Woman, Behold Thy Son:
A Mother’s Day Sermon
The Rev. Dr. Andrew M. T. Dibb
When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by,
whom He loved, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’
Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’ (John 19:26,27)
T
he relationships between parents and children, especially between
mothers and their children, can be very complex. Not necessarily difficult,
but complex. Mothers are the primary caregivers to their children, but also
have to let their children go as they grow up and mature. So mothering is a
combination of holding tight and letting go at the same time.
In celebration of Mother’s Day, I want to focus on one particular mother:
Mary, mother of our Lord, who experienced exactly this complex relationship
with her Son, the Lord.
When the Lord was born, Mary acted toward Him as any mother would:
she wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, as there
was no bed for Him. As mother to the Child Jesus, Mary seems to have been
normal to her age and environment. She followed the customary religious
practices: waiting eight days until her purification period was finished, and
then, with Joseph, taking the child to the Temple in Jerusalem to be dedicated
to the Lord.
It was during this time that Mary had a momentary glimpse into the
future when the aged Simeon blessed the Lord, but told Mary He would be a
“sign which shall be spoken against; yes,” Simeon said to Mary, “a sword shall
pierce through your own soul also.” (Luke 2:35)
That sword seemed to come very quickly when Herod heard about the
Lord’s birth. After ascertaining that the Lord had been born in Bethlehem, he
sent his soldiers to kill all infant boys. Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to escape
his wrath.
Like every mother, Mary would have played a central role in the Lord’s
early life. Although neither the Bible nor the Heavenly Doctrines for the New
Church say much about Mary’s role in raising the Lord, her presence is always
there under the surface. For example, in the following passage we are told:
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