I can’t help but think about how hard it was to be Mary during Jesus’ last days. Here was her baby boy, all grown up, being ridiculed and accused. Bruised, beaten, and hung on a cross. What was she thinking as she watched it happen?
Maybe she was remembering when the angel appeared to tell her she was with child. Remembering the fights she had with her family and with Joseph when she revealed the news. Thinking about all they had been through to have this child – this Son of God – the Messiah.
Or perhaps she was thinking about that special night when Jesus was born. The first time she held him in her arms. That long journey she and Joseph took while she was nine months pregnant. Searching for a safe place to give birth.
Maybe she was replaying the many miracles she had seen him perform. Thinking of all the lives he had changed during his three years of ministry.
She had to watch from afar as her oldest child – her beloved – breathed his last breath. She would never embrace him again. Never again see him laugh. She couldn’t even hold his hand as he died.
How did she survive it? Was she angry at God? Confused? Or did she know all along how it would end? How did she stop herself from trying to get him off the cross?
I imagine it was a little bit like this:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj-3gQdBpxM&w=590]
Mary’s faith has always astounded me. Her complete willingness to be God’s servant. To do whatever God asks of her. She willingly carried his child even though it was a major inconvenience to both her and Joseph. She, like any mother, loved Jesus more than she ever imagined. She watched him grow up. She helped him grow up.
And now … to watch him die on a cross …
She did it all … willingly … because she believed. She believed God was up to something amazing. She trusted in his promises.
My prayer these next few days is this: As I remember Jesus’ last days in preparation for the Easter celebration, may I be like Mary. May I be God’s willing servant – no matter how inconvenienced I might be. And may I always remember God’s promise to be faithful, no matter how dire the circumstances might seem.
This is beautiful, Crystal.
When I consider that you just became a mother this year, it adds a poignancy to the piece.
I know that when my husband’s son died I gained a whole new level of perspective on the sacrifice Christ made for us. God made for us. His only Son!