Good Friday Ecumenical Service - THE THIRD WORD from the Cross
Standing near the CROSS OF JESUS were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
On Good Friday we have chosen as Christians to stand near the CROSS OF JESUS “with his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
• Standing near the CROSS OF JESUS we cannot escape our own mortality.
• Standing here we confront our own griefs, while feeling and praying for all parents whose children have predeceased them.
• Standing here we may not run from the injustice of the world and the part we play.
• Standing near the foot of the CROSS OF JESUS we weep for our sins!
Standing near the CROSS OF JESUS. We see Jesus! Have we noticed that he sees us? As in “when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple standing beside her…”
Tradition has it that Mary of Clopas, possibly the wife of Clopas as in some translations, was a relative of Mary the mother of Jesus. In the context of this Word from the CROSS OF JESUS this is significant. In this last hour we are given a glimpse of what Jesus’ death and resurrection will effect. He will bring into being a new family, the family of God, [and] the communion of saints.
Jesus doesn’t entrust his mother to a relative, but to a disciple. We are given to one another. This truth may startle us. It may even trouble us? We have responsibility for one another. The beginnings of the new family in God are set in motion at the foot of the CROSS OF JESUS. We must allow something to die within us that this truth might be born in us from above.
And from that time the disciple took her int his home. Immediately! Are you willing to become that kind of disciple? Are you ready to be enfolded into the family of God, which is the fellowship of those who are being made whole by the CROSS OF JESUS? Are you ready to welcome others in His name? How appropriate that we have come together today to see in each other the faith of Christ crucified, standing together near to the CROSS OF JESUS. Patrick Curran, Good Friday 2017
