‘Mother’s Day’
2001
Sermon Review
13 May 2001
Matt 15:1-9
‘A man was once wandering along the beach at Bondi, and kicked a coke bottle. Picking it up he began rubbing it clean. To his surprise a genie materialised in front of him, granting him 1 wish, and 1 wish only. The man said he would love there to be a large continuous bridge from Australia to Hawaii so that he could do some fishing. To this request the genie replied, ‘Hmmm… with all of that distance, the amount of material, and the power to do it… I think I will break my word and let you have another wish.’ So the man said, ‘I find it so hard to understand women. Just when I think I am doing the right things at home and pleasing my wife, it all goes haywire. I wish for the capacity to understand women.’ ‘Hmmm… how would you like your bridge? Two lanes or four?’…
This reminded me of the limitations in a man trying to say something relevant on Mother’s Day. Not being a woman is often a hard gap to bridge! So I consulted the well known women’s author, Barbara Johnson, who has a number books out now eg. ‘Stick a Geranium in your hat and be happy’, ‘Splashes of Joy in the Cesspools of Life’, and ‘Pack up your gloomies in a Great Big Box’ etc. only to be promptly and light heartedly informed that men certainly did seem to be at the heart of women’s problems – examples being: MENtal illness, MENstrual cramps, MENtal breakdowns, GUYnocologist, and of course HISterectomy
After all of these witticisms, I thought that I had better play it safe and head back to the Bible! What I discovered was the following:-
Children:
Children are to honour their parents - part of the 10 Commandments Ex.20:12. Jesus took honouring his Mother seriously, and showed it included practical help eg. Wedding at Cana John 2:1-11; Mother at the cross John.19:26,27; cf. also the widow at Nain Lk.7:15; and his disagreement with the practice of ‘Corban’ Mk.15:4-9.
This ‘Honouring’ is taken very seriously by God eg, Ex.21:15 to attack them was to be punished by death; to curse them was to be punished by death Ex.21:17, and to be willful and stubborn and rebellious against them was also punishable by death Deut.21:18. It is obvious that in God’s mind Mother’s are to be respected and honoured. And part of being honoured is to be obeyed – Eph.6:1, and includes a promise for a ‘long life’!
So at the very least it is obvious that honouring one’s mother meant respecting, obeying, and providing practical support for them. Though this is not ‘in’ today, it is still God’s will and intention, and therefore it is in our best interests to respect, honour and obey our mothers, as all of God’s commands flow out of both wisdom and love.
Exceptions to Obedience:
Of course there are exceptions when it comes to obedience eg. Even the High Priest in O.T. times was not to make himself ‘unclean’ for his mother Deut.21:18, except if it was their own mother’s death involved Ezek.44:25; loyalties to God were not to be broken even when asked to do so by our mother Matt.10:37.
Obedience to our Mum’s in the appropriate way and time is what pleases God.
Still, even though there are obviously some exceptions to obeying our mums, there is no indication that even in these instances there is any allowance for a general lapse of respect, obedience, and practical support because of them – these are ongoing obligations for children to apply, no matter how old. In fact, we should be looking for ways to honour and obey them eg. One of the best ways is for children to give praise, thanks, and some personal attention to their mums eg.
‘One of the newest developments in manufacturing in the latter part of the last century was robotics. Robots put in endless hours, function in different environments, never seem to run down, cost very little to maintain, and do it all without praise, personal attention, or stroking. Actually robotics are nothing new. They used to be called mothers!’ Escape from the trap from treating your Mothers like robots! Another way is to remember that obedience in the appropriate place and way is important eg. When I was a child I could never understand why mum would say, ‘if you really wanted to help’, ‘ or be sorry’, ‘or do something for me’, ‘just do what I asked in the first place!’? Whereas I would be trying to do something else to please her. So children should be looking for ways to honour their mothers – be innovative.
Mothers:
Fortunately, being a mother does have its lighter moments eg. those spasmodic moments of naive obedience eg. ‘When a mother reprimanded her two sons because they were having a fight with water pistols, they reassured her, ‘Don’t worry mom. We won’t get water on anything. We’re using ink.’
Or the innocent promises of our children - ‘the five year old boy who said, ‘Mommy, when I grow up I’m going to get you an electric iron, an electric stove, an electric toaster, and an electric chair.’
There is also the lighter side of grown ups having a chuckle about the way their mothers passed on wisdom to them eg. Anne Geddes -
- My mother taught me about contortionism when she would say – "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!’
- My mother taught me irony – ‘Keep laughing and I’ll give you something to cry about’
- My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done – ‘If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside…I just finished cleaning.’
- My mother taught me logic – ‘Because I said so, that’s why.’
- My mother taught me Religion – ‘You better pray that will come out of the carpet.’
- My mother taught me about time travel – ‘If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!’
- My mother taught me foresight – ‘Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident.’
- My mother taught me about the science of osmosis – ‘Shut your mouth and eat your supper!’
- My mother taught me about stamina – ‘You sit there till you’ve finished your spinach!’
- My mother taught me about hypocrisy – ‘If I told you once, I told you a mission times, don’t exaggerate!’.
- My mother taught me about envy – ‘There are missions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do!’
- My mother taught me about behaviour modification – ‘Stop acting like your father.’
- My mother taught me about the circle of life – ‘ I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!’.
- My mother taught me about the weather – ‘It looks as if a storm has swept through your room; clean it
A Serious Note:
Thankfully there are these lighter sides to parenting. Yet there is a more serious side, is there not? Eg. This week at the courthouse, one of the women whom I was handing a cup of coffee to said, ‘Children, if they came with a manual I still wouldn’t want them!’ "You try your hardest for them and the still keep ending up in this place!’
Loving and caring for your children has a price, emotionally, spiritually and physically eg. In a Daily Bread Devotion titled ‘Motherhood’, I read this comment. ‘To fulfill the highest standards of motherhood laid down in the Bible she must sacrificially give herself to her family and unselfishly put them first. One mother who put this into practice has written the following testimony: ‘When my children were young I thought the very best thing I could do for them was to give them myself. So I spared no pains to talk to them, read to them, teach them, and to pray with them, and in this way to be a loving companion and friend to my children. (In order to do this) I had to neglect my housework often. I had no time to improve myself in many ways that I should have liked to have done so’. Love and care call for sacrifice and commitment over a long period of time.
God & A Mother’s Love:
Such self-sacrifice is not easy, but it does do justice to God’s view of a mother’s love eg. He uses it as something worth noting, as an example, and as a comparison with His own care for Israel Isa.49:15; Paul also used it as a model to care for the Thessalonians 1Thess.2:7. It is obvious that a mother’s love is used in both these instances because of its high calibre, and as such, is very effective when being used to help people recognise the calibre of God’s love, & the Apostles keenness to demonstrate it. As a matter of fact God even uses a mother’s love and attachment for her child as an, ‘if this, then how much more is that’ kind of argument in Isa.49:5 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Even as great as a mother’s love is for her child, mine is far more! God used this comparison with a mother’s love because of both ours, and his high estimation of it.
A Mother’s Influence:
This love and commitment plays itself out in many ways, most importantly with regard to the high degree of influence that a mother has on her children, both for good and for bad. Consider the positive influence of Lois on Eunice, and Lois and Eunice on Timothy 2Tim.1:5; or the negative influence of Herodias on her daughter Matt.14:6-8; or King Ahazia’s mother 2Chron.22:2,3. Thomas Edison once wrote: ‘I did not have my mother long, but she cast over me a good influence that lasted all my life. The good effects of her early training I can never lose. It it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I would never likely have become an inventor. I was always a careless boy, and with a mother of different mental caliber, I would have turned out badly. But her firmness, her sweetness, her goodness, were potent powers to keep me on the right path. My mother was the making of me. The memory of her will always be a blessing to me’.
Because of the power of a mother’s influence, and the fact that it can go either way, it is important to highlight the obvious. The closer to God a mother is, and the more honestly she deals with herself and her family relationships, the more positive the outcome of her mothering will be. It has been said, a Godly mother is worth more than 100 clergy. Being Godly will not exempt you from the pain of mothering eg. Mary, but it you will be more like the mother you wish to be, and have a far more positive impact on your children than you otherwise would have.
Conclusion:
Mothers:
If you are a mother, then accept the fact of your mixed influence on your children, and the reality of both the sweetness and the pain of mothering. Accept that you are only human and have made both mistakes as well as enjoyed positive successes. Continue to keep as close to God as you can; continue dealing with personal and relationship issues in your family as best as you can, with God’s help; and keep loving and caring for your family as God intends – in both the short and the long term, you will be blessed almost as much as they.
Let me pray for you….
Children:
Err on the side of forgiving your mothers where you think they have failed. Keep in mind they are as human as you. Rejoice in all the pleasant and the good and the right that God has brought into your life through them. And keep obeying them appropriately, loving them, and respecting and honouring them.
Let me pray for you…
Blessings