Only love can speak to love
The Gospel of John 19:26 — “Woman here is your son…”.
As Jesus’ life bleeds away, we find Mary and John at the foot of the Cross. Jesus has another act of compassion and love to complete – the bequest of love, to love. His mother, with all the love a mother has for her son, and with all the reciprocated love that the Son of God is capable of, is given over to the beloved disciple. “Woman here is your son…”.
Only love is worthy, even capable, of caring for love.
True to the compassion of God to the end, Jesus offers nothing but love to the world. From His refusal to fight for His life through to His final act of forgiveness extended to His executioners, Jesus fidelity to love is the reason He hung there. Our inability, even refusal to grasp the concept of God’s “redeeming” love as opposed to our insistence on “punishing” love, is what put Him there.
I’m reminded of a line from Michael Card’s song, “Why”: “…And why did they nail His feet and hands, His love would have held Him there”. *
A mother/son relationship is a special one. Jesus would not entrust care of his mother to just anyone. I imagine that any of the disciples would have gladly taken Mary in and cared for her. I also imagine that Jesus would have wanted a loving care for His mother that was closest to His own love. It is not that the other disciples were incapable of it; it’s that John grasped it first.
John was His choice. John had placed his head on Jesus’ chest, to His heart, and knew Jesus’ heartbeat. Remembering that heartbeat would guide John’s understanding of Jesus and his response to that understanding for the rest of his life. Jesus knew that. Jesus would have nothing less for his mother.
Only love can speak to love.
*WHY
By Michael Card
From: “Known By The Scars” [1984]
Accessed: https://genius.com/Michael-card-why-lyrics
Why did it have to be a friend
Who chose to betray the Lord?
And why did he use a kiss to show them
That’s not what a kiss is for?
Only a friend can betray a friend
A stranger has nothing to gain
And only a friend comes close enough
To ever cause so much pain
And why did it have to be a thorny
Crown pressed upon his head?
It should have been a royal one
Made of jewels and gold instead
It had to be a crown of thorns
Because in this life that we live
For all that would seek to love
A thorn is all the world has to give
Why did it have to be a heavy cross
He was made to bear?
And why did they nail His feet and hands
His love would have held him there
It was a cross for on a cross
A thief was supposed to pay
And Jesus had come into the world
To steal every heart away
Yes, Jesus had come into the world
To steal every heart away