A special welcome to all of our Mothers today.
But in the recent past, it seems the Mother’s role is being more marginalized and diminished, but make no mistake, Mothers, we need you. And most of us? Why we think you do … “Magic”
Of course, we have come together today, first and foremost, to honor the Lord Jesus Christ with our worship.
Last week we talked about the fact that Jesus’ resurrection has bestowed on each of us the GREATEST BLESSING of them all … FORGIVENESS of our sins.
Forgiveness, of course, stems from God’s promises through Jesus’ death in our place on the cross. Taking our sins upon Himself, Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead to defeat sin and Satan.
We are forgiven simply because of His doing, dying, and rising. We call Jesus’ death and resurrection the greatest blessing of all because it provides a path to eternal life for us through our faith in Him,
But God also blesses us mightily with the gift of mothers. It just so happens that this day – May 12th – has been set aside by our government as a time to honor our mothers, grandmothers and the mothers of our children.
Women’s roles in their homes, families, and in society are lifetime tasks, which obviously could never be confined to a one-hour worship service. Typically, a day set aside to honor a group of people is a day for greetings and expressions of love. But perhaps also for a day of remembering.
I do not believe that anything has ever been said, or ever will be said, that is eloquent enough, or expressive enough to describe the true value of a mom. I believe motherhood is a special gift from God.
It seems to me, that something miraculous happens when a woman gives birth to her first child. For in a way there are really two births. The first is the birth of the child. The second?… is the birth of a mother. Both are a miraculous gift of creation.
And as children, we certainly relate to our mothers differently through the years. See if you can relate to these reflections…
At age 4, we say “My mom can do anything!”
By age 12, “Mom doesn’t know everything.”
At age 18 “Mom is out of step with the times.”
By age 35 “Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion.”
At age 45 “I wonder what mom would say about this?”
By age 65, ” I wish I could talk with my mother.”
A mother seems to have an angelic voice as she sings the Brahm’s lullaby to a baby held lovingly in her arms. Yet, this same voice can dwarf the sound of an amplifier when she cheers her children on at a sports game.
So many times mothers display patience when many a man would have given up.
There was a mother pushing a shopping cart through Wal-Mart. Her daughter was riding in the cart, and she was continually screaming. Her mom kept saying “Now Calm down, Ellen. It will be all right, Ellen. It’s almost time to go home, Ellen.”
One of the checkout clerks saw this and said “Ma’m, you are to be commended for how patient you are with little Ellen.”
The Mom quickly replied, “Lady, I’m Ellen!”
Mother’s seem to also have great intuition. It is difficult to get something past mom.
A Television show that I remember watching long time ago would always end with these words … “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool mom.”
God even has an important contribution to this topic today. He saw fit to include this idea of honoring Fathers and Mothers in His list of 10 commandments that He gave us.
Paul echoed God’s commandment from Exodus 12:20 in his letter to the believers in Ephesus.
“Honor your father and mother” … which is the first commandment with a promise … “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3
Some may say, “But my mother wasn’t honorable!” Well, the Scriptures are clear that there is no qualification, and there is no standard to be met in order to be honored. The only requirement to receive honor is that she is your mother.
And it is the only one of the 10 commandments with a promise. If you honor your mother, you will receive a blessing.
Jesus honored his mother Mary, even as He hung on the Cross. One of the last things Jesus did on earth was to take care of His mother! Even in the dying moments of His life, He never stopped loving her.
He never stopped caring for her or honoring her. Listen to God’s word from the Gospel of John 19…
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” John 19:26-27
Traditional thought is that this disciple was the Apostle John himself. So, Jesus went on to tell this disciple that Mary was now his mother, and in turn he was saying that this disciple was now her son.
Jesus makes this oral testament in front of witnesses, which made it binding in that culture.
Jesus honored His mother by formally placing her under this disciple’s protection requiring him to provide for Mary after Jesus death. We are called to honor our mothers.
My mother passed away many years ago in 1978, but I still honor her today, even though at the time, we had a very estranged relationship. I grew up in a very dysfunctional family with few pleasant memories. But I choose today to remember my mother, and love her in Christ.
But I know from other’s experiences that Mothers can leave a wonderful imprint on the lives of their Children. Their lives … their actions speak volumes.
For example, I read where four pastors were discussing the merits of the various translations of the Scriptures.
One liked the King James Version best because of its simple, yet beautiful English Prose.
Another liked the New International Version, the NIV, because of its modern language.
The third preacher liked the Message Version even better since it was paraphrased.
And the fourth pastor was silent. When finally asked to express his opinion, he replied, “I like my mother’s translation best.”
The other ministers were surprised and asked, “Your mother translated the Bible?” He replied, “Oh Yes, she certainly did. My Mother translated the Bible into her everyday life, and it was the most convincing translation I have ever seen.”
Thank God for mothers and women in general who live in, and proclaim, the faith of Christ Jesus. Moments with mothers and grandmothers often become the foundation of memories that in turn become stories that are shared with the family for years to come.
A little girl was sitting and watching her mother as she did the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out on her brunette head.
“Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?” she asked. Her mother replied, “Well, every time you do something wrong, one of my hairs turns white.”
The little girl pondered about that for a moment, then asked, “So why are all of Grandma’s hairs white?”
Grandmothers can certainly be extra special as well. But what is a Grandmother? To help answer that question, here are some responses by some third graders trying to describe a grandmother…
- A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own. She likes other people’s little girls and boys.
- Grandmothers don’t have to do anything except be there.
- Grandmothers are old so they shouldn’t play to hard, and they should never run.
- They drive us to the market where the pretend horse is, and have a lot of quarters ready.
- If they take us for a walk, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They never say “Hurry up!”
- When they read to us they don’t skip parts of the story, or mind if it is the same story over again.
- Lastly, everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have a television, because they are the only grown-ups who have time.
Most of us have fond memories of family, mothers, grandmothers, and friends. And though my mother may have been different than many, I have some memories of her from my younger years … of mother and home … normally when you mention one, you just automatically think of the other.
And when most of us think of home, we forget the troubles that may surround us, and remember the sounds, the sights and the smells of home, such as the aroma of fresh-baked bread just out of the oven.
My mother always had to bake an extra loaf because she knew that when we got home from school, my sisters and I would eat nearly a loaf for a snack.
Home … we enjoy a sense of acceptance there, of being loved.
I suspect few things are more powerful than the tears and the prayers of a mother, or more tender than a mother’s hug or compassionate touch.
A Godly Mother translates the Scriptures into her everyday life.
The best thing that we can do for our children, our grandchildren, and our friends is for each of us to be personally right with God. To walk in the way of the Lord.
To never be satisfied, but to continually seek to be transformed, to be conformed into the image of Christ through study of His Word, prayer, and Worship.
We need to Honor our mothers, and each other, every day.
So here is what I suggest we do … tell your mother, your grandmother, and for us husbands, the mother of our children, that you appreciate her, care for her, honor her, and deeply love her.
Jesus honored his mother even as His death approached; we cannot … and must not … do any less … for God commands it … Amen.