First Baptist Church
February 24, 2002
John 19:25-27
November 24th was a cold night, it was around 12:30 am and I
had just fallen asleep when Debbie woke me up. She told me it
was time — time for Joshua to be born. We finally arrived at the
hospital at 3:00 AM, and even though there was no rush, and
there was no traffic, I did run a red light. I thought I had a good
excuse, honestly, it was not that big a deal. After doing all the
preliminary things you have to do, we got settled into our room.
Time passed . . . more time passed and more time passed. Joshua
wasn’t in all that much of a rush to enter the world.
The doctor ordered some medicine to get Joshua to move a little
quicker, and Debbie got an epidural to take away the pain of the
medicine the doctor had given her to make Joshua move little
quicker. Well, time continued to pass and I was tired and hungry
and Debbie was sleeping. It was now around 5:00 PM and I was
doing what expectant dads are supposed to be doing, I was
pacing. I was walking up and down the hallways.
After all, I didn’t want to go to the cafeteria to get some food,
what if something I happened and I missed the birth of my child?
Nope, I ate cookies and crackers and drank coffee. To be totally
honest, I was bored. You may wonder, ‘how can you be bored
when your child is about to be born?’ Well, he wasn’t doing
anything and Debbie was sleeping, and I was hungry. Nothing
was happening.
Debbie finally woke up around 5:30 and said she felt pressure and
discomfort, I told the nurse Debbie had some pain and wondered
aloud if the epidural was wearing off. I thought it might make it
seem more urgent for the nurse. She was just about to get
something to eat, but figured she would check Debbie and go eat.
The nurse asked Debbie a couple of questions and as an
after-thought decided to examine Debbie, just to monitor her
progress.
My memory isn’t always good, but I do remember what the nurse
said next. She shouted, "she’s a 10 and the baby is a +2. Get Dr.
Carroll here now!!!!" I have to be honest again, I almost freaked
out. It may not make a whole lot of sense, but when the nurse
went ballistic I realized for the first time, ‘Oh my God, we’re
having a baby!’ I’m not stupid, I knew we were having a baby,
but the reality of it hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought, "I’m not
ready, I’m too young, no, I’m too old. . . no matter, I’m not sure
about this." Obviously, there was no turning back.
Well, that began at 5:30, the nurse had another doctor come in to
deliver Joshua, and finally at 7:00 PM, Debbie delivered Joshua.
When he was born, I was standing on Debbie’s right side and
when the doctor pulled him out, Joshua’s head was turned towards
me and his eyes were wide open. I mean there were WIDE
OPEN. It was the most awesome sight I have ever seen. There
was my little boy, just born, staring at me, wondering "who’s that
crying, blubbering person?"
Have you ever wondered what Mary was thinking as she saw her
little boy, her first born, hanging from the cross. People were
yelling, screaming, insulting, spitting and throwing rocks. She must
have wanted to comfort her boy — but she couldn’t, there was no
comforting, there were screams of pain, agony, blood dripping
down His naked, battered body. He was thirsty, but there was no
satisfying His thirst. The same body she diapered, the same
person she watched grow from a helpless infant. . . was being
crucified. Mary was broken hearted. She would remember what
the prophet Simeon said, when Mary and Joseph brought baby
Jesus into the temple to have Him dedicated, he predicted ‘a
sword would pierce her own soul.’ The cross was that sword,
and her soul was being pierced.
There is no mention of Joseph, and most scholars believe he had
died somewhere between the time Jesus went to the temple at 12
years of age and the time of Jesus’ death. None of Mary’s other
children were there. Instead, Mary is surrounded by family and
friends — there was Mary’s sister, Salome; there was Mary, the
wife of Clopas: there was Mary Magdalene; and the disciple
whom Jesus loved, John. Five people . . . waiting, watching,
enduring.
It was between 9:00 am and noon when Jesus looked over to His
mother and John. He looked at His mother and said "Dear
women, here is your son." And to John, He said, "Here is your
mother." This makes the 3rd of the 7 last sayings of Jesus while
on the cross.
With each of the 3 statements by Jesus, I keep saying those are
amazing, awesome statements. And they are, because with each
of these statements, Jesus is looking outside of Himself.
His 1st statement, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing." This was said for those who oppose Jesus
and need forgiveness, including you & I.
His 2nd statement, to the criminal on the cross, "Today, you will
be with me in paradise." Those are words of comfort to all
believers.
And now His 3rd statement. This was for His mother and for
John’s benefit, but also a proclamation of what the church is
supposed to be about — Family.
For the followers of Jesus, their world was crumbling. Their
Master, teacher and leader was being crucified. For the past 3
years, Jesus had given them courage and hope; through Jesus they
had been able to look at God, to know Him and to love Him.
Now, their dreams were dying with Jesus. Hope was destroyed.
For Mary, Jesus’ mother, it was crumbling for two reasons.
Firstly, and obviously because her boy was being cruelly tortured.
She hadn’t always understood who Jesus was, how could anyone
have understood their son is the Chosen One, the Messiah? She
grieved over the pain and agony Jesus was experiencing. And
secondly, she lived in a society that didn’t have social security, nor
welfare. It would have been up to the oldest child to take care of
the mother ~~ that was supposed to be Jesus. But He was dying.
For John, the world was crumbling, too. He had left his uncertain,
yet stable life as a fisherman to follow Jesus. John was one of the
disciples who knew Jesus better than anyone. They were best
friends. Now His best friend was being killed.
And in those moments Jesus speaks to the two of them: "Dear
woman, here is your son." "Here is your mother."
Jesus speaks to his closest earthly friend and asks him to take over
as the provider for Mary. Treat this woman just as I would. Do
what society would expect a son to do for a mother — care for
her. And John agrees.
But there’s more going on. This is not just a simple request, it goes
much, much deeper than that. Recall the passage from Mark
3:31, "Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside,
they sent someone in to call Him. A crowd was sitting around
Him, and they told Him, "Your mother and brothers are outside
looking for you." Jesus asked, "Who are my mother and my
brothers?" Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him
and said, "Here is my mother and my brothers! Whoever does
God’s will is my brother and sister and mother."
Jesus made it clear, those who believe in God are members of His
family.
Jesus commanded Mary and John to become joined as relatives,
mother and son. And with that last wish, we see the birth of the
family of Christ. And who are the members of this family? It is a
group of people who are joined together as mother’s and son’s,
father’s and daughter’s, brother’s and sister’s. WE are the family
of Jesus Christ. WE were joined together at the foot of the cross
— joined together in Jesus Christ.
Even today, Jesus speaks to us through the Holy Spirit and
commands us to look at one another and to see each other as
family. We’re to appreciate, honor and care for one another,
recognizing we’ve been joined together as spiritual relatives.
This is what the early church was all about. They took care of one
another, Luke wrote in Acts 2:44, "All who believed were there
together and had everything in common." The book of Acts is the
story of the beginning of the church. And there are numerous
references to the church being a place where people were cared
for. In Acts 6 the first deacons were called to care for the
widows. And how interesting that the first role of the deacon was
to care for women who were just like Mary.
All of this is a shift for us, who as a society strive for greater and
greater independence, yet at the same time, we so desperately
want to be part of a community . . . not just any community, but a
community that has depth to it. This is where we come in —
because we are supposed to be that community, that’s what the
church is called to be about — a community that is a safe haven
for all who enter its doors.
So, Jesus is commanding us, if we really want to be the church,
then we better be about community. But it is more than that,
because the Lion’s Club is a community, the Rotary Club is a
community, even the Ku Klux Klan would be called a community.
So, what makes us different? What makes us unique is that our
community, is also our family. Irregardless of color, size, height or
any other factors, we are a family because of Jesus Christ, who
commands us to love one another.
This was evident this past week as we came together as a family
to mourn Valerie Jones’ death. We rallied around the family, we
opened up our hearts, our souls, and we did whatever we could to
make sure that their needs were taken care of. That’s the image
Jesus had in mind — loving one another so that we could
intimately share our lives.
In the New Testament, believers were called brothers and sisters.
Because they were related through Jesus. They were spiritual
relatives, and even blood relatives, because the blood of Christ
was shed on the cross for each one of them. Early Christians took
it seriously in their love, support and care for each other. They
took it so seriously, & were so radical about it that people took
notice and began to investigate the faith, ultimately giving their lives
to Jesus Christ & joined the family
The call of Jesus is to look beyond our circle. To look beyond
our small group of friends. Look beyond your nuclear family.
Look at this group of people gathered here this morning. They’re
your mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; brothers and
sisters.
Jesus says, ‘You are one family, my family. I gave my life as a
sacrifice for your sins. I took the judgement which belonged to
you. I died on that cross, so you may live. I was separated from
God; condemned, that you would be forgiven — so you would be
welcomed as children of my Heavenly Father. I have joined you
together.’ Now look at each other. Look!
Remember those people we greeted earlier in the service, picture
their faces. Because of Jesus’ words from the cross, we cannot
claim disinterest and have no stake in their lives. We share
something incredibly deep and precious with them - life with God
through Jesus. We’re in this together.
Our identity, our unity, our relationship is focused on the cross of
Jesus. That knits us together. I am not, first of all, Michael the
son of Genevieve and Hyman, with the last name Deutsch,
husband, father, son, brother, friend, preacher, part-time athlete,
gardener, lover of music and books. It is true that’s part of who I
am, but first — I am Michael, believer in Jesus, child of God,
Christian.
Do you see dear friends? We find our identity, our unity, our
relationship with each other beneath the cross of Jesus.
Here is your mother....
Younger ones among us - look around! See the older folks here
in church today? Ones you may be tempted to write off as out of
touch fossils? You know, those over 29? They’re your spiritual
mothers and fathers. They’ve set the pace, carved the way,
provided the care that made it possible for you to be here today.
And we can’t ignore them. We can’t say that they don’t matter.
As far as Jesus is concerned you belong to them. And they belong
to you. We’re related. Jesus said so.
And you older ones. You look at some of these younger ones and
shake your heads — their music, computers, videos. It seems like
you’re worlds away. It would be easier to shrug your shoulders,
to walk away. Except that as you turn to leave Jesus taps you on
the shoulder, points to them and says, "Here is your son, here is
your daughter. They belong to you. And you to them." See
them. Pay attention to them. Don’t discount them and carry on as
if they’re not there. We’re all joined together.
As you leave here, could you consider spending a few moments
talking to someone other than one of your family or close friends?
Any chance of opening your home to someone new for a cup of
coffee or bowl of soup?
When you come to worship and scan the bulletin, will it be to see
if things are exactly as you like them - and if not will you start to
grumble? Or will you give thanks that at First Baptist Church, we
have a diversity of people within Jesus’ family and you’ll pray for
them to be blessed?
When the offering plate is passed, will you consider giving, even
though the ministry being supported doesn’t directly affect you?
Give because you know it betters some of your mothers and
fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.
When you have your daily prayers, remember those mentioned in
the bulletin. Send a card, make a quick phone call. And pray for
me, too.
I’m sure you can think of many other ideas; ways you can take
each other into your homes, hearts and lives, following in the
footsteps of John and Mary.
The family of God is a strange bunch...just look at the composition
of this family:
Former demon possessed people
Tax collectors
Doctors
Fishermen
Political radicals called "Zealots"
"Sons of Thunder!"
Doubters like Thomas
Former prostitutes
Easily frightened people like Timothy who came from a mixed
marriage home.
Gentiles, Jews, Samaritans, male and females, old and young,
educated and not so educated, extroverts and introverts, rich and
poor, and you and me.
Only God could take all us weird people and make out of us one
family!
However it works, let’s make sure it happens here. And as we
do, let’s pray that others will be able to see it, and that when folks
stand back and observe our church, they’ll say, "See how they
love one another" and because of that, they will take notice of
Jesus so much that they end up giving their lives to Him.
