“A MOTHER’S LOVE”
WHEN THE ANGEL
GABRIEL ANNOUNCED TO MARY THAT SHE WAS GOING TO HAVE A CHILD,
THROUGH NO FAULT OF HER OWN, OR JOSEPH’S, SHE REPLIED, “LET IT BE TO
ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WILL.”
WHEN THE SHEPHERDS
ARRIVED AT HIS BIRTH AND REVEALED ALL THAT THEY HAD SEEN AND HEARD FROM ANGELS IN THE SKIES
ABOVE, WE ARE TOLD THAT
SHE “TREASURED THEIR WORDS AND PONDERED THEM IN HER HEART.”
EIGHT DAYS LATER AS
SHE AND JOSEPH
PRESENTED JESUS FOR DEDICATION AT THE TEMPLE, AS WAS THE CUSTOM OF THEIR PEOPLE,
SHE HEARD SIMEON’S DIRE PREDICTION:
“THIS CHILD IS
DESTINED FOR THE FALLING AND RISING OF MANY IN
ISRAEL, AND TO BE A SIGN THAT WILL BE OPPOSED,
SO THAT THE INNER THOUGHTS OF MANY WILL BE REVEALED –
AND A SWORD WILL PIERCE
YOUR OWN SOUL TOO;”
APPARENTLY, SHE TOOK
IT ALL IN STRIDE, AS
THE LOT SHE HAD BEEN CAST AS THE
MOTHER OF THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
WITHIN THE ROMAN
CATHOLIC TRADITION SHE IS KNOWN AS THE MATER
DOLOROSA – THE MOTHER OF SORROWS – SEVEN OF THEM TO BE
EXACT:
- THE
PROPHECY OF
SIMEON. (LUKE 2:34-35)
- THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. (MATTHEW 2:13)
- THE LOSS OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE
TEMPLE. (LUKE
2:43-45)
- MARY MEETS JESUS ON THE WAY TO
CALVARY.
- JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS. (JOHN 19:25)
- MARY RECEIVES THE BODY OF JESUS IN HER
ARMS. (MATTHEW
27:57-59)
- THE BODY OF JESUS IS PLACED IN THE
TOMB. (JOHN
19:40-42)
IT WAS
NO EASY TASK – BEING THE MOTHER OF THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, OR BEING
HER SON.
THE
SNAPSHOTS WE HAVE OF THEM TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE GOSPELS
ARE FEW
AND FAR BETWEEN, OFTEN
FILLED WITH TENSION, AND YET, SOMEHOW UNDERLYING THEM
ALL, A MOTHER’S LOVE
FOR HER SON.
HERE IN
OUR PASSAGE FOR THIS MORNING, AT THE FIRST OF HIS MIRACLES, THE
CHANGING OF WATER INTO WINE AT THE WEDDING IN CANA, WE
SEE IT
AGAIN.
WHEN
MARY RECEIVES WORD THAT
THE WINE FOR THE WEDDING RECEPTION HAS RUN OUT SHE GOES IMMEDIATELY TO HER
SON, KNOWING THAT
THERE’S SOMETHING HE CAN DO ABOUT IT;
AND HE KNOWS THAT SHE KNOWS THAT
HE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT; AND SHE KNOWS THAT HE KNOWS THAT SHE
KNOWS, THAT DESPITE HIS PROTESTATIONS TO THE CONTRARY, HE WILL DO
SOMETHING.
HIS
WORDS TO HIS MOTHER ARE
NOT NEARLY AS HARSH IN ARAMAIC AS THEY SOUND IN ENGLISH,
“WOMAN, WHAT CONCERN IS
THAT TO YOU AND TO
ME?”
HE
AVOIDS CALLING HER MOTHER, PERHAPS IN THE MIND OF THE GOSPEL WRITER, AS PROOF,
THAT THROUGHOUT HIS MINISTRY JESUS REFUSED TO PERFORM SIGNS
AND WONDERS ON COMMAND,
EVEN HERE AT THE URGING OF HIS OWN MOTHER; BUT ONLY AS THEY RELATED
TO THE WORK
AND THE WILL OF HIS
HEAVENLY FATHER.
NOTICE,
HOWEVER, THAT HE DOES COME TO THE AID OF THE WEDDING
HOST, SUPPLYING MORE
WINE FOR THE RECEPTION, AND LATER, AFTER THE FESTIVITIES HAVE
ENDED, TRAVELS WITH HIS MOTHER AND HIS BROTHERS, AS WELL AS HIS DISCIPLES, TO THE
CITY OF
CAPERNAUM.
THIS
ISN’T THE LAST TIME JESUS AND HIS MOTHER HAVE WORDS WITH EACH
OTHER.
REMEMBER
THE TIME THAT HIS MOTHER, BROTHERS, AND SISTERS BELIEVED JESUS HAD “GONE OFF
THE DEEP END,” “LOST HIS MIND,” “WAS BESIDE HIMSELF,”
AND THEY SHOWED UP TO
TAKE HIM HOME QUIETLY?
JESUS’
RESPONSE IS: “WHO IS MY MOTHER AND MY BROTHERS AND MY SISTERS? THOSE WHO DO THE WILL OF MY
FATHER IN HEAVEN, THESE ARE MY MOTHER AND BROTHERS AND SISTERS.”
AND SO IT WENT THROUGHOUT THEIR
LIFE TOGETHER
AND APART –
JESUS
ALWAYS HER SON, SHE
ALWAYS HIS MOTHER, BUT ONLY ABLE TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE COULD
LOVE THE WORLD, AND THE
WORLD COULD COME TO LOVE HIM.
SHE WAS
THERE ON HIS WAY TO THE CROSS.
SHE WAS THERE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS – BEFORE, DURING,
AND AFTER HIS
DEATH.
SHE WAS
THERE WHEN THEY LOWERED HIM INTO HER ARMS, AND THERE WHEN THEY LAID HIM IN THE
TOMB.
BUT IT
WAS AT THE CROSS, MOMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH, THAT WE SEE PERHAPS THE CLOSEST AND MOST LOVING MOMENT OF THEIR LIVES
TOGETHER.
JESUS
CROSS-EYED WITH PAIN, MOMENTS FROM DEATH, SPEAKS TO HER, GIVING HER
HIS BELOVED DISCIPLE JOHN, AS THE SON SHE NEVER REALLY
HAD;
THE
SON HE NEVER QUITE
COULD BE, WHAT WITH A WORLD TO SAVE, AND A DEATH TO
DIE.
“WOMAN
HERE IS YOUR SON;”
AND TO HIS DISCIPLE,
“HERE IS YOUR MOTHER;” AND THE GOSPEL TELLS US THAT FROM THAT
MOMENT ON JOHN TOOK HER INTO HIS OWN HOME.
THIS IS
NOT THE LAST WE WILL SEE OF MARY, HIS MOTHER, NOR OF HER SON, OF COURSE.
POST-RESURRECTION JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES REPEATEDLY,
AND THOUGH THERE IS NO
SPECIFIC MENTION OF HIM APPEARING TO HIS OWN MOTHER, THE ACTS OF THE
APOSTLES TELLS US THAT JESUS’ MOTHER AND BROTHERS WERE CONSTANTLY WITH THE
ELEVEN DISCIPLES AS THEY BEGAN TO BUILD HIS
CHURCH.
A
MOTHER’S LOVE.
AS I
SUGGESTED IN LAST WEEK’S SERMON, GENERALLY SPEAKING, SERMONS ABOUT
LOVE ARE NOT
EASY;
AND THE SAME IS TRUE, MORE TRUE IN SOME WAYS, ABOUT SERMONS ON A
MOTHER’S LOVE ON MOTHER’S DAY.
FOR SOME
OF YOU THERE’S NOTHING I CAN SAY THAT WOULD TRULY CAPTURE THE LOVE
YOU RECEIVED FROM YOUR MOTHER, OR THE LOVE YOU HAVE FOR
HER.
FOR
OTHERS, UNFORTUNATELY, BEREFT OF A MOTHER’S LOVE SUCH AS THIS, THIS
DAY IS NOT SO MUCH A
DAY OF CELEBRATION, BUT
A PAINFUL REMINDER OF SOMETHING YOU NEVER HAD, OR AT LEAST, NEVER
HAD ENOUGH OF.
IF WE
ARE HONEST WITH
OURSELVES, THERE ARE:
WONDERFUL MOTHERS WITH
WONDERFUL KIDS;
TERRIBLE MOTHERS WITH TERRIBLE
KIDS;
WONDERFUL MOTHERS WITH
TERRIBLE KIDS;
TERRIBLE MOTHERS WITH
WONDERFUL KIDS.
THAT IS TO SAY, A MOTHER’S
LOVE, WHILE A WONDERFUL THING, IS NOT THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF WHO WE
BECOME.
IF ONLY IT WERE SO, THAT
ALL MOTHERS WERE
WONDERFUL AND LOVING,
FULLY DEVOTED TO THEIR CHILDREN, AND DEDICATED TO RAISING THEM TO THE
BEST OF THEIR ABILITY – LIFE WOULD BE
GRAND.
BUT IT SIMPLY ISN’T ALWAYS SO;
AND OF COURSE, WE COULD
SUBSTITUTE THE WORD “FATHER” OR “PARENTS” HERE AS WELL.
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS DAY, MOTHER’S DAY, AND OF A MOTHER’S LOVE, GIVEN THE
REALITY OF OUR OWN LIVES?
IF ALL IS/WAS WELL AND GOOD WITH YOU AND YOUR MOTHER, IF IT IS/WAS EVEN
BETTER THAN THAT, THEN CELEBRATE YOUR GOOD FORTUNE, BE SENSITIVE TO
THOSE FOR WHOM SUCH IS/WAS NOT THE CASE, AND GIVE THANKS FOR THE LOVING MOTHER
YOU HAVE/HAD.
IF IT WASN’T SO GOOD
AND YOUR MOTHER IS
GONE, AND IT’S
ALL HISTORY AT THIS
POINT; WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE; A PAST THAT YOU CANNOT CHANGE; IT IS TIME,
HIGH TIME, THAT YOU TREAT IT SO AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE.
YOU MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO FORGET, NEVER BE
ABLE TO FORGIVE, BUT
YOU CAN DO THE ONE
THING YOU CAN DO, YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD.
IF IT IS A PRESENT REALITY, IF
YOUR MOTHER IS STILL LIVING, AND THE RELATIONSHIP IS NOT WHAT YOU
WOULD LIKE IT TO BE, NOT AS LOVING AS YOU NEED IT TO BE, YOU CAN DO
ONE OF TWO
THINGS:
YOU CAN EITHER TAKE THE
BULL BY THE HORNS
AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT
IT, OR YOU CAN RESIGN YOURSELF TO THE FACT THAT IT WILL NEVER BE ANY BETTER
AND THEN REGRET THAT
FACT IN THE FUTURE WHEN
SHE’S GONE.
AND IF YOU ARE THE MOTHER IN THESE SITUATIONS, YOU
CAN DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES WHAT YOU WANT TO DO ABOUT YOUR
RELATIONSHIPS TODAY – NO ONE CAN DO IT FOR YOU, IT IS UP TO
YOU.
AS I SAID, SERMONS ABOUT LOVE
ARE DIFFICULT,
AND SERMONS ABOUT A
MOTHER’S LOVE ARE EVEN
MORE DIFFICULT IN SOME WAYS.
THIS MAY NOT BE THE HEARTS AND LACE, FLOWERS AND CANDY, RAINBOWS AND UNICORNS SERMON YOU WERE HOPING TO
HEAR ON MOTHER’S
DAY, BUT THEN, MOST OF
LIFE IS NOT THESE
THINGS EITHER.
SEE THE LIFE OF JESUS AND HIS MOTHER FOR PROOF OF
THAT.
THEIR LIVES, THEIR LOVE, WERE
COMPLICATED, JUST AS
OUR’S ARE AT TIMES;
LIVED OUT UNDER VERY DIFFICULT
CIRCUMSTANCES, JUST AS
OUR’S ARE AT
TIMES;
LIVED IN THE GIVE
AND TAKE, THE ON
AND OFF, THE EBB
AND FLOW OF LIFE, JUST AS OUR’S ARE AT TIMES.
THERE ARE THOSE HALLMARK
MOMENTS;
THOSE PUBLIX SUPERMARKET
MOTHER’S DAY COMMERCIAL
MOMENTS (I HOPE YOU’VE SEEN IT);
THOSE TIMES FILLED WITH HEARTS
AND LACE, FLOWERS
AND CANDY, RAINBOWS
AND
UNICORNS;
BUT EVERYDAY LIFE IS NOT LIKE THAT EVERY
DAY.
THE SNAPSHOTS OF OUR LIVES
TEND TO CAPTURE THE HIGH POINTS OF LIFE, YET RARELY REFLECT THE WHOLE
STORY.
IT’S GOOD TO CLAIM
AND CELEBRATE THOSE
SPECIAL MOMENTS, BUT IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO REFLECT UPON EVERYDAY
LIFE AS
WELL, FOR BOTH ARE THE REALITY OF LIFE AS WE KNOW
IT.
I GOT TO THIS POINT IN WRITING MY SERMON
AND
THOUGHT...
I NEED TO FIND A HUMOROUS
ANECTDOTE, TOUCHING STORY, OR SENTIMENTAL POEM TO CLOSE OUT MY
MESSAGE. I LOOKED
AROUND...
I FOUND SOMETHING MY MOTHER
HAD SAVED THAT I HAD WRITTEN BACK IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ABOUT HER
BEING MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WORLD...
I FOUND ONE OF HER FAVORITE POEMS WHICH I HAVE
SHARED WITH YOU BEFORE, THAT THROUGHOUT ITS READING, YOU BELIEVE
IT’S MARY TALKING ABOUT
JESUS, AND HER LOVE FOR
HER SON;
ONLY TO FIND OUT IN THE
SURPRISE ENDING THAT IT’S THE MOTHER OF JUDAS TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH
SHE LOVES HER SON.
I FOUND A HUMOROUS STORY FROM
ERMA BOMBECK ABOUT A COMPLETELY DEVOTED MOTHER, EVERYTHING DONE
PERFECTLY FOR HER CHILDREN FOR THE DAY, ON HER KNEES AT THE END OF THAT
DAY, THANKING GOD, THAT
SHE HADN’T KILLED ONE
OF THEM BY DAY’S
END.
THEN I LOOKED BACK AT MY
SERMON, SAW WHAT I HAD WRITTEN, AND DECIDED TO LEAVE YOU WITH A FEW
MENTAL SNAPSHOTS OF MOTHERS ON THIS MOTHER’S DAY:
-
LIKE THE MOMS RETURNING FROM ACTIVE DUTY IN AFGHANISTAN
BEING WELCOMED HOME BY THE HUSBANDS AND CHILDREN THEY HAD TO LEAVE
BEHIND;
-
LIKE THE PICTURE OF THAT MOTHER IN A WHEELCHAIR WHO LOST
BOTH LEGS IN A TORNADO LAST MONTH, WHILE PROTECTING AND SAVING THE LIVES OF HER TWO
CHILDREN;
-
A
MOTHER OF THE BRIDE; A MOTHER OF THE GROOM; A MOTHER ON TELEVISION
PLEADING FOR THE SAFE
RETURN OF HER ABDUCTED CHILD;
-
A
MOTHER OF A GRADUATE; A MOTHER OF A PRE-SCHOOL, POTTY TRAINING,
POTTY-MOUTHED, SNOTTY-HEADED, CURLY-HAIRED, CUT-FINGER,
BANDAGED-KNEE, ASLEEP IN HER ARMS SON;
-
A
MOTHER RECENTLY DEPARTED AND DEEPLY LOVED; A MOTHER LONG GONE,
UNLOVING, YET UNFORGOTTEN AND UNFORGIVEN;
A MOTHER SKYPING
LATER TODAY WITH HER CHILD FAR AWAY;
-
A
SINGLE MOTHER PLAYING BALL WITH HER SON IN THE PARK;
A WIDOWED GRANDMOTHER BEING
BOTH GRANDMOTHER AND
GRANDFATHER TO HER GRANDCHILDREN; A MOTHER GRIEVING
THE
CHILD SHE OUTLIVED;
-
AND YES, THAT MOTHER
AND DAUGHTER ON THE
PUBLIX COMMERCIAL;
-
A
MOTHER RECEIVING A LACEY HEART CUT FROM A DOILY AT SCHOOL; A LITTLE
BOY HOLDING A
BOX OF CHOCOLATES
BEHIND HIS BACK, AND
DAD WITH FLOWERS BEHIND HIS;
-
A
MOM AND HER DAUGTHER ON
THE FLOOR PLAYING WITH HER RAINBOW COLORED UNICORN, BRUSHING ITS
LONG BLOND HAIR.
NOW YOU...WHAT DO YOU
SEE IN YOUR
MIND’S EYE... THIS MOTHER’S DAY?