I am currently reading Jon Meacham’s book “The Hope of Glory.” Meacham, a presidential historian and Anglican lay leader reflects on the last seven words of Jesus Christ during his passion. The third word of Christ is traditionally from the Third chapter in the Gospel of John:

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

Jesus commends his mother to the care of beloved disciple, a bit of final housekeeping before his death, but in a larger sense, Jesus is leaving a model for his followers to love one another in the most profound and powerful way. The charge of this disciples to care for Mary is a reminder that we must be doers of the Word and not only hearers. We are invited by Jesus into a mode of life that offers us a new way of seeing both the temporal and the transcendent. The story of Jesus is a guide and a gate: states Jon Meacham, “it urges us to do to others as we would have others do to us, and in so doing we are drawn ever closer to the cross – the emblem of unselfish love.”

I believe that this season of pandemic -of staying at home – of social distancing reminds us of what is really important – relationship! The reminder from Christ that the call is to relationship with other people. The reminder from Christ is the call to love neighbor. The reminder from Christ is to demonstrate Christ’s love for all people!

In Christ,
Phil