I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” vs. 18
John 14:18-21
It’s not unusual for people to have mixed feelings about their mothers. Occasionally children will blame them for any number of their emotional or psychological hang-ups, but more often they are held in deep regard and honored as a prime source of warmth and love. As a result, Mother’s Day has become the primary “Hallmark Holiday,” and outside of Christmas and Easter, is often the best attended service of the year in many congregations. Even golfing fathers become reluctant worshippers as mothers are extolled and celebrated. Of course mothers can’t be with us forever. One day each of them will die, often before we’re ready to lose them, and from then on we live as orphans, bereft of the one who has loved us so dearly. It’s not unusual to be moved to tears at the memory of the one who has passed out of our daily experience. Jesus must have been aware of such feelings and used that imagery to bring comfort to his disciples as he prepared for his death. “You won’t be orphans,” he tells them. “I am coming to you.” Some people report that they’ve sensed the presence of their mothers long after their deaths, and they like it that they’ve not been left alone. It’s that experience that Jesus was talking about. He’s not with us in the flesh, yet the continuing presence of his Spirit sustains us. Like a loving mother, Jesus never leaves us!
Thought for the Day: What legacy have I received from my mother?
0 Comments