Good morning…
Artists over the years have depicted differently the lifesaving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Replaying in my mind is the intimate video of the statue Pieta shared in yesterday’s post, Savor Sabbath: From Pain To Peace. Michelango deeply depicts not only Jesus’ full-bodied surrender, but the suffering sacrifice of his mother, Mary.
After viewing this video yesterday, one subscriber I have never met graciously took the time to write me: “I have lost my husband of 62 years. Your daily posts, especially today, keep me going. Thank you for what you do for all of us, and I pray for your loss.”
Another dear woman, who has shed many grieving tears in our home, wrote me after watching the vivid video: “This video made me remember how I thought of Mary when my son died. Those of us who has lost a child can truly feel for Mary. Although when my son died, I thought of how she must have felt kneeling before the cross, seeing, feeling her son’s agony and pain, then holding him in her arms, a broken, bloody body. I thank God for the gift of His son, as I cannot imagine a love so great for one to give His child to suffer a death like that FOR ME. How can anyone, especially a mother who has known losing a child, ever doubt God’s wholehearted love?”
For just as Christ’s sufferings are ours in abundance [as they overflow to His followers], so also our comfort [our reassurance, our encouragement, our consolation] is abundant through Christ [it is truly more than enough to endure what we must] (2 Corinthians 1:5, AMP). When we allow ourselves to love deeply, in grieving loss, we hurt deeply.
God suffered.
Jesus suffered.
Mary suffered.
We all suffer.
Yet, in the midst of our suffering, God comforts us. God encourages us. God consoles us. Then miraculously, through us, God comforts, encourages, consoles other people trapped in their own suffering.
…Sue…
P.S. “Sue, so glad that the messages have resonated with your readers,” the subscriber who turned me on to this sculpture wrote today. “Isn’t it amazing that Michelangelo created the Pieta when he was in his 20s? And isn’t it also amazing that he had the genius to look at a chunk of marble, see its potential, and create a work of art honoring our loving God that would move people more than 500 years later?”
“It is truly quite amazing,” I replied. “God shows up through ordinary people in such healing, creative ways, making us sense deeply each day, ‘Only God. This could only be God.'”
If any of you missed the gift of this mesmerizing video, I am offering it to you again, this time with a transcript of tender, touching observations.
