Sermon "It Takes A Church"
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday, May 10, 1998
John 13:31-35
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It Takes A Church
Many women do noble things...But you surpass them all! (Proverbs 31:29)
Mother's Day is an emotion packed observance. There are those who celebrate a wonderful, healthy, loving relationship with their mother. Then there are those who are having a difficult time because they wish to be a mother and are not blessed with children. There are those struggling with the demands of a profession who at the same time desire children. There are mothers who children have died and they hurt for that ended relationship. And, there are those who had a painful experience with their mother and this day opens wounds.
How does our Christian faith empower us to reconcile the mother we long to have and the mother we long to be? Where do we begin?
1996 was known as the year of the family. The Christian Coalition released its "contract with the American family" and Hillary Clinton toured the country talking about her familycentered book, It Takes A Village. Given current revelations, I am not sure it takes just a village. It takes more. It is my contention that it takes a church and men and women who seek godly character and values.
William Jennings Bryan, back in 1892, was a freshman congressman. Bryan was famous for his silver-tongued oratory but one day he was stumped when a woman debated him. It was the first time anybody saw William Jennings Bryan speechless. He had been speaking that day on the pilgrim fathers. A lady named Mrs. Henrietta Szold pointed a finger at William Jennings Bryan and said, "Mr. Bryan, have you nothing to say about the pilgrim mothers?" Bryan asked, "Why? What about them?" She stood tall and said to William Jennings Bryan, "The pilgrim mothers ought to be saluted. They not only had to endure the same things the pilgrim fathers did; they had to endure the pilgrim fathers as well."
Honoring motherhood started in a church
Most sources agree that Mother's Day was first celebrated at a church in Grafton, West Virginia in 1907. It was a special service arranged by Anna Jarvis to honor the memory of her mother on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. Seven years later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother's Day a national holiday.
What can a mother teach us about the nature of God?
A mother's love is like God's love. How so? You may ask. Because they are the most obvious human example of what the Greeks called "agape". You see, we have just one word for love. But the Greeks had three: philia, for friendship, eros for physical and emotional love, and agape, which is a love that gives even when there is no return. C. S. Lewis uses these differentiations in his book The Four Loves, in which he adds a fourth love called affection. A mother's love for her child can only be characterized as agape, because when early in life, an infant is incapable of returning love, unless it's through an occasional smile of recognition. But a mother's love does not require a response; it is a selfless love. A mother loves her child not because of what it can do for her, but just because the baby is hers. And it is the same with God: God loves us not because of what we can do, but just because we exist. A mother's love is the same kind of love that God has for us, and that love is called agape. So, in essence, a mother's love is the earthly incarnation of God's love for us.
Here are some ways we can take action in honoring this incarnation of God's love.
Give her respect by praising her.
Proverbs 31 describes a noble woman (mother) that possesses many talents and is committed to the ministry of motherhood. The proverb concludes with an instruction to children and husbands to praise their mother and all the hard work and effort her job entails. It is also clear that our praises are to be proclaimed both verbally and publicly. God is simple saying that you and I can show respect for our mothers by making a big deal about them! Remembering all the good times and things that she has done is the first step. We can to let her know how much we appreciate her by saying it, writing it, phone calls, etc.. Don't be shy when it comes to praising you mother. Not only does she deserve our respect and honor but it is also important to God that we do this.
Give her security by caring for her needs.
USA Today reports that the number one fear for the elderly in our country is either being alone or dying alone. This fear in not unfounded because an elderly person over the age of 65 is 16 times more likely of dying alone than dying of a heart attack. This may seem like a depressing statistic but it is the very same problem that Jesus was dealing with in Mark 7. Jesus was telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that their tricky traditions of avoiding the caring for their parents was causing them to break the command of God to honor parents. Simply stated, Jesus was saying that honoring mom is to care for her needs and we are not to avoid or make excuses. We can give our moms security by caring for them. The investment and sacrifice they made in us should never be forgotten. As we invest time and effort into caring for our mothers, we can begin to make a dent and reduce the nations number one fear for the elderly, fear!
Give her joy by the life you live.
Have you ever noticed what mothers talk about when they are together. Have you ever seen what brings a smile to their face and makes them happy? More often than not, it is the success of their children. The Bible says that the decisions we make in our lives play a major part in giving our mother joy. The daily decisions that we make to honor or dishonor God will also have lasting effect on mom. The outcome of our decisions is not only our issue of success or failure but it also tells our mothers how successful or unsuccessful they have been in raising us. This provides us both a tremendous opportunity and responsibility. We can give mom joy by the life we live.
I would like to close with an affirmation from John Killinger's book Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise : "I believe in Jesus Christ, the son of the living God,/ who was born of the promise to a virgin named Mary./ I believe in the love Mary gave her son,/ that caused her to follow him in his ministry/ and stand by his cross as he died./ I believe in the love of all mothers,/ and its importance in the lives of the children they bear./ It is stronger than steel, softer than down,/ and more resilient than a green sapling on the hillside./ It closes wounds, melts disappointments,/ and enables the weakest child to stand tall/ and straight in the fields of adversity./ I believe that this love, even at its best,/ is only a shadow of the love of God,/ a dark reflection of all that we can expect of him,/ both in this life and the next./ And I believe that one of the most beautiful sights/ in the world is a mother who lets this greater love/ flow through her to her child,/ blessing the world with the tenderness of her touch/ and the tears of her joy.
