Romans 16:13 -
Mother's Day
John 15:9-17 -
Whistling Jesus - by Leonard Sweet
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I must candidly confess
that when I was in seminary the 16th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans
didn't do much for me. It struck me as being boring nothing more than a long
presentation of people's names, most of whom I could not pronounce; I usually
skimmed over that part so I could get to what I considered to be the real
Gospel. Over the years I have greatly changed my attitude about this particular
chapter and I have discovered that there is much more to it than I had first
imagined. For example, it is interesting to note that of the twenty-six people
who Paul singles out for his personal greeting, six were women. Now that strikes
me as being rather interesting, since Paul has frequently gotten a bum rap for
being a male chauvinist. I think it also shows us the tremendous influence that
women had in the early church. In the male oriented first century Palestine, it
is telling that Paul could not describe the church without mentioning the
significant role of women.
Verse 13 of chapter 16 is
particularly interesting and it is one that scholars have struggled with over
the centuries. Paul writes: "Give my greetings to Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and
his mother and mine." Now this statement could be taken two ways. It could mean
that Paul had two distinct women in mind--the mother of Rufus and his own
personal mother. Or, he could be saying: "I salute Rufus and his mother, who is
like a mother to me." If that is what he meant, and most Biblical scholars agree
that that is indeed what he meant, then it raises some interesting speculation.
When and where did Paul meet Rufus' mother? Did she nurse him through some
serious illness?
Did she receive him into
her home for an extended stay during his missionary journeys? How did this woman
and Paul form such a close bond that he refers to her fondly as being like his
mother? Mark tells us that Simon of Cyrene, the man who carried Jesus cross, had
two sons: Alexander and Rufus. Was this the same Rufus to whom Paul was
speaking? If that is true, his mother would be Simon of Syrene's wife. No one
knows for sure who this remarkable woman was who served as a mother figure for
the great Paul. But it really makes no difference, because what he writes makes
an excellent springboard for a Mother's Day sermon.
Some people ridicule
Mother's Day as a lot of sentimental drivel. They say that it is nothing more
than the creation of the greeting card companies and the florists. And, to be
perfectly candid, there are many ministers who shun this day because, they say,
it is not a religious holiday. Furthermore, they preach from the lectionary,
which has an assigned scriptural reading each week, and therefore mother's day
is left out.
Well, of course, we must
admit that there is sentiment to this day, but what is wrong with that? Seems to
me that a little bit of sentiment is healthy. True enough, there are some women
in the Bible, such as Jezebel and the vindictive Herodias, who had John the
Baptist beheaded, who tarnish the institution of motherhood. There are women
today who abandon, abuse, and corrupt their children and who create a poor
model, but I like to think that these are the exceptions. Most mothers do the
right thing and deserve recognition. So this morning I would like to join Paul
and salute all of the mothers who are with us.
1. First, mothers should be
saluted for their tenacious love.
2. Secondly, mothers should be saluted for the tremendous impact they have.
3. Third, mothers should be saluted because where they are, that is where home is.
2. Secondly, mothers should be saluted for the tremendous impact they have.
3. Third, mothers should be saluted because where they are, that is where home is.
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No one casts a longer
shadow throughout the course of one's life than a mother. Will all our mothers
stand? We honor and celebrate you for the sheltering shade of those shadows.
Back in the mid-1950's
Theodor Geisel railed and revolted against the boringly banal primers forced on
first time readers. His books, penned under the now famous name of "Dr. Seuss,"
transformed reading to our little ones from dull and dreary tales of "Dick and
Jane" to the lyrical fun of "The Cat in the Hat."
Adding to this new literary
library was a protégé of the Dr. Seuss style, the books of P.D. Eastman. His
"classics" in this new children's literature include "Go, Dog, Go," "One Fish,
Two fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish," and especially, my favorite, "Are You My
Mother?"
Just in case you did not
get the chance to read "Are You My Mother?" aloud six hundred times over the
course of your children's childhood, it is the simple story of a baby bird who
hatches out of his egg while his mother is off the nest. The little bird falls
out and promptly sets off looking to find his missing mom. Having no clue what
his mother may look like, the fledgling approaches dogs and cats, trucks and
boats, and finally a huge steam shovel (who deftly dumps him safely back into
his nest), earnestly asking each one, "Are you my mother?"
We all crave a mother's
presence and pine for a mother's love. This Sunday, the second Sunday in May,
has been officially designated as "Mother's Day" since May 9, 1914. But in
England as far back as the 1600's there has been a tradition of a "Mothering
Sunday." Originally born out of the Catholic celebrations of Mary, the Mother of
Christ, the English "Mothering Sunday" allowed poor women who worked and lived
as servants in wealthy households a day off to return home and be with their own
families.
It is fitting that
"Mother's Day" is designated as a Sunday celebration. For though we do not refer
to this imagery very much anymore, we are gathered together this day in our
"Mother Church." St. Cyprian, a third century African bishop, said it is
impossible to have God as our Father if we do not have the church as our mother.
We don't worship the church, and we do worship Christ. But as access to God is
primarily thru Christ, and the body of Christ is the church, so the old ship of
Zion is our Mothership...
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If They Are Going to Get
You...
Author, speaker and sports
enthusiast Pat Williams, in his book A Lifetime of Success, give one of the best
examples I know of a mother's love.
He tells of attending a
very special Atlanta Braves' baseball home opener on April 8, 1974. It was a
night game against the Dodgers and it was a complete sellout. Williams looked
around to see that, seated immediately behind him was singer Pearl Bailey. Up at
the plate: the immortal Henry Aaron. On the line: Babe Ruth's record of 714
career home runs. Aaron had tied the record and tonight he was aiming to break
it.
Understand that this was
nearly 40 years ago. An African-American player was about to topple the great
Babe Ruth--and a lot of people in the country didn't like it. Aaron got a lot of
mail that year--more than 930,000 letters in all, far more than any other person
in the country. Most were fan letters--but about 100,000 of them were hate
letters, some containing death threats.
Williams says he was on the
edge of his seat when Dodgers pitcher Al Downing hurled the ball toward the
plate. Aaron swung and connected. The crack of his bat echoed through the
stands.
The ball was gone. Home
run. Babe Ruth's record was shattered. The ballpark went nuts.
"As Aaron rounded second
base," says Williams, "a couple of teenagers--both white--jumped over the
retaining wall and ran onto the field, chasing Aaron. For a moment, no one knew
what they had in mind, but then it became clear: they were celebrating and
cheering Aaron on. As Aaron crossed the plate, the dugout emptied as the Braves
streamed onto the field to surround him, cheering and whooping it up. But amid
all those ballplayers around Aaron was a short, sixty-eight-year-old black
woman. She latched onto Aaron and wouldn't let go of him.
"Henry Aaron turned and
said to her, 'Mom! What are you doing here?'
"'Baby,' said the mother of
the new home-run king, 'if they're gonna get you,' (thinking of the death
threats Aaron had received) 'they've gotta get me first!'"
That is love only a mother
could have for her child. "If they're gonna get you, they've gotta get me
first!"
Pat Williams, A Lifetime of
Success, (Grand Rapids. MI: Fleming H. Revell, 2000), pp. 109-110, adapted by
King Duncan
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A Mother's Prayer
If I live in a house of
spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a
housekeeper--not a homemaker. If I have time for waxing, polishing, and
decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness - not
godliness. Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the
tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it
wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.
Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is
responsive. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the
child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. Love is the key
that opens salvation's message to a child's heart. Before I became a mother I
took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's perfection of my
child.
As a mother, there is much
I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.
Author Unknown
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The Most Important Job in
the World
Dr. Tony Campolo is a
well-known and highly-respected, inspirational speaker. Over the last several
years, Tony Campolo has spent much of his time traveling around the world on
speaking tours.
Meanwhile, his wife, Peggy,
has chosen to stay home and give herself and all that she has to the "Bringing
Up" of their two children, Bart and Lisa. On those rare occasions when Peggy
does travel with Tony, she finds herself engaged in conversations with some of
the most accomplished, impressive, influential, sophisticated people in the
world.
After one such trip, Peggy
told Tony that sometimes as she visits with these powerful people... she finds
herself feeling intimidated and sometimes even questioning her own self-worth.
Tony said to her: "Well, honey, why don't you come up with something you could
say when you meet people that will let them know that you strongly value what
you do and you feel that it is dramatically, urgent and crucial and
important.
Well, not long after that,
Tony and Peggy Campolo were at a party... when a woman said to Peggy in a rather
condescending tone, "Well, my dear, what do you do?" Tony Campolo heard his wife
say:
"I am nurturing two Homo
Sapiens into the dominant values of the Judaeo-Christian tradition in order that
they might become instruments for the transformation of the social order into
the kind of eschatological utopia God envisioned from the beginning of time."
And the other woman
said:
"O, my, I'm just a
lawyer."
I like that story because
it reminds us that there are a lot of important jobs in the world today but not
one of them is more important than the job of being a mother.
Tony Campolo adapted by
James Moore, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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All Those
Preliminaries
In an old Peanuts strip,
Peppermint Patty and Violet are reflecting on being a grandmother. After Patty
declares that she would like to be a grandmother, Violet agrees and says it
would be nice because all they have to do is "sit and rock" (not quite the case,
is it?) The girls then decide that the trouble with being a grandmother is that
first you have to be a wife and then a mother...and Violet sighs, "I know
it...it's all those preliminaries that get me!"
Adapted from Peanuts.
Original strip run March 13, 1950. Reprinted in 2004 in The Complete Peanuts:
The Definitive Collection of Charles M. Schulz's Comic Strip Masterpiece
1950-1952.
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What's a Good Mother
Like?
Judith Viorst once wrote an
essay based on interviews she had with children. The subject was "What's a good
mother like?"
Viorst reports that the
children expected their mother to get angry from time to time. "She has to,"
said Ted, "or she'll faint from holding it in."
"But it's best to
remember," said Randy, "that when your mother starts to act real weird, you have
to look scared and serious. Don't giggle. When mommies are mad, they get madder
if you giggle."
"My mommy got so mad," said
Megan, "that she yanked the plate off the table and all the mashed potatoes flew
into the air." "And why," Viorst asked, pretending she'd never heard of such
shocking behavior, "why would a mother do a thing like that?"
"Well," said Megan, "she
told my older brother, Mike, he's 11 years old, to eat the potatoes on his plate
and he said 'Later.' And then she told him again to eat the potatoes and Mike
said 'Soon.' And then she told him he had better eat those potatoes right now
and he said, 'In a minute.' And then she stood up and Mike finally took a bite
and told her, 'How can I eat them? They're cold!'"
It's not easy being a Mom.
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com, adapting Judith Viorst, All in the
Family
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Unconventional Mother's Day Gifts
This Mother's Day take a
moment to think of all the mothers in the world who are in need. There are
millions of women in the world living on less than a dollar a day. There are
women in this country who are wondering how they are going to feed or diaper
their children from day to day. There are children who need medical attention
that their parents may not be able to afford. Anyone who has ever had to worry
about such things can deeply sympathize. For those of us who have escaped such
worries, we can only imagine the level of instinctive stress that uncertainty
can provoke.
There are many ways to
celebrate Mother's Day, but here are a few unconventional suggestions that will
prove to your own mother that she did a good job raising you. How about dropping
off a box of diapers and/or a case of formula to a local food bank or women's
shelter? If you have some baby furniture or clothing that your own children have
outgrown, how about donating that stuff to a local charity? Does our local
hospital have a fund for children who need care? Are there doctors in our
community or city who volunteer in clinics overseas who might need supplies?
There are countless ways to help support Moms locally and globally. Let your own
Mom know that you were thinking about her and all of the many things she
provided for you along the way...and that you did a good deed in honor of her.
It will make her proud.
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Worse-Case
Scenarios
If moms are to be faulted,
it is because they love their children so much that they get irrational about
it. For instance, in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin approaches his
mother
Calvin: "Can Hobbes and I
go play in the rain, Mom?
Mom: "No."
Calvin: "Why not?"
Mom: "You'll get soaked."
Calvin: "What's wrong with
that?"
Mom: "You could catch
pneumonia, run up a terrible hospital bill, linger a few months, and die."
Calvin, looking out the
window at the rain: "I always forget. If you ask a mom, you get a worse-case
scenario."
Hobbes: "I had no idea
these little showers were so dangerous."
Bill Watterson, The
Essential Calvin & Hobbes, p. 130.
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The Truest
Friend
A mother is the truest
friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity
takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine,
desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and
endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness,
and cause peace to return to our hearts.
Washington Irving (1783-1859)
Washington Irving (1783-1859)
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Qualities Needed In All
Moms
A panel of experts was
asked to complete some sentences about their moms. What made them experts was
the one thing they all had in common. They were all kindergarteners. Even though
these are the words of 6 year olds I think the qualities they recognized in
their moms are they qualities needed in all moms. Here are the sentences and the
answers:
My mom is best at: "feeding
the dog," "making my bed," "driving," "cleaning," "running," "riding a
two-wheeler," "watering the garden."
If I had enough money, I'd
buy her: "flowers," "a car," "a necklace," "a brand-new fan," "a kitten," "a
diamond ring," "a big pack of bubble gum."
It makes me feel good
inside when Mom says: "I love you," "good job," "dinnertime!" "You look
handsome," "I'll buy you something."
My mom is as pretty as a --
"butterfly," "ballerina," "mouse," "princess," "my brothers," "goose," "gold
ring," "a clean horse."
By the way, one of the most
memorable comments from the children on Father's Day was: Daddy gets tired out
from: "chasing mommy."
Is It Well With Your
Family?
Brett Blair and Staff,
www.eSermons.com.
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Long Over Due
Mother's Day was declared
an annual National Holiday in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson. He directed the
Congress to designate the second Sunday of May as a special day for public
expression of love and reverence for the mothers of America. Since that time
there has been a "Mother's Day," and, I must say that even in 1914, it was long
overdue.
R.E. Lybrand, CSS
Publishing Company
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Humor: Mother's Maintenance
Manual
Many of us take better care
of our cars then we do our mothers and yet we only expect our cars to last 5 or
6 years but we expect our mothers to last for a lifetime.
Maybe we need a maintenance manual for mothers so we would know how to take care of them at least as well as we do our automobiles.
Here are some items that might be included in such a manual.
Engine: A mother's engine is one of the most dependable kinds you can find. She can reach top speed from a prone position at a single cry from a sleeping child. But regular breaks are needed to keep up that peak performance.
Mothers need a hot bath and a nap every 100 miles, a baby-sitter and a night out every 1,000 miles, and a live in baby-sitter with a one week vacation every 10,000 miles.
Battery: Mother's batteries should be recharged regularly. Handmade items, notes, unexpected hugs and kisses, and frequent "I love you's" will do very well for a recharge.
Carburetor: When a mother's carburetor floods it should be treated immediately with Kleenex and a soft shoulder.
Brakes: See that she uses her brakes to slow down often and come to a full stop
Maybe we need a maintenance manual for mothers so we would know how to take care of them at least as well as we do our automobiles.
Here are some items that might be included in such a manual.
Engine: A mother's engine is one of the most dependable kinds you can find. She can reach top speed from a prone position at a single cry from a sleeping child. But regular breaks are needed to keep up that peak performance.
Mothers need a hot bath and a nap every 100 miles, a baby-sitter and a night out every 1,000 miles, and a live in baby-sitter with a one week vacation every 10,000 miles.
Battery: Mother's batteries should be recharged regularly. Handmade items, notes, unexpected hugs and kisses, and frequent "I love you's" will do very well for a recharge.
Carburetor: When a mother's carburetor floods it should be treated immediately with Kleenex and a soft shoulder.
Brakes: See that she uses her brakes to slow down often and come to a full stop