VIDEO: Click the pic of Station 4 to see Jesus fall during "The Passion." Hollywood or not, this flashback sequencing of Jesus falling as a boy and on the way to the cross is a powerful representation of the love of a mother. THIS WEEK: The Stations of The Cross
Only A Mother Knows?
EDITOR’S NOTE: While you may or may not be familiar with “The Stations of The Cross,” it might be the perfect timing to “walk” with Christ through his passions as many people have time on their hands during the corona-crisis. “Jesus Is Met by Mary” This is Station 4 in The Stations of The Cross: My mom looked at me and said, “The teen years are so hard.” I sat red-eyed at the kitchen table. I was hung over or stoned - probably over some breakup. As self-centered as I was, I will never forget thinking that Mom could feel exactly what I was going through. Of course, it's not just when we do something wrong that cause moms to hurt. From the slightest head cold to our highest fever, mothers just can’t help themselves whether it comes to worry or heartbreak. It’s as if they experience what we feel plus some heavenly exponential empathy. In the physical, we are born from a mom who was born to care. In the spiritual, we are born-again of God when we renounce our natural man and receive Christ. Scripture says, “But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 15:45 ESV) When a mom is stabbed by the suffering of a child, it consumes her. Tradition holds that somewhere along the way to the cross, Jesus spots his mother. It is possible because she was in the crowd and Jesus actually responds to other moms at one point. What did Jesus behold when Mary couldn’t behold him? Only a mother knows. PORTAL TO HEAVEN: The intensity of a mom’s love for her child is a portal that gives us an idea of how deeply God cares – and pains - for each one of us. As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman’s only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, “Don’t cry.” Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, “Young man, I tell you: Get up.” The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother. Luke 7:12-15 MSG Comments: norepcom@gmail.com