain and to give him hope.

            As the crowd hurled their insults, Mary slowly pushed her way through until she stood before him. There he hung, naked so as to humiliate and in wretched pain. Jesus’ feet were two feet off the ground, and from where Mary stood she could reach up and touch his chest, though the Roman guards forbade such things. As we stood there, Mary said to Jesus, “I love you, my son. Your Father will soon come for you. You are in his hands. I love you, my son.”

            It was then that Jesus looked at his mother and spoke slowly and tenderly to her, “Dear woman, this now is your son.” He nodded his head toward John. And then, to John he said, “Here is your mother.” John placed his arm around Mary and held her as if to say to Jesus, “I understand, I will take care of her.”

            We slowly backed away and fell to the ground. I caught a glimpse of an older man escorting his sons away from the crowd. I heard Jesus speak to one of the criminals. Then I looked over at Mary to see John wrapping his arms around her. I thought to myself, “Will Jesus be able to wrap his arms around me ever again? Will I be able to wrap my arms around him?” His chest stopped moving and he bowed his head; and Mary said one more time, “I love you, my son.” (Final Words From The Cross, Adam Hamilton, 51-52).

Just before Jesus says the famous but terrifying words, “It is finished,” Jesus extends his care and comfort. This isn’t the first instance where we see Jesus provide care to those while being crucified. Remember, Jesus, while hanging from the cross, looks out into the crowd, maybe making eye contact with some, and says, “Father, forgive, them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus is providing care and comfort to both the accusers and the victims, to non-believers and believers, to the resident alien and citizens, and to those missing and present. Later, Jesus finds enough strength to say these words to one of the criminals, who simply asked Jesus to remember him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Jesus finds the strength to offer care and forgiveness to a criminal, to a sinner, at the hour of his death. And prior to being nailed to the cross, Luke records Jesus offering care and support to a group of women who were beating their breasts and wailing and weeping (Luke 23:27). Jesus turns to these women and says, “Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me…” (Luke 23:28). Under immense pain, agony, and defeat, Jesus stops and cares for these weeping women: turn your attention towards others who need care.

Charged to die, Jesus provides care for others before he cares for himself: Jesus provides care as he “saves and seeks the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus provides care even as death is knocking at his door, as he sees his final resting place. Are we willing to stop what we are doing to offer care and support to those around us?

From the cross, Jesus does something that no one expected. Not even Mary the wife of Clopas or even John expected Jesus to do what he did. At the hour of his death, he gives care, support, and comfort to his grieving mother and to a young and lost disciple. Jesus simply says to both of them, as he looks down from the cross, “’Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother’” (John 19:26-27). In just a few seconds, Jesus’ decision to make sure that his mother and John are taken care of during this time of grief and sorrow, we get a glimpse of the power that Jesus has even at a time of death.

Paul elaborates on this power when he writes to both the people of Philippi and Rome. When writing to the citizens of Philippi, Paul notes, “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). And then writing to Rome, Paul makes it very clear that we are to give preference to one another: Paul writes, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor…” (Romans 12:10). It is through honor that Jesus puts his mother before himself; it is through honor that Jesus grants John with the charge to take care of Mary; and it is through honor that Jesus sets aside his own desires and offers care for those in his life. Remember, it’s not his will that will be done, but the will of the Father that will be done. Through honor, we are asked by Jesus to love one another as he as loved us (John 13:34-35).

From this new commandment of loving one another as Jesus has loved us, we are demanded to put others before ourselves and to give others care and support and comfort. But are we doing that? Are we giving care, support, and comfort to all those who need it? If you are saying yes, then I ask you, could you be showing a little bit more care, support, and comfort to those in your life today? Is there someone in your life, who you know needs to be cared for, but you haven’t given them the proper care that they need? Jesus from the cross, to his grieving mother—who I can’t even fathom or put together what she is feeling as she looks at her son struggling to breathe and just minutes from death—gives unconditional care and comfort. Jesus consoles us at our deepest hour of need.

Author Adam Hamilton notes that this passage is an extension of what God writes on the stone tablets which Moses brought down from Mount Sinai to the Israelite people. One of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses is exemplified at this point of the crucifixion, and it states we are to honor our father and mother. By this time of Jesus’ life, Joseph—Jesus’ earthly father—has passed away; so Jesus knows that Mary will need to be cared for now more than ever. Jesus was concerned for his mother. So he asked John, the beloved disciple, to care of Mary, and he asked his mother to accept John’s protection and care. Without directly saying it, Jesus is creating a support system for his mother and for John by giving them both honor.

In creating this support system, Jesus is providing care for his mother. John takes note of this situation, by noting earlier in the prologue to his Gospel, that Jesus is God’s Word made flesh—that in his words and in his life we see and understand God and God’s will for humankind. God’s will is not just showing love to one another, but it concerns the acts of being tender-hearted, of providing care, of showing support, of being there for one another, and of giving comfort when comfort is needed. God’s will for humankind is for each of us to make sure that those in our life know that they have a support system and that they are respected and honored. It’s extremely paramount to be a support system especially during a season of mourning.

While working on this message, I kept thinking about a particular individual that I met when I was a chaplain. It was close to Christmas time and I was on call at the hospital. I received a page at 3:00 in the morning to go visit a patient. When I arrived the older woman said, “Chaplain, I’ve never told anyone this, but during the Christmas season I feel a special connection to Mary.” I asked, “How so?” She replied, “My thirty-one year old son died ten years ago in a tragic accident. When I lost him, I lost part of myself that I will never be able to get back. Mary lost something that she can never get back.” I asked her how she imagined Mary felt in the years after Jesus’ death, and this is what she said: “I’m sure she lived with great sadness always, but because she loved her son so much and saw what he was trying to accomplish, I’m sure that was her mission in life—to carry on what he was trying to do in his life. She was a very brave and strong woman….” After talking with this individual, I thought to myself, “I will never be able to fully understand or know what someone is going through when they lose a child. In these situations, I must try to be the best support system I can be.”

Jesus, by saying “Behold your mother,” and “Behold your son,” is reminding us that just because we may not know exactly what someone is going through that is not an excuse to not provide them with care. If God is willing to take care of us, then we should be willing to take care of His people. If Jesus, moments from death, is willing make sure that his mother is taken care of, then certainly we can set aside our own wants and desires to offer support to someone in our life. If Jesus is taking the time to highlight the importance of honor just before death, then shouldn’t we be doing the same? Shouldn’t we be willing, through acts of compassion, kindness, care, and support, strive to make disciples of Jesus Christ teaching them and letting them know that He will forever be with them?

In times of mourning, Jesus is there. In times of pain, Jesus is there. In moments of sorrow, grief, fear, and even excitement, happiness, and joy, Jesus is there. Jesus is there to comfort and care for his people. Jesus is here to take care of you. He chose to set aside his own interests to save his people: to care for them, to love them, and to be their support system. If Jesus can do these things, then I believe we can do them as well. Jesus took a chance be giving John his mother—to wrap his arms around her, to be her “son.” The time has come for us to take a chance, to spread our care and support and comfort to those who simply need to be taken care of. From the cross, Jesus consoles us and takes care of us. Shouldn’t we be willing to do the same of others?

Conclusion:

John’s inclusion of the story of Mary standing at the foot of the cross and watching Jesus die reminds us that the most important woman who ever lived, the woman who God loved and “highly favored,” walked through the unrelenting devastation of losing a child. She came to understand the suffering of those who have lost a child. But Jesus did not intend for Mary’s loss to be the end of her life. She had work yet to do, and her loss prepared her to care for others and to be a compelling witness to others for the rest of her life. Jesus’ words to “Behold your son” and “Behold your mother” remind us that this mission is ours, as well—caring for those Jesus cares for as if they are our own family.

Congregation Participation: ___do you care for___? And ___ do you care for___?

From the cross, Jesus is calling out to each of you to take a chance and start caring for those in your life: set aside your own interests and be the support system that Jesus needs you to be. Who needs to be cared for in your life? Who needs to know that they are loved? Who needs to know that God will take care of them? “Be not dismayed whatever betide, God will take care of you. Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you” (The New Church Hymnal, 1976, #328). By giving His one and only Son, God has proven that He will take care of us. Now is the time to repay that promise. Are you ready to take care of others? The choice is yours…. “Behold your son” and “Behold your mother.”

Closing Prayer:

Let us pray. Dear Lord Jesus, there are many people in our life that need your care and support. As individuals and as a church guide us towards those people: let us offer them the same care and support that you have given us. Lord, we are here to make disciples and to remind everyone that you will take care of them. In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Benediction:

This world is in desperate need of being cared for. Are you willing to be the support system that Jesus needs you to be? The time has come to reinstall Jesus’ love and care in this world. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go, transforming lives as you live well and wisely in God’s world. Amen. Amen. Amen.