John 19:23-30
(NO sermon note)
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.
25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home.
28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
This evening’s reading reminds me of the one about a teacher who gave her class an assignment to ask their parents to tell a story with a moral at the end of it. The following day the kids came back and one by one went through their stories. There were all the regular things: never too old to learn, never give up, no crying over spilled milk, stuff like that. Finally, they came to the last kid who had been awfully quiet throughout the presentations. He sheepishly started in, “My daddy told a story about my Grampa. He was a pilot flying a combat mission and he only got halfway back when his plane got hit badly. He had to jump out and parachute down into enemy territory, but all he had was a glass flask of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife. He drank the whiskey on the way down so the bottle wouldn’t break and when he landed, he was surrounded by four enemy soldiers. Gramps shot two of them right away and kept firing at the other two until he ran out of bullets. He stabbed one of them with the knife but then the blade broke so he busted the whisky bottle and killed him with that. Then he strangled the last one to death with his bare hands. The teacher was appalled, “Good God! What kind of moral did your daddy say came from that horrible story?!” To which the kid responded, “Dad said it was this– whenever Grampa’s drinking, stay the hell away from him.”
Now see, I’d argue there was a more practical moral to the story: always be prepared when the original mission fails. And from the sounds of it, ole boy was prepared. A flask, a pistol, and a knife can get you out of a tight fix! But boy, what a story! It’s no wonder grandpas who have experienced the horrors of war tend to keep their experiences to themselves. War has a nasty way of bringing about the worst in people. I mean, it IS life or death so it can’t all be stories of heroism and overcoming insurmountable challenges. No, war is ugly and should be avoided at all costs.
But grandpa had a mission and he accomplished it. Two missions, in fact: the one that he flew out to for and the one that involved getting back alive. Not unlike our friend, Jesus, in today’s reading. We heard Jesus knew that he had accomplished his mission after he paired his beloved disciple up with his mother. Which naturally begs the question, “Well, what was his mission then?” Surely it wasn’t the same two-fold mission of grandpa that involved striking and getting back alive. No, Jesus’ mission was always a one-way mission, a suicide mission if you were. Jesus tells us, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” (Luke 19:10) Jesus was sent into our world with a mission to save us and in order to do that, he had to die on our behalf. For Jesus, the mission was both to strike and to die. And I don’t suppose we can really consider his life and ministry as a “strike” on our world. Jesus taught about God’s love and shared his love with us. Just the world wasn’t ready to receive his gift of love. Or more accurately, the world wasn’t able to receive his gift of love. But Jesus himself accomplished what he was sent to do: to save us.
Now then, was that all he was sent to do? Well, not necessarily. In saving us, he revealed something far more important. He revealed the full depth of God’s love for us. Friends, God loves us and God is willing to die for us. God DID die for us! God is love! Even on the cross, as Jesus was suffering, he turned to his mother and said, “Dear woman, here is your son.” Then he said to beloved disciple standing near her, “Here is your mother.” Now I always thought that Jesus was referring to himself when speaking to his mother. “Look, mom, look what they’ve done to me.” Instead, Jesus was talking to the beloved disciple. He was establishing a mother/son bond between two relative strangers! And what greater bond is there than that shared between a parent and a child? Well, a bond between spouses can become equally great but that would have added a bit of awkwardness to Jesus’ words. “Dear woman, here is your husband” and the accompanying “Here is your husband” probably wouldn’t have gone over as well. The point is that even in his suffering, Jesus established a relationship that can and often does produce great love. Why? Because God is love…Jesus is love! Jesus lives on through love and loving relationships! In establishing that bond between Mary and the beloved disciple, Jesus kept himself alive. I can’t think of any more powerful last words spoken on a deathbed! Thus is the power of love…it lives on after death. God’s love conquers death itself!
So, Jesus’ mission was twofold: to save us and to reveal God’s love for us. I’d take one step further: to empower us. Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John 20:21) And again in the book of Acts, “I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.” (13:47) God’s love was not only passed on by Mary and the beloved disciple. It was passed on through the disciples and everyone they ever encountered, including US! His love is within US and it was given to be shared with the world around us. God’s love is eternal and all-encompassing!
As we go through these three Holy days, let us be mindful of Jesus’ threefold mission to save us, reveal God’s love to us, and empower us to share that love with the world. What an amazing mission to behold! Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
