JESUS AND HIS MOM
By Steve Bietz
Burke County
This month, restaurants experience their busiest day of the year. In 2022 the date is Sunday, May 8th. We know it affectionately as Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is also a big day for florists. Only Valentine’s Day is a bigger day for florists with Mother’s Day coming in second. Taking mom out to eat suggests that the plan is that for one meal, she will not need to cook or clean up. Something we have also learned, especially during Covid lockdowns, is that getting out of the house is a positive dynamic for our mental health. A key symptom of depression is difficulty getting out of the house. We know that having a strong network of family and friends can help us live longer.
I believe there is a strong connection between food and mood. And one does not need to be a biblical scholar to realize that the gospel writers share that Jesus enjoyed dining to the point that He understood the connection between the stomach and the brain. Of course, He did create us. Yet that does not entirely explain the dining phenomenon. Dining together at a restaurant for Mother’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, or other eventful occasions, tells me that spending money on experiences like eating out with mom is a greater joy than buying things. The experience of coming together around a table appears to take precedence over buying stuff. Purchasing and giving gifts is a good thing, but could it be that the sharing of our time is our most treasured gift.
I think Jesus would have enjoyed the Mother’s Day experience. Again, the gospels, in particular, the Gospel of Mark, show us that Jesus always appears to be going to a meal, eating a meal, or finishing a meal. Jesus had some of his best quotes at the dining table, and great experiences.
Since we just finished with our Easter celebrations…which probably included some of those dining-together experiences, I can’t help but consider Jesus and His mom, Mary, together on Golgotha. Jesus was on the cross, while His mom stood at the foot of her Son’s cross. Though we know that Jesus came to this earth and became a human being because as God, He couldn’t die. We know that from the foundation of the world, the Godhead had put a plan of salvation in place that would involve the death of a Savior. But Mary’s understanding of all of this seems doubtful while she stood weeping at the foot of the cross as her Son was being executed most cruelly. Mary could not have ever anticipated, nor could any mom ever see coming, the experience that took place on Golgotha for a child.
Then Jesus sees His mom. No son would want his mom to experience this. What a moment. Jesus is unable to put His arms around His mom because his arms have been stretched out and nailed in place so that you and I might be redeemed. I don’t know if Mary could reach up and touch her Son’s feet. But Jesus, despite the extreme situation He is in talks to His mom. With great honor and respect, Jesus gives her another son, the disciple John, who stood nearby.
Yes, I think the experience of Mother’s Day and taking His mom out to eat would have been a real joy for Jesus. And this we do know, Christ is planning a banquet in the Heavenly Kingdom that will certainly dwarf any dining table we sit around on this sinful planet. If you have or had a Christian mom, I can pretty much guarantee that she prays or prayed for you. Moms hope and pray that we go to the foot of the cross and fall in love with Jesus. And if we fall in love with Jesus, that will be our mom’s greatest Mother’s Day experience of all.
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Steve Bietz is the pastor at Morganton Seventh Day Adventist Church. You can read more good Christian news from Pastor Steve Bietz HERE.
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Blue Ridge Christian News covers Burke County, McDowell County, Mitchell County, Yancey County, Madison County, in North Carolina, and Christian news from around the country.
