Mother of the Living

Gospel: John 19: 25-34

Only the Gospel of John has present at Jesus' resurrection Mary and the Beloved Disciple, and the author has deep theological reasons for this construction.  John's Gospel takes us back to the beginning as noted in the first line of the Gospel.  In this case, the author takes us to the beginning of human origins on earth before our first fall in our original innocence.  For here in the crucifixion scene we have all that was in Eden: the tree of life, two streams, a man and a woman.

The point is obvious: the death of Jesus returns us once again to our original innocence before the fall.  No longer present is our ancient enemy the serpent, the evil one.  He has been defeated by the death of Jesus and no longer poses a threat to us.  As long as we remain at the tree of life and partake of its fruit we have nothing to fear from our adversary.  

And, as Eve had been the mother of all the living, so now Mary becomes the mother of all living in Christ, attached to the tree of life and nourished by its living streams.  Mary and the beloved disciple are our models of discipleship in this scene as they had been throughout the Gospel.  By remaining at the side of Jesus, by clinging to the tree of life we are enlivened and divinized once again as in those precious first moments in Eden.