Friday, April 10, 2009

Good Friday


Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his
mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother
"Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother."
(John 18:1-19; 42)

None of the other three Gospels mention that any of the family of Jesus--or any of the disciples--were near the cross

But the Gospel of John has two family members there--Jesus' mother and his aunt. We seldom think of his aunt at the cross. She was probably there mostly for her sister, Mary, who she knew was having a hard time.

There they are. His mother, his aunt, the beloved disciple, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Each of them concerned about Jesus and about each other.

At Christmas, we are touched by the crib scene. On Good Friday, we should let ourselves be touched by the cross scene. The wood of the crib has become the wood of the cross.

Put yourself in the scene. Spend some time with the Lord...and with his mother, her sister, Mary Magdalene and the beloved disciple.

The Little Black Book

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Thanks be to God!

9 comments:

  1. I love the image of an aunt being there. Thank you for this reflection.

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  2. Blessed Triduum and Easter to you and yours.

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  3. For better or worse, my empathy is strong and sometimes overwhelming as I even cried while preparing today's Good Friday post...now I only pray that God will help me to do a part of tonight's readings in the way He wants (crying or no crying).

    Thank you for the familial angle to this awesome day as I will now even put myself in the feelings of the others at the foot of His cross and not just the Blessed Mother.

    blessings,
    marcy

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  4. It always amazes me to think how few were left at the end.. this man who drew thousands to hear him speak... died with just a few.
    And then when I think of Mary and how as a mother she must have ached with such pain for her son, how she must have wanted to take the pain for him, stop it, and yet, she is always right beside him.

    Have a lovely Good Friday!!

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  5. Thank you for coming to visit me and also for sharing this reflection. I hope you had a very holy Good Friday and will have a wonderful Easter!

    I was thinking after reading this post, could Mary the wife of Clopas be the same as Mary the mother of James mentioned in Luke24:10, Mark 15:40 and 16:1, and Matthew 27:56. I have heard protestants claim that this Mary is the same as Jesus' mother, and therefore James is His brother. But John may provide an argument that this is not correct.

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  6. hello precious sister in Christ! Thank you so much and BRAVO to you for entering in this exercise! I did enjoy watching how you all wrote from your perspectives. Have a magnificent Easter/Resurrection Day! Anita

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  7. Hello Cathy, thank you so much for your kind comments. I also applaud you for entering the contest - very creative. I enjoyed reading your April 4 post on friendship. Wishing you a glorious Easter.

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Your insightful comments are appreciated and I want all to feel comfortable and welcome.