A Brief Holy Week Reflection on Mary

Translating and commenting on John's Passion Narrative in Greek last week, the figure of Jesus' mother Mary stood out to me. It's not exactly a Protestant thing to do, but I think reflecting on Mary's emotions and loss during Holy Week are beneficial for us to deepen our emotional identification with our Lord. In efforts to avoid Mary-worship, we've eliminated her from our Paschal picture altogether. Jesus was after all, fully God & fully man. Protestants love the victory of the God-man, and rightly so, but seemingly reject the humanity of the Son of Man. We do well to realize Mary's confusion and hurt as her son is declared enemy of both state and temple, and is executed for it. We increase in the love and understanding of the anguish of our Savior when we realize the intense affection for his poor mother, who "stay behind and starts cleaning up the place." Praise God for the authenticity of Jesus' family life, and the faithfulness exhibited by the Holy Family.

Mary - Patty Griffin