Jesus’ love for his mother showed his love and devotion to humanity

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. It has a history to it, but like all of these things it’s also taken on a history of its own. In eastern Christianity the third Sunday following Easter (Pascha) is dedicated to the Myrrhbearing women, so often enough Mother’s Day, and the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers happily coincide. When it does it provides an opportunity to talk about the unique witness of Jesus’ women disciples. Not only did they accompany Jesus and the male disciples regularly throughout his ministry, they, along with Joseph of Arimathea and Nikodimos, were the ones who took him down from the Cross and buried him. In fact, while the other disciples were hiding for fear of being arrested, they followed him from Pilate’s judgment to the place of his execution.

So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that these women were the first ones to whom Christ appeared after he rose from the dead. Church tradition, as reflected in both Gospel accounts and in hymnography, clearly point out the faithfulness and courage of these women. They feature prominently in the Matins hymns sung every Sunday morning.

And, when this Myrrhbearers Sunday coincides with Mother’s Day, it reminds us that many of these women were also mothers. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on the fact that for many of us it was the women in our lives — mothers, grandmothers and aunts — who guided us in our faith during our formative years. Without being overly sentimental about it, we should acknowledge and appreciate the power of their witness.

The truth is that from the Church’s beginning women have been the primary teachers of the faith to their children and others. We remember great men theologians for the sophistication and depth of their writings, but whom do they remember? In his funeral oration for his sister St. Macrina, St. Gregory of Nyssa credits her for teaching him and his brother St. Basil the Great, as well as the rest of their siblings, everything they knew about the faith. In his mind, she was the greatest theologian among them.

In addition, there were the many women whom the Church calls “Equal to the Apostles,” such as Mary Magdalene, Nina Enlightener of Georgia, and Helen, Emperor Constantine’s mother. Each of these, and many others, were strong and indomitable. They are models for each of us to emulate.

Then there is Mary, Jesus’ mother. I didn’t begin with her example because she is so often lifted up as the supreme model of both motherhood and virginity that I oftentimes feel she has become a cliché in many people’s minds. Like all of these other women she was and is not only a paragon of tenderness, but also of strength and courage. As a way to visualize this, look at the way eastern Christian tradition has chosen to depict her. Unlike the Madonna art forms prevalent in the west, eastern iconography does not romanticize her. There are no rosy cheeks, no full-figured motherliness. Rather she is portrayed as a person of strength and resolve, even as she is a mother of tenderness and compassion.

While we have many references to Mary in the Gospels, perhaps none is so powerful as Jesus’ words from the Cross. Seeing his mother below, weeping, he asks his beloved disciple John to look after her (cf. John 19:26-27). He would not leave this existence without ensuring for her care. Also, we know from church Tradition that the first person he appeared to after the Resurrection was his mother. There is perhaps no more powerful sign of Jesus’ humanity than his love and devotion for his mother. Moreover, she is not only his mother, but through him, she becomes mother to us all.

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A window into the way the Church has viewed this relationship can be found in the Lamentation Hymns sung at Jesus’ tomb during Great Saturday Matins. These hymns attached to the verses of Psalm 119 put poetry to the words spoken by Mary while she is holding her dead Son, and the words of comfort he offers her in return. No one who can imagine what it would be like to hold the body of their dead child can remain unmoved.

There is one more point that requires at least a comment — although it deserves a whole column. Conservative elements in religion worldwide have advanced certain ideas regarding the place of women, and especially wives, toward men and husbands. While this has been a discussion within humanity since Adam and Eve, I will say there is nothing further from the heart of Christ’s Gospel than the notion that women are of a different “order” than men. While there is no doubt gender roles have been a source of inequality, Christianity has rejected all theories of class, all support for slavery, all notions of gender inequality or any other intrinsic division of our one humanity into lower and higher castes (cf. Galatians 3:28). We are all equal in God’s eye.

Having said this, we are created male and female (Genesis 1:27). We should reflect on why God would create polarities within our one humanity. Without making too much of gender differences, it is equally hard to ignore them. Women and men often have a particular take on the same issue. Yet, this sort of diversity often is also the source of creativity.

Our mothers are different from our fathers. Motherhood and Fatherhood cannot be reduced to function (the services each provides), but are states of being, extensions of our gendered personhood. Children always know who is mother and who is father. They don’t need a script. They also know when one or the other is absent.

So, let us take this moment and give thanks for and to our mothers.

Rev. Fr. Nicholas Apostola is the retired parish priest of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Keep the Faith: In praise of Jesus' women disciples