A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

When Your Heart Walks (and Runs)

Luke 1:39-45, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, May 9, 2010

No one deserves a special day all to herself more than today's Mom. A cartoon showed a psychologist talking to his patient: "Let's see," he said, "You spend 50 percent of your energy on your job, 50 percent on your husband and 50 percent on your children. I think I see your problem."

The challenges can occur at any moment, at any place. The lifeguard told the mother to make her young son stop urinating in the pool. "Everyone knows," the mother lectured him, "that from time to time, young children will urinate in a pool." "Oh really?" said the lifeguard, "from the diving board!?!?"

So difficult at times is being a mom, moms can get stretched beyond what others could handle, perhaps even what she can handle. Little Jimmy's preschool class went on a field trip to the fire station. The firefighter giving the presentation held up a smoke detector and asked the class: "Does anyone know what this is?" Little Jimmy's hand shot up and the firefighter called on him. Little Jimmy replied: "That's how Mommy knows supper is ready!" Heck, mom needs all the help she can get.

A Mother’s Day sermon may get into trouble, because, as in all things in life, there is more than one side to this story. As preachers, we realize we probably shouldn’t get too sentimental about motherhood because: (a) for some, motherhood is an accident, and not always a welcome one; (b) for some, biological motherhood isn’t possible; (c) for some, mothers weren’t all that nice; (d) for some, motherhood under the very best of circumstances is still less than a bed of roses and a primrose path. If I can take some liberties with poet Wilhelm Busch’s words, I’d have to say: “(Mutter) werden ist nicht schwer; (Mutter) sein dagegen sehr.” In English, “to become a mother is not so difficult; on the other hand, being a mother is very much so!

So, with all those qualifications, why bother with Mothers’ Day at all? I’ll tell you why: because for all its stumbling blocks, pitfalls and broken dreams, for all the soiled diapers, soiled wallpaper and spoiled plans, we’re talking about a beautiful ideal, a natural part of God’s creative plan to bring love and caring to light. Being a mother is begin in a constant and continual demand to express and share the divine gifts of love and caring.

In his, Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise, John Killinger writes: I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the loving God, who was born of the promise to a virgin named Mary. I believe in the love Mary gave her son, that caused her to follow him in his ministry and stand by his cross as he died. I believe in the love of all mothers, and its importance in the lives of the children, they bear. It is stronger than steel, softer than down, and more resilient than a green sapling on the hillside. It closes wounds, melts disappointments, and enables the weakest child to stand tall and straight in the fields of adversity. I believe that this love, even at its best, is only a shadow of the love of God, a dark reflection of all that we can expect of him, both in this life and the next. And I believe that one of the most beautiful sights in the world is a mother who lets this greater love flow through her to her child, blessing the world with the tenderness of her touch and the tears of her joy.

Moms who shine like this in our hearts and in the world do so only because of one thing: their willingness to sacrifice themselves for their children. What dreams they had for themselves, they dream for their children. What love they hoped to receive themselves, they pour out on their children. What hours they spent on themselves, they devote to their children. This impossible goodness in this troubled world is the soul’s oasis, and the world’s first and last hope.  

Mother’s Day has an interesting beginning. It’s not exactly as you might think. The woman credited with founding Mothers Day is Anna Jarvis. The Methodist Church in Grafton, WV is called "the Mothers Day Church" because Anna Jarvis was active there; her home in Grafton is a national landmark. Anna Jarvis was inspired by her mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis who organized "Mothers' Work Day Clubs" in the 1850's in the area. The clubs provided medicines for the poor, inspected milk for children, provided nursing care for the sick, and shelters for children with tuberculosis.

When the Civil War broke out she called together four of her clubs and asked them to make a pledge that friendship and good will would not be a casualty of the war. In a remarkable display of courage and compassion the women nursed soldiers from both sides and saved many lives from both sides. As if that weren't enough, Anna Reeves Jarvis became a genuine peace maker after the war. The wounds and animosity between families who fought on either side were deep and harsh. Anna Reeves Jarvis organized "Mothers' Friendship Days" to bring together families across the Mason Dixon line.

Anna Jarvis was born in 1850 and was growing up when her mother was at the peak of her courageous work. So in 1907, two years after her mother's death she organized the first "mothers' day" in Grafton, WV so that the work of peacemaking and the war against poverty which her mother waged would not be forgotten.

Another one of the earliest promoters of the idea of Mother's Day was Julia Ward Howe. She is most famous as the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Julia Ward Howe was a militant abolitionist, and her "Battle Hymn" poem was inspirational to the cause of the Union Army in the Civil War, the troops sang "God's truth is marching on," as they headed into battle, and "As [Christ] died to make men holy, let us die to make men free."

But as the war dragged on and she saw the terrible price of conflict, Julia Ward Howe turned away from the militant attitude expressed so powerfully in her famous hymn. When the Civil War was over, she focused her attention on two other causes: voting rights for women, and world peace. In 1870 war broke out between France and Prussia. The war in Europe did not make sense to her and she wrote, "Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone know and bear the cost?"... "Arise ...Christian women of this day. As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, let women on this day leave the duties of hearth and home to set out in the work of peace."  She began organizing what she called "Mothers' Peace Day" festivals which were celebrated annually on June 2nd. Her basic conviction was that though the world may be divided by war and conflict, there is something in the experience of childbirth binding the mothers of the world together into one family.

The struggle to gain voting rights for women, the cause of peace among the nations of the world, the fight against poverty and the abuse of children, these were the central concerns of those who established Mother's Day. From the beginning this was a day not simply to remember one's own mother, but to find in the experience of being a mother not just love for one’s own but light and hope for all.

Being a mom is not just genetic or biological, adoptive moms know this. Being a mom is not just emotional or relational, all mothers will tell you this. Being a mom is the most powerful spiritual and a universal force for good that we naturally experience and share. Being a mom, being a parent is to let another claim you, your heart and soul, time and treasure.  

There is a lovely little story about a child being born, and God speaking his last words before the big event occurs. The child asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth  tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"  "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."  The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."  

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."  "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." "Who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life." "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you."  

At that moment there was much peace in heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name." And God said, “You will simply call her Mom.” 

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