Mothers

Jesus tells a rich young man to give away everything.  This greatly dismays the young man, but then Jesus follows it up with a shocking pronouncement: It’s easier for a camel to fit through a needle than for someone rich to get into the kingdom.  In fact, humanly impossible – and only possible at all because God can do what is impossible to us. This doesn’t merely astonish the disciples, we’re told they are exceedingly astonished. (Mark 10:21-27)

Peter speaks up:  “See, we’ve left everything and followed you.”  To which Jesus replies: 

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”  (verses 29-30) 

All pretty familiar, together with several exhortations we can draw from it—hopefully not so familiar we just breeze over it.  But reading the passage this time, it occurs to me that Jesus himself had left house, brothers, sisters, and mother.  His (foster) father Joseph probably was no longer living—which actually makes it even harder to leave.  He had no children and I doubt he had lands.  But still, when he says, “Leave all this and follow me,” he means on a literal level, “Follow me in leaving all this.”  There is a deeper metaphorical meaning of course, but he had literally left everything behind.

Did Jesus gain a hundredfold in the house, brother, sister, mother departments?  He claims he did!

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

(Mark 3:31-35)

People right there with him were sisters and brothers and mothers to him.  We can think of specific people.  He doesn’t mention the houses in Mark 3, but he surely did gain houses – the home in Bethany of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Peter’s home in Capernaum.  An uncountable number of places he stayed while traveling around preaching.  (He told the 12 when he sent them out that they should stay in one house in a given town and pronounce blessing on it.  Surely what he himself had been doing!)

Brothers and sisters there can be no denying.  Not only the Bethany family, also Peter, Andrew, James, John and the rest; Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna and others. The crowds that went with him included many casual hangers-on, but also many truly dedicated followers.  Just think of all those he healed, which he always did one by one, never with a sweep of his hand across a mob.  Each one of those disabled, desperately sick, or mentally ill people was someone he had looked in the eye, talked to, and changed their life forever.  I can’t think of how any stronger bond could be forged.

But mothers?  Jesus without doubt left his mother, left her in the care of his brothers and sisters—who did not believe in him.  Did he gain “mothers”?  I can think of Peter’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Zebedee, the widow of Nain maybe, some or all of the women who accompanied Jesus and provided for him from their own means.  All the hostesses at the homes where he stayed on his campaigns. We don’t know the ages of Martha, Mary, and others—maybe some were in his mother’s generation.  But age isn’t the only thing, or even the main thing, is it?  Were there “hundredfold” women who provided the counsel, encouragement, support of a mother?

I think we have to say yes!  Jesus was surely speaking from his own experience when he promised the hundredfold blessing.  What, did we think he never needed that kind of support?  Of course he did, and he loved those who supplied it.  He loved his literal mother all the way to the cross. And he loved and cherished each of the hundred “mothers” he had gained, and laid down his life for them too.

The promise doesn’t end with the hundredfold gain, though. Jesus had personal experience of the “with persecutions” addendum too.  And, he knew to his core:  in the age to come eternal life.  Knew it would not be his alone, but that he would share an eternal home with all the mothers, brothers and sisters he had acquired, and the many who were yet to come.  His family. 

Love, Paul

If you have any feedback, please contact me at: paul.zilmer@gmail.com

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