The Sixth Sunday of Easter – Mark S. Winward
Mother’s Day
In the name of God the Creator, God the Redeemer, and God who sanctifies our souls. Amen.
The Dilemma of Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day, ladies! You know, Mother’s Day is one of those occasions that leaves preachers in a quandary. First, with our still being in the Easter season, our focus remains rightly on the glorious resurrection of our Lord. Second, a service centered wholly on Mother’s Day runs the danger of sinking into a kind of sentimentalism that might ignore the very real wounds many of you may carry. For some, motherhood was an accident and not always a welcome one; for others, biological motherhood isn’t possible. For some, their mothers weren’t all that kind, and for others, even under the very best of circumstances, motherhood is still less than a bed of roses or a primrose path.
An Earthly Representation of Divine Love
So, with all those qualifications, why even bother with Mother’s Day? We do so because, in the words of poet Wilhelm Busch, “To become a mother is not so difficult; on the other hand, being a mother is very much so!” Mother’s Day celebrates a beautiful ideal. Amidst all its stumbling blocks, pitfalls, and broken dreams—amidst the soiled diapers, stained wallpaper, and spoiled plans—we see an earthly representation of God’s love and care for us. Like God’s love, motherhood is mixed with joy and pain. It is rejoicing in first steps and wiping a fevered forehead; it is the warm embrace of an infant and the sleepless nights of sacrifice. Motherhood hopes for all and prays for hope when hope is gone. Like God’s relationship with us, it is at the very heart of what it means to be human.
The Incarnation and the Mother’s Touch
Why do you think it is so important that Jesus was born and had a mother himself? It is often overlooked, but this is one of the strongest arguments that Jesus’ life and teachings were not just concocted. In ancient Roman mythology, gods frequently visited the earth and sometimes took earthly women as wives, but the product of their union was always inferior to the god himself—his deity diluted by humanity. No one before that time had ever imagined the Creator could come to this world as a man with neither divinity nor humanity diluted. This was so alien to ancient beliefs that it could not have been the choice of a storyteller weaving a yarn. Ancient philosophy missed the touch-point between humanity and divinity: love. For Jesus to be fully human, He had to know the love of a mother’s warm embrace and her wiping away of tears. To be fully human—not frail and fallen, but as God meant us to be—He had to know the healing power of an earthly love which values another supremely above itself.
Motherhood as an Icon of Love
Motherhood is much more than a matter of relation. In the age of in vitro fertilization, surrogate mothers, and genetic manipulation, our biological categories for motherhood have increasingly blurred. Yet motherhood is not about whose genes you carry; true motherhood is nothing less than an icon of love—an earthly image pointing to a deeper spiritual reality. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes the characteristics of selfless love: it is patient, kind, and does not insist on its own way. True, redeemed, and godly motherhood is always rooted in this love. It is that first experience of love, or the lack of it, which models our ability to love as adults. A devoted mother can give her child no greater gift than her love.
Healing the Brokenness
Yet the reality is that we live in a world marred by sin, where love is not always devoted or selfless. For many, motherhood represents pain or hurt. For some, a mother’s love was absent due to neglect or loss; for others, they long to be mothers but never will be. For these people, motherhood is at the center of their brokenness. I believe the key to wholeness is love. Somehow, we all must find a way to feel loved and to love. Perhaps you did not experience a mother’s love, yet there is One who knew and loved you even before you were formed in your mother’s womb.
Before the foundations of the world, you were loved. You were loved before you breathed your first breath and before you had that first unkind thought or did that first unjust deed. You were loved so much that God sent His Son to demonstrate an unfathomable and perfect love such as the world had never seen. God loved you to death; yet that love was so profound, so pure, that nothing could overcome it. Throughout the ages, that love has waited for you—a gift to be opened, embraced, and shared. Once you know it, it will forever be yours and you will be whole. The amazingly good news is that, in response to that love, we are free to love—not so that God might love us, but because He already does.
A Call to Wholeness
There is nothing you can do to escape that love except ignore it. Jesus Christ is alive and longs for you to live with Him. Allow Him to be your daily companion and surrender to His love. As you approach the altar this morning to receive the body and blood of Christ, receive Him anew, and go forth from this place assured that you are loved and whole. Perhaps then we can truly leave to love and serve the Lord with gladness and singleness of heart—fully human: loved to love.