Mothers and Sons

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son."

John 19:26

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

John 14:26

The latter passage was the text of the homily today. My priest pointed to the tension that we ought to feel when receiving this command. We ought not be happy about the potential pain we cause others as a result of following Christ.

Christ's own submission on this point is interesting to consider--when calling His mother, "woman," He is, on the one hand, relinquishing His mother/son relationship with her for the good of the whole. And, on the other hand, He is identifying her, His mother, with all of humanity and particularly with all women in a way that draws us into the particular relationship that He has to her.

The question of friendship (given its exclusionary character) and the tension of friendship with agape--which has universal tendencies--can be seen in this passage. The question is also raised of whether it is best to connect with people through social roles and institutions (see Tocqueville on this point) and whether true person to person connection is even possible.