Soul Sister Time

              Jesus’ life on earth demonstrates the importance of friendship.  The only time any part of God’s creation was not good was when the man was alone (Genesis 2:18).  Jesus called twelve disciples and three of them: Peter, James and John, were among His closest friends.  The night Jesus was arrested He was betrayed by one of the twelve: Judas, and denied by Peter, one of the three.                When Jesus was arrested in the garden the disciples scattered.  We barely keep track of Peter up until the time he denies knowing Jesus for the third time, and Judas up until he kills himself in Jerusalem.  Neither of them saw Jesus hanging on the cross.  There were women, who were followers of Jesus, at the cross.  Also, there were male supporters who went into action to bury Jesus’ body (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus).  There was only one of the twelve disciples who stayed by Jesus’ side until the very end.  His name was John.  John had a brother named James (one of the in

              St. John of the Cross drew a sketch of Jesus on the cross looking down from heaven—from Gods perspective.  Most renderings of the cross are straight on—like a photographer capturing a moment in time.  Rarely, you see a painting from the foot of the cross, but I cannot recall a sketch or a painting from the perspective of either one of the thieves who were literally hanging on their crosses to the left and to the right. Imagine how Jesus looked to them.  Was Jesus a complete stranger to them before that dreadful day?  Was what they knew about Jesus merely the jail gossip blabbered in the holding cell as they awaited their previously determined executions?  Were they inpatient about getting the miserable existences over with because some guy’s fate was being considered by Pilate himself?  The guy in questions hadn’t even done anything truly criminal they say, and seemed like all he had to do was say He wasn’t, in fact, the king of the Jews and he could be set free.  Th

              Who was she?  Why is she controversial?  What can we learn from her life with Jesus?  Why was she featured so prominently at the cross and the resurrection?               In my opinion everyone needs someone like Mary Magdalene when they face a crisis.  Martha of Bethany was not around, but I could see her filling the role we observed in Mary Magdalene as well, if it had been safe for her to be recognized by the religious rulers.  Mary Magdalene seems to be like a combination of Mary and Martha.  She is the perfect balance of worship of Jesus and service to Him.               When I faced the two major crises of my life, so many people who cannot be named or numbered surrounded and uplifted me in countless ways.  One person stands out among them all.  She is my Mary Magdalene.  I can’t even list the ways she has kept me alive with love and prayers, but beyond that she offered acts of service that were carried out without care for recognition.  She drove over to my ho

Here she stood at the foot of the cross, everything inside of her wished to be in a different place, anywhere but there.  Anyplace, yet nothing could keep her from being exactly where she stood.  Her feet set one beside the other, anchored to the earth as close as the executioners would permit her to stand.  She knew her place was there.  She had come to the moment in time that Simeon predicted the first time she came to Jerusalem with her infant son held safely in her arms. As he prophesied about His life, he prophesied about her too.  Luke 2:34-35 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Knowing it would happen some day and experiencing are two very different realities.  As she stood at the foot of the cross forced to breath the hot, steaming mois