On the 12th April 2006, Reverend Keith Garner delivered an address at Wesley Mission entitled “The Expensive Principle of Kindness” where one of the issues he emphasised was the important role Mary played in Jesus life.
He argued that currently there was an extreme on both sides where one side totally ignore her presence while the other overemphasised her. He stated the middle must be found in both these extremes.
Reverend Garner taking the scripture reading from John 19:17-27 delivered a passionate address on the love of Jesus for his mother and vice versa.
The suffering of the cross he explained was not just simply physical. Right now across the world some people are suffering like Christ and some even worse physically but no one could suffer the spiritual pain of Jesus Christ.
Part of the spiritual pain of Jesus was when he saw his disciples fled away while watching his mother wept bitterly for him. This was the deep pain, which Jesus felt. He raised an interesting point where he suggested that Jesus started his commission when he was 30 years old because he had to take care of his mother. Jesus had a special responsibility to his mother.
This was why in the scripture Jesus was always a champion for widows where back then if you had no family you were cast out. He disputed the fact that ‘far off’ mean the women around Jesus was not in harms way. The women like the disciple took enormous risk in walking with Jesus.
Mary must off cried most bitterly at the cross because it was her son. Thoughts of saying if it only could be me then my children wouldn’t have to suffered must have been going through Mary.
When the garment, which Mary sown for Jesus was being gambled by the soldier for a game of dice it must have been so painful for her. The garment was more than just a physical cloth it was all her investment in him. To see that being gambled on dice must be so heart crushing for Mary.
Before Jesus passed away he said to his disciple ‘Here is your mother’ and to his mother ‘Dear woman, here is your son.’ Woman here was not a derogatory term but rather it was a term of affection, endearment and loving from Jesus.
This was the love of a family especially the love of a mother, which could never be taken away.
However he stated the love of a family must not be simply confined in the family. Comparing to the church he said if the church was self-protectionists where the church would throw a clock around itself and just relied on the same family from different generations coming then the life expectancy of the church was 10 years.
When Jesus gave his mother to John it had a deep symbolic meaning. Although John was not a physical son but he was included in the family. This applied to the church.
The church cannot look inward but must look outward. The church was a spiritual family where it catered for those who had no mother, no father and no children.
He concluded saying Jesus longed to walk in the streets of Sydney to care for those who no one cared about it. He urged everyone to put a nail on suffering by following the path of Jesus in caring for them.