Weekly Sermon

"A Mother's Love" : May 11, 2003

The Reverend Anne Benefield

Proverbs 1:1-9; Matthew 20:20-23

 

An introduction to the scripture lesson: Our reading comes from chapter 20 of Matthew. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus has told the parable about the laborers in the vineyard. You may remember that in the parable the workers who come late in the day are paid the same as the laborers who have worked all day. After the parable, Jesus tells his disciples for the third time that he will be handed over to the chief priests, put to death, and rise on the third day. The next thing that happens is that the mother of James and John comes to speak to Jesus. Matthew 20:20-23

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

Prayer: Heavenly Father, open us to the truth of your love as we explore this passage telling of a mother's love. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

There is no shortage of role models for good mothers in the Bible. Throughout the history of Judaism and Christianity, mothers play a pivotal role. I have to admit that fairly often the mothers show more wisdom than their more famous husbands and children…

It reminds me of a story about a woman who had three children. Later in life she was asked if she would do it again. "Of course, but I'd have different children."

Being a mother takes love, hard work, and courage. There are many stories that illustrate the love of mothers from World War II.

One of them is about a man named Solomon Rosenberg, his wife, their two sons, and his mother and father. They were arrested and placed in a Nazi concentration camp. It was a labor camp; the rules were simple, "As long as you can do your work, you are permitted to live. When you become too weak to do your work, then you are exterminated." Solomon Rosenberg watched his mother and father marched off to their deaths. He knew that next would be his youngest son, David, because David had always been a frail child. Every evening Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of labor and searched for the faces of his family. When he found them they would huddle together, embrace one another and thank God for another day of life.

One day Rosenberg came back and didn't see those familiar faces. He finally found his older son, Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping, and praying. He said, "Josh, tell me it's not true." Joshua turned and said, "It is true, Poppa. Today David was not strong enough to do his work. So they came for him." "But where is your mother?" asked Mr. Rosenberg.

"Oh, Poppa," he said, "When they came for David, he was afraid and he cried. Momma said, 'There is nothing to be afraid of, David,' and she took his hand and went with him." It often takes true courage to be a mother. God created mothers and gave them a huge job to do.

Mrs. Zebedee, the mother of James and John, was no exception. Sometimes we have a tendency to be critical of Mrs. Zebedee because she seems to be pushing her sons, but maybe we should take a closer look at exactly what she did. Speaking to Jesus about the place her sons would have in the kingdom was pretty courageous, given that Jesus had just told the parable of the vineyard workers. So let's look at exactly what Mrs. Zebedee. The first thing that she did was to pray to the Lord that her sons might be a part of the Kingdom. Think about that. Surely, praying that your children be a part of the kingdom is one of the most important things a mother can do.

In our time, we pray that our children will succeed in school. We want our children to be talented and popular. As they grow, we want them to be good in sports and extracurricular things. We want them to do well in college both academically and socially. Then we want to them get great jobs, find partners, and raise children of their own who will be talented and popular.

The cycle goes on. It's not so much that these are the wrong goals, it is just that the foundation is dangerously thin for real success in life. Real success is a life with meaning. For real success a mother prays that her children will be a part of the kingdom.

One day some prisoners sat looking at a magazine in a prison library. One said, "Wish my mother had a house like the one in that ad." Another took the magazine and flipping through the pages remarked, "That's what I wish my ma had. A car like that so she could come and see me once in a while." They passed the magazine around until it came to a prisoner named Bill.

He just sat there. Finally Bill spoke, "I wish," his voice sounded as if it were going to break, "that my mother had a good son." A good son or daughter is the greatest gift a mother receives.

Usually, a good child begins with the prayers of a mother that the child will be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. The second thing that Mrs. Zebedee did was to pray that her children would do the work of the Kingdom. She prayed they would be actively involved. It isn't enough just to be in the kingdom, we have to join in the work. Research shows that volunteering and community service begin in the home. The child who sees parents helping the needy, devoting time to the lonely, and sharing their gifts with the poor are inclined to grow into adults who volunteer.

Four scholars were arguing over Bible translations. One said he preferred the King James Version because of its beautiful, eloquent old English. Another said he preferred the American Standard Bible for its literalism, the way it moves the reader from passage to passage with confident feelings of accuracy from the original text. The third man preferred Moffatt because of its quaint, penetrating use of words, the turn of a phrase that captures the attention of the reader. After giving the issue further thought, the fourth scholar admitted, 'I have personally preferred my mother's translation.' When the other scholars chuckled, he responded, 'Yes, she translated it. She translated each page of the Bible into life. It is the most convincing translation I ever saw.' It isn't enough to have faith. A good mother teaches her children that they must do the work of the Lord.

The third thing that Mrs. Zebedee had was big expectations for her sons. She prayed that they would be a part of the kingdom and the work of the kingdom and she wanted them to be leaders. Mrs. Zebedee had big expectations for her sons, just as God has big expectations for us.

We are called be leaders, to take our faith out into the world and proclaim the gospel in the ways we live. John Quincy Adams said, "All that I am my mother made me." Abraham Lincoln said, "All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." Dwight Moody said, "All that I have ever accomplished in life, I owe to my mother." That is motherhood.

Mothers are so many wonderful things. One of my favorite descriptions of motherhood is found in a column by Erma Bombeck.

She wrote, On the day God created mothers He had already worked long overtime. And an angel said to Him, "Lord, you sure are spending a lot of time on this one." The Lord turned and said, "Have you read the specs on this model? She is supposed to be completely washable, but not plastic. She is to have 180 moving parts, all of them replaceable. She is to have a kiss that will heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart. She is to have a lap that will disappear whenever she stands up. She is to be able to function on black coffee and leftovers. And she is supposed to have six pairs of hands." "Six pairs of hands," said the angel, "that's impossible." "It's not the six pairs of hands that bother me," said the Lord, "It's the three pairs of eyes. She is supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors to that whenever she says, 'What are you kids doing in there?' she already knows what they're doing in there." "She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she is not supposed to see but must see. And then she has one pair right in front that can look at a child that just goofed and communicate love and understanding without saying a word."

"That's too much," said the angel, "You can't put that much in one model. Why don't you rest for a while and resume your creating tomorrow?" "No, I can't," said the Lord. "I'm close to creating someone very much like myself. I've already come up with a model who can heal herself when she is sick - who can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger - and who can persuade a nine year old to take a shower."

Then the angel looked at the model of motherhood a little more closely and said, "She's too soft." "Oh, but she is tough," said the Lord. "You'd be surprised at how much this mother can do."

"Can she think?" asked the angel. "Not only can she think," said the Lord, "but she can reason and compromise and persuade." Then the angel reached over and touched her cheek. "This one has a leak," he said. "I told you that you couldn't put that much in one model." "That's not a leak," said the Lord. "That's a tear." "What's a tear for?" asked the angel. "Well it's for joy, for sadness, for sorrow, for disappointment, for pride." "You're a genius," said the angel. And the Lord said, "Oh, but I didn't put it there."

Did you hear how Erma Bombeck quoted God saying as he was creating a mother, "I am close to creating something very much like myself"? That is why today is very special - because we recognize that a mother's love is probably the closest example we have to God's love.

It is a love that goes through the valley of the shadow of death to bring life into being. It is a love that sacrifices itself over and over again. A good mother dares to lay down her life for her children.

May our mothers be blessed and may we learn from them the way of the Lord.

Amen