As we move along in Lent, our readings show the hostility building against Jesus. Naaman the Syrian, healed in the waters of the Jordan, becomes an object lesson as Jesus challenges the narrowness of his hometown folk. “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.”
Read the whole gospel passage. Visit Nazareth. Hear Jesus preaching. He exalts a foreigner. The congregation erupts in fury and rushes him. How do you respond, what do you feel, what do you want? You watch as they drag him to the top of the hill. Mary, his mother, terrified, joins you. Is there any way to comfort her? Speak with her about the growing hostility. Let her speak to you.
Mary, mother of sorrows, you stand—by Jesus in his ministry, at the cross, in his Easter visitation, as he ascends -- away from you. Share your courage and love with us, Mary.