The Mother of All Sacrifices

When I reflect on Mary, the mother of Jesus, I think that I am not unique in that I tend to keep her presence relegated to the Christmas Story. Mary's act of faith, even as a teenage girl confounds me. Her song of praise upon discovering she will become pregnant with the Child of God moves me to tears---oh such a precious and pure faith!

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is His name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

Luke 1:46-50

So imagine my shock when I discovered this set of verses as I was cruising through the book of Mark the other day:

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that He and his disciples were not even able to eat. When His family heard about this, they went to take charge of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

Later on, this happens:

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.”

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” He asked.

Mark 3:20, 31-32

Would you join me for a moment in a little game I like to call, "WHAT THE WHAT??!!"

WHAT in the world was going on with Jesus' family?

WHAT in Pete's peppers was Mary doing with this band of family doubters and scoffers?

WHAT in the heck happened with Mary between "My soul magnifies the Lord" and "He's out of His mind!"?

Believe me when I say that these verses blew my mind. I was seriously bummed out with Mary! The younger version of the calm, cool and collected virgin who faced the Angel Gabriel without fear had been replaced by a middle-aged woman caught up in a miniseries melodrama starring her eldest son and featuring her other children as the bad guys. I couldn't help but wonder, what had changed in Mary?

When my daughter Rhianna was in Junior High, she desperately wanted to try out for the volleyball team. Her friends were all trying out and she wanted to be on the team too. I encouraged her to go for it and assured her that she had what it took to be a great player. Well, she went to the weeklong try outs and did her best, but ultimately wasn't chosen. It was a very sad day for her. She cried, she felt rejected and was seriously upset that she was the only one not chosen out of her group of friends. It was a tough time to be a kid and the mom of that kid!

Fast forward one year. It is once again time for volleyball tryouts and Rhianna wanted to try out again. This time however, I was struggling with letting her. I did not want my daughter to be disappointed and hurt. I didn't want her to feel that crushing blow of rejection and doubt herself. Of course, I outwardly supported her, but when fear would strike me, I would ask, "Are you SURE that volleyball is your thing?" or "Do you think you will be able to keep up on your schoolwork if you are playing volleyball?" Rhianna assured me that volleyball was truly what she wanted and tried out again. Again, she wasn't chosen. I will never forget the sadness on her face when I arrived to pick her up. I was so angry and frustrated! I couldn't help but wonder why God would allow my precious child to suffer such sadness and pain.

Regardless of Jesus' status as "The Son of God", he was also the Son of Mary. As a parent, I have, and always will, hate to see my child suffer and would do just about anything to keep it from happening. Why do I think that Mary would be any different than I am? With this thought in mind, I looked at Mary's presence at the house that day a little differently. Yes, Mary was there to get her son, but I now have no doubt that her presence was not out of embarrassment or condemnation, but born out of the love of a desperate mother's heart. Mary had heard the prophecies---she had been pondering them in her heart for years (Luke 2:19) and knew what was coming down the dusty roads of Israel for her Son. Perhaps she thought that if she could fetch Jesus and bring Him back home, that all that had been foretold would be null and void. It is so evident that God's plans for Jesus were much bigger and far-reaching than Mary's were and I praise God that Jesus had the presence of mind to not listen to His mother although I have little doubt that this was probably the one and only time He ever disobeyed her.

God's plans for our kids are clearly not our plans. We don't want to see our children hurt and in pain. We want rainbows and balloons for our children, not storm-clouds and umbrellas. But I am learning to recognize that every time I interfere in a lesson God has hand prepared for one of my children, I am robbing them of the opportunity to grow and to see just how big God really is. Instead of trying to block the pain, I need to teach my children to pour out their pain to God, just like Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane. My children may have to die a million metaphorical deaths before they see their spiritual resurrection, but, as their mom, I am going to be in my prayer closet interceding for them rather than standing outside the house interfering in God's plan.