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“The Most Famous Mother”
Luke 2:25-35
I found it interesting as I began preparing for this message to note that while various
societies have celebrated the place of mothers in some way, Mother’s day as we know
it, has only been celebrated for a hundred
years. In 1914 American President Woodrow
Wilson signed the proclamation creating
Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, as
a national holiday to honor mothers. In
Canada, Mother’s Day is not a statutory
holiday. You will not find it on the calendar of
the Christian Year. However, in terms of
observance, it is stands only behind
Christmas and Easter as one of the Sundays
that people are most likely to attend church. In terms of commercial success, Mother’s
Day has become very significant for retailers. Father’s Day, on the other hand, has had
a hard time getting established. In the US, it was not until 1966, that President Lyndon
B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the
third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent
national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law. Obviously, we think
much more highly of mothers than we do of fathers. In fact, I expect that most people
Google Father’s Day, just to figure out the date for this rather muted celebration.
Some churches go all out for Mother’s Day, with prizes for the oldest mother, the
youngest mother, the mother with the most children and the mother with the most
children present that particular Sunday. Trust me, we are not going to do anything like
that today. I appreciate that this is a day that needs to be treated with a little more
sensitivity than that. While not all of us are or can be mothers, we all have mothers.
However, even there we need to use some sensitivity. Some never knew their mothers
and some may have had a very trying relationship with mother. I guess in some ways, it
might be easier just to by-pass the subject so as not to offend or hurt anyone. However,
I believe that it is important to look at such topics because the voice of the Christian
Church is little heard on such subjects
anymore.
There are many stories about mothers in the
Bible – some miraculous, some scandalous
and some just normal. Of course, it is in the
Bible that we find the story of the most
famous mother in the world – Mary of
Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. Her’s is a very
well-known story. In fact, it is so well known
that I almost hesitate to speak of it. However,
I believe that there are some things in the life
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and parenting of Mary that are noteworthy. Hopefully, I will not just be re-ploughing a
field that has already been overly tilled.
We know that Mary came to motherhood in a rather unusual and unexpected way.
Some become mothers by choice and some by accident. Now, I just used the word
accident, but maybe I should have used the word “unplanned”. I want to make it clear
that no matter what the actions or intentions of the parents, when it comes to children,
there are no mistakes as far as God is concerned. I say that because I have been faced
over the years with people who felt that they were “accidents” or a “mistakes”; who
believed that they should never have been born. I believe that every child and every
person is a gift from God, even the most trying of them. I believe that regardless of what
they feel, each child is planned for by God. Your mother carried you for 8 or 9 months
before you were born, but God planned for you and carried you in his heart for
millennia.
If you don’t believe what I have just said, then
you need to sit down and read the genealogy
of Jesus in Matthew 1. If you don’t believe that
God can use someone who is born in an
unusual or unplanned way, then notice that
this genealogy, which is based strictly on the
male line of the ancestry of Jesus, mentions
the names of four women, but not the names
of the great matriarchs’ of Judaism like Sarah
or Rebekah or Leah. No, it mentions the
names of four women who we would think
should never appear in this sacred genealogy.
The first is Tamar, who enticed her father-in-law
Judah into an incestuous relationship which
produced Perez, who is one of the ones
through whom Matthew traces the genealogy of
Jesus. The second is Rahab, who was not even
a Jewess,
but a
Canaanite.
She was a
prostitute by
profession but was responsible for saving the lives of
the Israelites who came to spy out the land for
Joshua. The third is Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite who
belonged to an alien and hated people. Deuteronomy
23:3 states, No Ammonite or Moabite or any of
their descendants may enter the assembly of the
Lord, not even in the tenth generation. Ruth
married a man named Boaz and they had a son
named Obed, who in turn was the father of Jesse
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who fathered David, Israel’s greatest king. The
fourth woman is not named but we know who
she was. Bathsheba was seduced by David,
who then tried to cover his tracks by having her
husband Uriah, one of his faithful soldiers, killed
in battle. Bathsheba became David’s wife and
her son Solomon became Israel’s second
greatest king. So you see, there are no mistakes
or accidents in God’s economy. He takes even those things which we do that are sinful
and wrong and uses them for his glory.
Getting back to Mary, we find that the chief characteristic her life and I guess of her
parenting style was obedience to God. This young woman, who was probably only a
teenager, was confronted with an incredible task when told that she would give birth to
and parent the Son of God. What’s more, she was told that Joseph her fiancée would
not be the father, but that the child she was to bear would be conceived by the Holy
Spirit. I expect she was stunned by the news. As one person put it, “Was she nervous?
Certainly. Was she unsure of her own abilities? Who wouldn't be? Was she anxious
about the prophecy that part of her future would include pain? Of course.”
When one of my uncles died at the age of 90, I
was given several boxes of his books. Among
them I found this book about senior athletes:
“Growing Old Is Not For Sissies”. It was a little
surprising because my uncle had not been an
athlete. When I think about parenting, I guess it
could be said, “Parenting is not for the weak of
heart!” Anyone one who has sat waiting far past
their bedtime for a daughter to return from a
date, or watched a son drive off down the road in
the family car just after getting his license, will
know what I mean. Parenting is not easy.
Sometimes it can be very, very hard. We all want what is best for our children. We all
want to protect our children and our young people. At the same time, we realize that life
happens and that it is not always pleasant.
Maybe Mary was just too young to realize what the consequences of this
announcement were going to be. Maybe she was too young to realize what this was
going to cost her. Nothing stopped her from replying to the challenge, “I am the Lord’s
servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)
Obedience is an important characteristic in the life of any Christian, not just a parent.
Mary is a tremendous example of obedience that we could all bear imitating.
One of the perceptions that most people have is that Mary was the perfect mother and
the perfect parent. Fortunately for us, it is not true. I expect that Mary was a very good
mother, but she was not perfect. Nor is it necessary for any parent to be perfect. Dr.
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Ben Carson, although now retired, was one of the
outstanding neurosurgeons in the world. He tells this
story about his mother. Dr. Carson’s parents
separated when he was eight and he and his brother
Curtis were raised by their mother. Mrs. Carson
insisted that the boys write a book report every couple
of weeks. This wasn’t required by school. It was
required by Mrs. Carson and her sons dutifully
obeyed. When Ben was in early high school, he had
an epiphany. He realized that his mother was illiterate
– that she couldn’t read. All this time Ben (and his
brother) were reading books and writing reports,
thinking that his mother was reading and checking
every word. The reality was that she didn’t have a clue what they had written. Carson
went on to become, not only a world-renowned neurosurgeon who was featured in
numerous articles, but an author who wrote not only technical articles, but six best
selling books as well. Ben Carson’s mother was illiterate, but she gave her children
what she had - interest, accountability, and the courage to demand extra work.
I mentioned that Mary was not the perfect
mother. Maybe you remember the time Jesus
turned water into wine. Well, as you read that
story, you get the sense that Jesus was not
altogether happy with Mary. When she came
to him with the problem that they had run out
of wine, Jesus replied: “Woman, why do you
involve me? My hour has not yet come.”
(John 2:4) There is an awkwardness to this
conversation. Jesus performs the miracle, but
we sense that Jesus does so, not because he
felt that this was what he was supposed to do, but because his mother put him on the
spot.
Here is another example of Mary’s imperfection. In Mark 3:20,21 we read: 20 Then
Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples
were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take
charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Those are pretty strong words.
You may feel that this probably just involved his brothers, but his mother is mentioned a
few verses further on in the chapter. I am quite sure that there were probably times
when my mother must have thought that I was out of my mind. Fortunately, she didn’t
put it into words! No, I would conclude that Mary was not a perfect mother, but that did
not stop her from being a very good mother and one to be emulated.
There is one final thing that is noteworthy about Mary. In our Scripture lesson, we read
about the meeting that Joseph and Mary had with the aged Simeon when they took
Jesus to the temple to be consecrated to the Lord. The passage tells us a number of
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things about Simeon, but there is one
thing that stands out for me. The very
last part of verse 25 says and the Holy
Spirit was on him. Let me read to you
the next two verses. 26 It had been
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he would not die before he had
seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved
by the Spirit, he went into the temple
courts. When the parents brought in
the child Jesus to do for him what
the custom of the Law required, 28
Simeon took him in his arms and
praised God. Here was a man on
whom the Holy Spirit rested. Here was a man who was sensitive to the leading of the
Holy Spirit. What effect results from the Holy Spirit being upon Simeon? The Holy Spirit
moved him to go to the Temple that day. The Holy Spirit empowered him to recognize in
this little baby the future Messiah of Israel. And the Holy Spirit gave him the gift of
empowered speaking.
What I want to focus on is the prophetic words that he speaks directly to Mary. 34 Then
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to
cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken
against, 35 so that the thoughts of many
hearts will be revealed. And a sword will
pierce your own soul too.” Now, Joseph
and Mary already knew something about the
destiny of Jesus, but they are amazed at
these words. As a mother, I expect that it is
the final words that most touched Mary most
deeply.
I expect that this is one part of the prophecy
that Mary hoped would not come to fruition.
Being a parent is never easy, but this is a
parent’s worst nightmare. In time, Mary would live it all. She would stand at the foot of
the cross and watch her Son suffer and die. She was there when they laid him in a
tomb. She went back on the third morning with proper spices for his burial. Through all
this, she never stopped being a mother. She never relinquished the title.
But that is not the end of the story. Mary was blessed to see the unfolding of God’s plan
for her Son. Mary was at the tomb on that first Easter morning to hear the words that
Jesus had risen from the dead. She was most likely there on the Day of Pentecost when
the Holy Spirit came upon the believers gathered in that upper room and the Church
was born.
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May we too know what it is have God’s perfect will worked out in our lives. What a
blessing that would be to our mothers.
Rev. Stephen G. Dunkin
Graceview Presbyterian Church
Etobicoke, Ontario
May 11, 2014
www.graceview.ca
Benediction