Day 34

When Jesus saw His Mother, and the Disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the Disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27 (From the Gospel of the Ninth Hour on Good Friday Morning)

Often, when we talk about the birth if the Church, we look at the Feast of Pentecost. This event of the Holy Spirit descending on the Apostles, of so many being brought to the knowledge of Jesus, stands out as a natural starting point of the Church. Today, Fr. Stavros makes a compelling case that the Church truly began in the compassionate act we see in today’s scripture passage. As he mentions, today’s passage is such a powerful and profound moment in the Passion of Christ.

As most of you are aware, the Church has been life streaming its services so that the faithful, the members of the Church, can find comfort and solace during this difficult time. But as is the case with a public and somewhat anonymous platform, there will always be those who try to make light of or discredit what we do, what we believe.

Last week, as part of the Diocesan pray effort on Thursdays, we live streamed the Moleben to the Mother of God. There was a comment posted on our Facebook page stating that we were, in effect, idol worshippers for having a service dedicated to the Mother of God. As we look at today’s passage and reflection, we can see how silly this statement truly is.

As Fr. Stavros points out, Jesus set in motion the creation of the Church by commending the care of His beloved Mother to the Disciple John and the care of His beloved Disciple to the Virgin Mary. The Virgin becomes the image of the Church and the Disciple becomes the image of the faithful. And it is this relationship that comforts us and gives us strength.

We struggle today during this pandemic. We struggle with isolation, fear, uncertainty and any number of other worries. As I listen each day to the news reports and press conferences, I wonder what the mood was like at the time of the Crucifixion. I imagine there were many of the same feelings. Can you imagine how the Virgin Mary felt as she watched her Son die on the cross, as she watched His body taken down by Joseph of Arimathea and see it put into a tomb? She did not have anything to truly comfort her at that moment.

But we do. We have the Church, we have the Mother of God. And by extension from her, we have the Church. And the Church is more than the building that we gather in…the Church is us, each and every one of us. In one of the services we offer in the Church, we are told “there is no greater intercessor than a Mother before her Son”. This is why we offer Molebens and Paraklis services to the Mother of God, to ask for her intercession before her Son and our God.

Yes, it is a difficult time right now for everyone the world over. But we have comfort and solace in knowing that the Mother of God intercedes for us. We have comfort and solace in each other, the body of the Church. Now is the time to come close to the Church, to our faith, to our love for God. We may be separated physically, but for those who believe, those who have faith, we are never separated. As we navigate our way through this difficult time, remember the words of Jesus:

Behold you Mother (the Church)!

In Christ

Fr. David