12 May SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2024; HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY
Near the end of my time visiting with a person related to our church family, that gentleman’s roommate hollered out from behind the curtain, “Pastor?” The man’s tone did not sound upbeat or carefree, but somewhat burdened and desperate.
Upon speaking with him it was clear that he had spiritual needs. He desired prayer for multiple concerns, including his fear of not being forgiven and thus counted on the “right side,” the side of those whom God would claim rather than reject as unworthy.
The man proceeded to confess that he had sinned time and time again during a period of self-indulgence filled with wayward pleasure. He also professed that in the years since he had been a faithful husband and raised stepdaughters.
Now, feeling as though the end of life was near, having already survived cancer and now having suffered a stroke. This was evidenced by the man’s left arm lying parallel beside his torso in the bed, lifeless and still.
He wanted his wife to know she’d be taken care of if he died sooner rather than later, but she apparently didn’t want to hear about when and if that time would come. He shared that his wife was somewhat older than he, so perhaps she wanted to avoid talk of death for her own peace of mind.
The theme of this man’s conversation with me and for this Mother’s Day sermon addresses two very basic human needs. The first is the need to be claimed by someone larger than life, bigger than ourselves, like God, a spouse or mom, a person who consistently demonstrates love in the form of taking adequate care, forgiveness, and ongoing responsibility for our welfare.
Second, we all have a need to belong to some kind of family. That’s really what we celebrate on Mother’s Day. The fact that once upon a time, our first name was recorded on paper as belonging to a mother and father with surnames. We are their offspring, the product of their union. Just by being born alive, we become part of something greater, a larger family unit made up of generations throughout history. Doing a genogram offers visible evidence to this fact and is the best way to see just how much we belong.
Some of you may even be lucky enough to still have the woman you call “Mom” or a similar person in your life. Perhaps you are lucky enough to experience something like that through sisterhood or friendship, becoming an aunt or mother yourself. I think what brings everyone joy on Mother’s Day is the ability to remember what it’s like to feel loved.
I asked another gentleman in the hospital who it was that taught him to love so well. I said, “Who helped you learn how to show compassion, to forgive hurt or disappointment, and not hold a grudge?” Without hesitation his reply was, “My mom.” Listen to how much Moms and Jesus have in common.
First of all, both Moms and Jesus recognize and cherish whomever God gives to their charge. They acknowledge upfront that those individuals first belonged to God before they were ever given into their care.
Each willingly undertakes responsibility to make God known to their charges, to make God known by name through their words, by their deeds, and in truth. Mothers know, as Jesus did, that God willingly speaks to them directly about any and all concerns they have with regard to their significant role.
Mothers and Jesus also know for certain that prayer is essential. Prayer is the type of communication most crucial for the sake of two things: remaining connected to God and staying connected to those in our care. Prayer not only facilitates our own faith, but our well being and that of those who come from God to live in this world and are given to us to care for.
Now let’s look at the role of children/disciples. Their job is to receive and trust whatever is shared with them regarding God, if it is the truth so that they will believe that God’s word is true, that God’s word is an expression of God which is written and shared for our benefit and our own good.
Interestingly enough, Jesus, like a mom, shows preferential regard for his own, those given to him by God. Jesus prays to God specifically on their behalf, not on behalf of every mother’s child, in other words, the entire world.
And that’s okay. Jesus is pleased to claim what is God’s as his own while knowing full well that those whom he claims first belong to God. Jesus and moms claim joint ownership because both invest in those for whom they care and both make many sacrifices on their behalf.
Then Jesus, like a mom who has the privilege of seeing her children grow into adulthood and thrive, expresses appreciation and a kind of satisfaction at the nearing end to his own time on earth. He feels glorified in them which means he feels that his glory will be seen through them.
What a blessing it is to see the likeness of a loved one visible in our offspring or their offspring or in some other family member. I love catching a glimpse of a mannerism, recognizing a character trait or seeing a talent of my mom expressed by my children, children who never even met her in real life. I consider it a privilege to witness this type of glory spoken of by Jesus firsthand.
Sadly, Jesus, like every one of our mothers, must eventually depart from this world. It’s a somber moment when Jesus and a mom recognizes their limits, when they realize that they’ll no longer be able to control or influence outcomes, when they must consider that whatever they’ve already done is as much as they’re ever going to be able to do.
At that point, Jesus and moms must acknowledge that only one other person, God himself, cares as much as they do. In fact, God has always cared more than they ever could. God, who was, and is, and always will be perfect in power and might, pure in holiness, all loving and full of tender mercies, is the only one able to continue caring, watching over and protecting each life in a mother’s absence.
The time when Jesus and moms could protect and guard them comes to an end. There’s a bit of pride and satisfaction expressed by Jesus for not losing one of them, that is, except the one destined to be lost so that scripture might be fulfilled. It’s hard for me to hear Jesus describe Judas’ tragic fate as no more than a predetermined reality because it sounds cruel.
So instead, I hear Jesus’ statement as a realistic account of his efforts. Like a mom, Jesus acknowledges what was out of his control with the understanding that he did what he could under the circumstances. Jesus shows compassion for the role of persons who take responsibility for others knowing full well that such a role is limited in its capacity and influence. No one person can change the course of a thing set in motion long long ago that will eventually occur regardless of our efforts.
And yet, Jesus prays. We pray, too. For God to protect and guide those we love like the man in the next bed prayed for his wife’s safety to and fro as she drove to visit him each day. Like him, we pray to not feel guilty for the times we chose to sin knowingly.
Like Jesus, the man knew his time was coming, that he would soon face God as Jesus said and because of this fact, he wanted to speak things plainly so that he, like Jesus, could experience joy made complete.
This unnamed man is a perfect representation of us. He wishes to know, for certain, that he belongs to God. He needs reassurance of his choice to not belong to the world or any class of evil doers. He makes his case through tears, explaining the good he tried to do in life and the ways he felt sorry for sinning. I explained to him that no one earns their right to stand worthy before God.
I further explained how God always looks at people who say they believe
or who want to believe through the lens of Jesus Christ
and everything he did on our behalf.
So we’ve come full circle. Jesus, like a mom, prays and asks for protection from the evil one. He says, “I am not asking you to take them out of this world altogether though they do not belong to the world in the same way I do not.” You see, we come from elsewhere, even before we are born.
Each life comes from and returns to God, the source of our being, the one who claims us as his own and gives Jesus charge over us, who takes on the responsibility to make God known by name through their words, by their deeds, and in truth.
Jesus asks for God to sanctify his disciples in truth, as he himself has been. To be sanctified in truth means to be “in unity with God’s purpose and mind, to share common goals and unqualified mutual love, to experience comprehensive togetherness” and a relationship characterized by intimate knowledge.
These things describe the very best traits of any intimate working relationship. As the beloved disciple John writes, “The testimony of God is greater than human testimony. Belief in Jesus comes through acceptance of God’s testimony in the heart. What is the testimony? That God gave us eternal life and this life is in his Son so that whoever has the Son has life.”
What has been delivered from God through Jesus and moms is the experience of life and knowledge of a provision for life eternal. Just like the man in the next bed desired for his wife to realize, God wants us to know that we have been provided for, we have been loved. God has been faithful. We have come from One who claimed us before we were even born and we will return to stand in the presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
At that time, we will know all things and be able to acknowledge what has been done on our behalf. We will be in the company of saints, even more so than we are now. We will know without a doubt that we belong and are on “the right side.” Free from sin and evil, chosen to live eternally in the family of God. Let us pray.
Holy, awesome and mighty loving God, how you love us so even when we are unaware of all that you have done or tried to do through people around us to build our confidence in you. Grow us to accept ourselves and others, faults and all. Make us better members within our families and within your family. Count us not only among your beloved children, but as those you choose and send into the world to be your disciples. In your holy name we pray, Amen.