Mother's/Women's Day Resources
If you have additional materials to add, please send them to Bass Mitchell. Thanks.
Here is a mother's day prayer that I adapted from an unknown source last year:
MOTHERS: EVERY YEAR IS THEIR YEAR
author unknown
adapted by Dan Bottorff
Prayer for the Day 5-9-99
First United Methodist Church of Westfield
This blessing is for all the mothers who have sat up all night
with sick toddlers saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."
This blessing is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they may
never see. And the mothers who took those babies-- forever to be
their own children.
This blessing is for all the mothers who attended ball games,
recitals, rehearsals, etc. etc. and who said, "I wouldn't have
missed it for the world," and meant it.
This blessing is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the
night and can't find their children or can’t feed their children.
Creator God, what makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience?
Firmness? A soft lap?
Or is mothering what is in her heart?
Is it the ache she feels when she watches her child disappear down
the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?
The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2
a.m. to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she
hears news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?
Yes it is so.
So this blessing is for all the mothers who sat down with their
children and explained all about making babies. And for all the
mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.
This blessing is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in
the grocery store with frustration and despair.
This blessing is for the mothers who show up at work with milk
stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
This blessing is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook
and their daughters to speak up with pride.
This blessing is for mothers who put pinwheels, teddy bears, or
flowers on their children's graves.
This blessing is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who
haven’t the words to reach them, and yet have never put them from
their heart.
This blessing is for new mothers stumbling through diaper
changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let
go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers
and married mothers.
And this blessing is for all of us who will move beyond
sentiment into actions which support mothers and mothering persons
in all of their life-giving and life-nurturing roles. Amen [Back to Top]
#1 A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they
drew. She would occasionally walk around and see each child's artwork. As
she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the
drawing was. The girl replied, "I'm drawing God." The teacher paused and
said, "But no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat or
looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."
#2 A Sunday School teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way
to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One
bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
#3 The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mike, and as he preached, he
moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then
he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping
before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in
the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose,
will he hurt us?"
#4 Six year old Angie and her four-year old brother, Joel, were sitting
together in church. Joel giggled, sang and talked out loud. Finally, his
big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in
church." "Why, who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the
two mean in the back of the church, "See those two men standing by the
door? They're hushers."
#5 My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how
you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo while I asked, "No,
how are we alike?" "You're both old," he replied.
#6 A ten-year old, under the tutelage of her grandmother, was becoming quite
knowledgeable about the Bible. Then one day she floored her grandmother by
asking, "Which Virgin was the mother of Jesus? The virgin Mary or the King
James Virgin?"
#7 I had been teaching my 3-year old the Lord's prayer. For several evenings
at bedtime, she could repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally,
she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated
each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into
temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us from e-mail. Amen"
#8 One particular 4-year old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we
forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
#9 A little boy was overheard praying, "Lord, if you can't make me a better
boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."
#10 A young boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle,
he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd. While facing the
crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar. So it went, step,
step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. As you can
imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he
reached the pulpit. The little boy, however, was getting more and more
distressed from all the laughing, and was near tears by the time he reached
the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I
was being the Ring Bear." [Back to Top]
I believe its excerpted from "Lamentations of the Father" by Ian Frazier, but it goes well for Mom's too.
Laws Pertaining to Dessert
For we judge between the plate that is unclean and the plate that is clean, saying first, if the plate is clean, then you shall have dessert.
But of the unclean plate, the laws are these: If you have eaten most of your meat, and two bites of your peas with each bite consisting of not less than three peas each, or in total six peas, eaten where I can see, and you have also eaten enough of your potatoes to fill two forks, both forkfuls eaten where I can see, then you shall have dessert. But if you eat a lesser number of peas, and yet you eat the potatoes, still you shall not have dessert; and if you eat the peas, yet leave the potatoes uneaten, you shall not have dessert, no, not even a small portion thereof.
And if you try to deceive by moving the potatoes or peas around with a fork, that it may appear you have eaten what you have not, you will fall into iniquity. And I will know, and you shall have no dessert.
Laws When at Table
And if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were. Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me. Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke.
Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are
for; if you will dip your blocks in the milk, and lick it off, you will be sent away.
When you have drunk, let the empty cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck: for you will be sent away.
When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you.
Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips. I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is.
And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why. And though the pieces of broccoli are very like small trees, do not stand them upright to make a forest, because we do not do that, that that is why..
Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away. Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup. And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.
On Screaming
Do not scream; for it is as if you scream all the time. If you are given a plate on which two foods you do not wish to touch each other are touching each other, your voice rises up even to the ceiling, while you point to the offense with the finger of your right hand; but I say to you, scream not , only remonstrate gently with the server, that the server may correct the fault. Likewise if you receive a portion of fish from which every piece of herbal seasoning has not been scraped off, and the herbal seasoning is loathsome to you and steeped in vileness, again I say, refrain from screaming. Though the vileness overwhelm you, and cause you a faint unto death, make not that sound from within your throat, neither cover your face, nor press your fingers to your nose. For even not I have made the fish as it should be; behold, I eat it myself, yet do not die.
Laws of Forbidden Places
Of the beasts of the field, and of the fishes of the sea, and of all foods that are acceptable in my sight you may eat, but not in the living room.
Of the hoofed animals, broiled or ground into burgers, you may eat, but not in the living room.
Of the cloven-hoofed animal, plain or with cheese, you may eat, but not in the living room.
Of the cereal grains, of the corn and of the wheat and of the oats, and of all the cereals that are of bright color and unknown provenance you may eat, but not in the living room.
Of quiescently frozen dessert and of all frozen after-meal treats you may eat, but absolutely not in the living room.
Of the juices and other beverages, yes, even of those in sippy-cups,you may drink, but not in the living room, neither may you carry such therein. Indeed, when you reach the place where the living room carpet begins, of any food or beverage there you may not eat, neither may you drink.
But if you are sick, and are lying down and watching something, then may you eat in the living room.
Concerning Face and Hands
Cast your countenance upward to the light, and lift your eyes to the hills, that I may more easily wash you off. For the stains are upon you; even to the very back of your head, there is rice thereon.
And in the breast pocket of your garment, and upon the tie of your shoe, rice and other fragments are distributed in a manner wonderful to see.
Only hold yourself still; hold still, I say. Give each finger in its turn for my examination thereof, and also each thumb. Lo, how iniquitous they appear. What I do is as it must be; and you shall not go hence until I have done.
Various Other Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances
Bite not, lest you be cast into quiet time. Neither drink of your own bath water, nor of the bath water of any kind; nor rub your feet on bread, even if it be in the package; nor rub yourself against cars, nor against any building; nor eat sand.
Leave the cat alone, for what has the cat done, that you should so afflict it with tape? And hum not the humming in your nose as I read, nor stand between the light and the book. Indeed, you will drive me to madness. Nor forget what I said about the tape.
Complaints and Lamentations
O my children, you are disobedient. For when I tell you what you must do, you argue and dispute hotly even to the littlest detail; and when I do not accede, you cry out, and hit and kick. Yes, and even sometime do you spit, and shout "stupid-head" and other blasphemies, and hit and kick the wall and the molding thereof when you are sent to the corner.
And though the law teaches that no one shall be sent to the corner for more minutes than he has years of age, yet I would leave you there all day, so mighty am I in anger. But upon being sent to the corner you ask straight-away, "Can I come out?" and I reply, "No, you may not come out." And again you ask, and again I give the same reply. But when you ask
again a third time, then you may come out.
Hear me, O my children, for the bills they kill me. I pay and pay again, even to the twelfth time in a year, and yet again they mount higher than before.
For our health, that we may be covered, I give six hundred and twenty talents twelve times in a year; but even this covers not the fifteen hundred deductible for each member of the family within a calendar year. And yet for ordinary visits we still are not covered, nor for many medicines, nor for the teeth within our mouths. Guess not at what rage is in my mind, for surely you cannot know.
For I will come to you at the first of the month and at the fifteenth of the month with the bills and a great whining and moan.
And when the month of taxes comes, I will decry the wrong and unfairness of it, and mourn and rend my receipts.
And you shall remember that I am that I am: before, after, and until you are twenty-one. Hear me then, and avoid me in my wrath, O children of me. [Back to Top]
Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to God's kids. After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was:
"Don't."
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We got forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve...we got forbidden fruit!"
"No way!"
"Yes, way!"
"Don't eat that fruit!" said God.
"Why?"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" said God, wondering why he hadn't stopped after making the elephants.
A few minutes later God saw his kids having an apple break and was angry. "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" the First Parent asked.
"Uh huh, " Adam replied.
"Then why did you?"
"I dunno" Eve answered.
"She started it!" Adam said.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!!"
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus, the pattern was set and it has never changed. But there is reassurance in this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give them wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble handling children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?
Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle:
Take two,.... and keep away from children [Back to Top]
A. B. Patton [Back to Top]
#1 One of the first creative things might be to stop calling it Mothers Day, which is actually a secular day --- and call it Women of Faith --- select hymns emphasizing the nurturing , more feminine characteristics of God --- honor each woman/girl as a woman of faith. This, I believe, is a much more inclusive, more faithful to the gospel. We also can avoid the pitfalls of one parent families, prochoice, prolife, abusive mothers, etc. and focus on the good news of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps another creative thing to do in June is to stop calling it Fathers Day , which is also a secular, exclusive thing and call it Men of Faith --- select appropriate hymns and honor each man/boy as men of faith. I think the same thing applies re: the pitfalls. This is a very slight change of focus but it is an important one for the Church to make. We, as spiritual leaders in the Church need to embrace and include and practice unconditional love, for God's Love in unconditional. I
have learned through my previous career that Mothers Day and Fathers Day probably alienate many from God -- there are too many one parent families, abused children, and throwaway's for these two "day's" to be so exclusive ---
#2 My experience has been somewhat different. Everyone has a mother and a father. Nearly everyone has that potential as well. One focus would be on what God might like to see in a parent. Certainly that is inclusive and needed.
#3 I am not sure how creative this is but in Canada the Presbyterian Church designates the May day as "Christian Family Sunday". As an excellent aunt who used to find a lot of the "Mother's" day stuff syrupy I find this gives me a lot of scope. The Sunday School children always make a gift for this day and everyone receives one. One of the nicest was cosmos that had been started from seed. You can go many places with that. It would not be appreciated if we asked the questions about age and station because there are many for whom these questions would/could be hurtful and very painful.
#4 Whatever tack one takes on observing Mother's Day in church, a good piece to have at one's disposal is the Mother's Day Proclamation delivered by Julia Ward Howe after viewing the carnage of Civil War battles. It would be good
to read this in honor too, of the Million Mom March.
Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of fears! Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.
From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice! Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as the means whereby the great human family can live in peace. And each bearing after her own time, the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God
#4 I have read with interest some of the concerns regarding those who may not have the opportunity to be parenting or those who may have, as my future daughter-in-law says, issues with either Mother or Father's Day. However, I also understand the church to be the gathered family of Christians so for the past several years our children gather at the front of the sanctuary, have a brief reminder of the fact that all of us are children of God, and then we honor all the ladies of our church be they mothers of children here, away from home, or not at all mother, with a carnation with a poem selected by
some of our members each year, printed on a card type stock through our copy machine, and presented to each lady by a child of the church. We do the same on Father's day except that men are presented with handkerchiefs which have been rolled and tied by the children during Sunday school or another activity time we have with our children. It has been well received by all the members of our church and seems especially meaningful for those whose families may not be in our community and for those who do not have children at all. I think the importance is attached to the children handing the gifts out not the gift because we have had women express their joy at having a child of the church approach them with a smile.
We have found several florists in our area who are willing to give us a discount for a large quantity of carnations and we simply place them in a large bucket of water. We do have adults help the children locate the women for the presentations and we also have several adults helping hand out the carnations to the children to speed the presentation along but I also plan the service to incorporate the time needed to accomplish the task.
#5 My church is having a huge "baby shower" on Mother's Day. We have a brunch after the service, served by the men...and this year, we are asked to bring a wrapped gift as you would for a baby shower. These gifts will be given to a local home/ministry for unwed mothers. [Back to Top]
Mothers Maintenance Manual
Many of us take better care of our cars then we do our mothers and yet we only expect our cars to last 5 or 6 years but we expect our mothers to last for a lifetime.
Maybe we need a maintenance manual for mothers so we would know how to take care of them at least as well as we do our automobiles.
***Here are some items that might be included in such a manual.
**Engine: A mother's engine is one of the most dependable kinds you can find. She can reach top speed from a prone position at a single cry from a sleeping child. But regular breaks are needed to keep up that peak performance.
**Mothers need a hot bath and a nap every 100 miles, a baby-sitter and a night out every 1,000 miles, and a live in baby-sitter with a one week vacation every 10,000 miles.
**Battery: Mother's batteries should be recharged regularly. Handmade items, notes, unexpected hugs and kisses, and frequent "I love you's" will do very well for a recharge.
**Carburetor: When a mother's carburetor floods it should be treated immediately with Kleenex and a soft shoulder.
**Brakes: See that she uses her brakes to slow down often and come to a full stop occasionally. (A squeaking sound indicates a need for a rest)
**Fuel: Most mothers can run indefinitely on coffee, leftovers and salads, But an occasional dinner for two at a nice restaurant will really add to her efficiency.
**Chassis: Mother when their bodies are properly maintained. Regular exercise should be encouraged and provided for as necessary. A change in hairdo or makeup in spring and fall are also helpful.
**If you notice the chassis begins to sag, immediately start a program of walking, jogging, swimming, or bike riding. These are most effective when done with fathers.
**Tune-ups: Mother need regular tune-ups. Compliments are both the cheapest and most effective way to keep a mother purring contentedly.
**If these instructions are followed consistently, this fantastic creation and gift from God, that we call MOTHER should last a lifetime and give good service and constant love to those who need her most. [Back to Top]
PAUL REVERE'S MOTHER: "I don't care where you think you have to go, young man. Midnight is past your curfew!"
MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY'S MOTHER: "I don't mind you having a garden, Mary, but does it have to be growing under your bed?"
MONA LISA'S MOTHER: "After all that money your father and I spent on braces, Mona, that's the biggest smile you can give us?"
HUMPTY DUMPTY'S MOTHER: "Humpty, If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times not to sit on that wall. But would you listen to me? Noooo!"
COLUMBUS' MOTHER: "I don't care what you've discovered, Christopher. You still could have written!"
BABE RUTH'S MOTHER: "Babe, how many times have I told you -- quit playing ball in the house! That's the third broken window this week!"
MICHELANGELO'S MOTHER: "Mike, can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"
NAPOLEON'S MOTHER: "All right, Napoleon. If you aren't hiding your report card inside your jacket, then take your hand out of there and prove it!"
CUSTER'S MOTHER: "Now, George, remember what I told you -- don't go biting off more than you can chew!"
ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S MOTHER: "Again with the stovepipe hat, Abe? Can't you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?"
BARNEY'S MOTHER: "I realize strained plums are your favorite, Barney, but you're starting to look a little purple."
MARY'S MOTHER: "I'm not upset that your lamb followed you to school, Mary, but I would like to know how he got a better grade than you."
BATMAN'S MOTHER: "It's a nice car, Bruce, but do you realize how much the insurance is going to be?"
GOLDILOCKS' MOTHER: "I've got a bill here for a busted chair from the Bear family. You know anything about this, Goldie?"
LITTLE MISS MUFFET'S MOTHER: "Well, all I've got to say is if you don't get off your tuffet and start cleaning your room, there'll be a lot more spiders around here!"
ALBERT EINSTEIN'S MOTHER: "But, Albert, it's your senior picture. Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something...?"
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S MOTHER: "The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!"
JONAH'S MOTHER: "That's a nice story, but now tell me where you've really been for the last three days."
SUPERMAN'S MOTHER: "Clark, your father and I have discussed it, and we've decided you can have your own telephone line. Now will you quit spending so much time in all those phone booths?"
THOMAS EDISON'S MOTHER: "Of course I'm proud that you invented the electric light bulb, Thomas. Now turn off that light and get to bed!" [Back to Top]
Here is a Mother's Day poem I wrote. Use it if you choose to.
Mother
Bright and ever shining the days
Lodged in memory
Unfading
Giving without hesitation
Eager to care
For Children
Sweet the song now translated
Into higher key
Resounding
Memory and blessing
Found in one woman
Dear Mother
Thanks beyond speaking
Offered in living
Rejoicing
Her sweet light and laughter
Ever sustaining
I always remember
Willard Spencer [Back to Top]
Interfaith Prayer
Festival of the Family
May 12-14, 2000
God of all Living and Loving:
How pleasant it is when women, men, and children live together in unity!
How noble is your creation and the world that you have made!
How blessed we are to receive the gifts of life and love!
We are thankful for families,
where scattered piles of stuff testify that we live fully in the moment;
where the noise of laughter and the silence of sadness are freely shared;
We are thankful for families,
where we find sanctuary from danger and judgment;
where words of love and openness are the rule of life.
We are thankful for families,
where our differences are the spices of life;
where our unity is something that we can always take for granted.
We grieve for families,
where violence and rejection are living realities;
where hearts are broken, and dreams are shattered.
We grieve for families,
where walls of protection become fortresses of isolation,
where language is a weapon of destruction and hate.
Help us to understand,
those families whose identities are different from ours;
the ways of loving, parenting, partnering and working together for
peace.
Help us to dare,
to stand strongly against hate and divisiveness;
to encounter our differences with love and respect.
This we believe:
that love is stronger than hate;
that hope is stronger than despair,
and that good is stronger than evil.
In the name of the One who is Loving and Living, Amen. [Back to Top]
D. Mark Davis
www.heartlandpresbyterian.org
Clive, IA USA
"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers." -- Jewish proverb
"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." -- Lin Yutang
"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." -- Honore' de Balzac (1799-1850)
"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." -- George Washington (1732-1799)
"By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1907- )
"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom." -- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)
"Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)
"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." --Author Unknown [Back to Top]
#1 Mothering Sunday.
Readings: 1Samuel 1:20-28 John 19:25-27
In many European countries, the fourth Sunday in Lent is set aside as a special day to honour mothers.
In England, Mothering Sunday originally had a different meaning. It was the day when church-goers in outlying villages and hamlets would make the journey to the mother church of the parish, taking their offerings. By the sixteenth century, when many young girls worked as servants in the homes of the rich, Mothering Sunday had become a holiday when they were
allowed home to visit their families.
To prove their newly-acquired skills in the kitchen, they would bake a cake to present proudly to their mothers. It was called a simnel cake, probably from the Latin word simila, a fine wheaten flour.
The cake was usually made with a rich mixture, filled with plums, lemon peel and other tasty ingredients.
It had to last until Easter, as it couldn't be eaten until after Lent had passed.
If a girl had a sweetheart, Mothering Sunday was a day to bring him home for mother's approval. In this case it was the man's responsibility to provide the mothering cake.
In modern times, Mother's Day was introduced and is still kept in America and Australia on the second Sunday in May.
The idea is attributed to Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who, in 1907, suggested an annual day for mothers should be kept. At a church service people were asked to wear a carnation in honour of their mother. The custom soon became known and spread to other places. TV advertisements would have us believe in a normal family life, of immaculate mums smiling as their families appear with their best clothes filthy; of inept dads being shown up by their perfect wife and mother
partners, and hideous children who rule the whole family by their tyrannical demands.
It is not many years since we were fed normal families of laughing togetherness, combined with perfect fashion sense and model good looks, where dad ruled and everyone was happy.
The styles may change but what stays the same is the pressure of image. All the media brandish the latest image instructions and the pressure is on for us to conform, with the implied carrot that living the image will lead to success.
Strewn along the wayside are all the casualties - those who have struggled to achieve the impossible in an illusionary competition.
Refreshingly, our readings for Mothering Sunday place us fairly and squarely in the real world.
Here family life is the wonderful patchwork of bright and dark colours, glowing sections and dull areas that we all recognise. It includes troubles and tragedies that hit us between the eyes and send us reeling, and also those moments of tender comforting which have such power to heal and enable us to carry on.
What we are being reminded of is God's parenting, which is no false, demanding image, but the real thing- the parenting we need for our survival, and crave, sensing its importance.
Not that we always remember to come to God for it; all to often we search for it instead among fallible humanity, and find ourselves let down and abandoned as a result.
As humans, we bear a resemblance to God's parenting, but we are bound to let one another down sometimes.
God's arms are the ones that embrace all of us, holding us all in those loving arms, mopping all our tears and setting us on our feet again. We hear of terrible, tragic situations of heartache in today's readings, which are redeemed by God's parenting love.
As Paul says, God is the one who comforts us in all our troubles. We don't have to pretend with God that there aren't any troubles, or that we're managing very nicely, thank you. God knows what family life is about - and single life.
He knows the heartaches and the conflicts. He knows that loving makes us vulnerable.
That's why God is so well able to comfort us within our real situations, and enable us to cope with the ordinary troubles of life without being overwhelmed by them; he has the resources we need available and his arms outstretched in welcome.
Blessings Sally Mullock Licensed Reader Parish of St. Bartholomew Wilmslow [Back to Top]
Cheshire UK
#2 a sermon synopsis by:
C. Robert Allred, Th.D.
Atlanta First United Methodist
www.atlantafumc.org
5/14/0 Mother's Day, year B
"The Good Mother"
John 10: 11:18
"I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (v.11)
As we read the above passage where Jesus draws the analogy between
shepherding and His being our protector, we have images of mothers who care
for their offspring. Having lived part of my childhood in the country I
recall Mother Hens and their instinct to aggressively shield their chicks
from harm. The same can be said for all farm animals. God has created mothers
to care of their own. It is common to all to cherish our loving mothers.
Anna Jarvis loved her mother so much that she arranged a special Sunday
worship service to honor her mother on May 10, 1908. She presented all who
attended a white carnation. The idea caught on and in 1914 President Woodrow
Wilson, by act of Congress, established a national Mother's Day, for the
second Sunday each May. By then it had become customary to present those with
living mothers a red flower, and the white flower was reserved as a memorial.
Most of us grew up wearing little red rosebuds. Many of you now wear the
white flower as you remember Mother, and the love she shared in rearing, and
protecting you.
So, it's easy for us to think of The Good Shepherd, as The Good Mother.
Motherhood is indeed a ministry that imitates Christ's eternal love for us.
Jesus' own mother was an example of The Good Mother. Mary gave new
grandeur to the position of the role of women and mothers. She was always
there for her son.
"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother... When Jesus
therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he
said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then he said to his disciple,
Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple (John) took her into his
own home." (John 19: 25-27).
Christian society assumes a pinnacle position for motherhood. It is a
major part of the fabric that has created civilization. As we look at the
scope of scripture we see polygamy develop into monogamy and the position of
the wife and mother developing into a partnership mutual submission with her
husband. Jesus' mother, and the honored positions of the other women in the
early Church, portrays an advanced position of equality for women. On Easter
Sunday we heard how the Resurrected Lord first appeared to women, and they
were commissioned by the angels to be the first bearers of the Gospel. "Go
tell... (Matt. 28:7).
In today's Church women continue to be a major force in our mission. In
every church that I have pastored, women have been a major part of the
leadership. This church would falter without the significant women who lead
us.
In our homes, mothers form a major role in shared leadership. The New
Testament developed a role for parents to divide responsibility for child
rearing and for leadership in the home. Just ask the kids how vital a role
our mothers play.
However, dads are not off the hook. Dr. Laura is right on target when
she stressed the need, whenever possible, for a two parent home. Boys and
girls learn to become men and women as they naturally form images of
adulthood by modeling their parents. Too often couples divorce without
thinking of effects that a single parent household has on their children.
When divorce does occur, both parents should make every effort to remain as
active as possible in their children's lives. Sometimes it is possible for
grandparents, and other extended family, to become involved in their
grandchildren's lives. So many times I have seen grandmothers, and
grandfathers, share more of the examples of Christian maturity that every
child vitally needs.
Dr. Laura may not be quite as right when she stresses that the mother
must be a "stay at home" mom. However, she has a major audience in that her
daily radio program reaches sixty-million listeners per week, which is twenty
time more than the total Sunday School enrollment of our denomination
(3,705,863 Yearbook of American Churches). It is true that when the mother
is employed there needs to be a shared formula for shared child rearing in
which the father must become even more involved. "Newsweek" magazine ran a
cover story last week in which youth were polled as to what they needed from
their parents, and the number one need, was more time. Kids spell the word
love-- T.I.M.E.
Sometimes we parents forget to care. We minimize the need to be at home
when school is out. The recent PBS special on the children of our own
Rockdale County stated that most trouble that children have happens during
the hours between the end of the school day and when their parents arrive
home from work. This kind of thing did not happen so much in simpler days on
the family farm; or, in the close knit neighborhoods where everybody watched
out for everybody else's children.
Recent debacles by sports heroes have underscored the fact that many of
us have taught our Little Leaguers how to hit and pitch but have not taught
them how to become men and women with ethics and values. Even church folks
fail to train up their children in the way of the Christian faith. Sunday
School is more important than good grades. Parents take vows at Christening
that they will faithfully keep their children in the ministry of the Church,
and then walk away and from sacred duty. Parents who "sleep in" on Sundays
will rear children who will probably "sleep in" on Sundays.
The main thing a mom and dad can do for their children is to lead them
into a vital Christian faith. For parents, the Hearth supersedes even the
Altar. May God bless and encourage The Good Mothers and The Good Fathers who
are striving for their best. [Back to Top]
#3 Greetings:
It's late, but it's been a busy week!
I don't always bring Mother's Day into my preaching, but decided to this
year. I tried to do some justice to the Good Shepherd theme as well. It
moves around on the board more than I like, but it's only once a year :-)
Peace, Bill.
----------------------
Title: "Good Mothers - Good Shepherds"
---- Have you ever been bored when someone starts showing you
pictures of their kids and tells you all about them. . . how their doing in
school, and how great they are in sports and how perfect they act all the
time?
Well, I usually bore people like that when I talk about my mother. I'm
not sure how she did in school, but I do like to brag and boast about her
. . . and yes, I'm sure I exaggerate a bit..... but what the heck!?
Now God is really good! It's not only Mother's Day, but Mother's Day
and Good Shepherd Sunday, and I like to talk about the Good
Shepherd as much as I like to talk about my mother.
You must realize that for me, as a preacher, this rare occurrence is more
precious than a sighting of Haley's Comet . . .
As I read through Jesus list of the qualifications of the Good Shepherd . .
. the willingness to suffer and even die for the sheep... the calling of the
sheep by name... all the care and the nurturing that the shepherd gives to
the sheep . . . I can't help but think of dear old mom!
In fact, if you don't mind a little bit of "true confessions," I have to admit
that most of the time when I say "Father," in our liturgies, I'm really
thinking "Mother" in the fondest parts of my mind.
Now please understand that I'm not totally naive about mothers and
motherhood. I know that not every mother in the world has met up to
the standards of the Good Shepherd.
---- Just this past week, I heard on the news about a mother whose
small child was hospitalized in Stockton for pneumonia. After the child
was four days in the hospital, they called the mother, and she didn't
answer the phone . . . she hadn't been to the hospital either.
No . . . Mom had gone on a previously planned vacation to Disneyland
for a week, and she had made arrangements for someone else to pick
up her sick child. . . that someone else forgot!
I guess Jesus knew what he was talking about when he said some
shepherds are good and others act like hired hands . . .
---But if the church can't hold up the ideal of motherhood before the
world, then I submit we're in a real mess....
The fact is my friends, in my life and in my ministry, I have met countless
numbers of mothers who fit the description of Good Shepherds . . . and
if the church can't lift them up as Holy Sacraments of God's love for the
world then who will?
May God bless each and every one of them this day, and may we give
thanks for all women. . . and men . . . who love like a Good Shepherd
loves!
---- But I'm afraid that I feel compelled to tell you that, some two-
thousand years after Jesus told that parable of the "Good Shepherd," we
have sentimentalized it into sort of a gushy Golden Book story . . .
We have preserved the Good Shepherd for ever in the bright colors of
stained glass windows and in children's Bible story books.
And leave it to the preachers to come along and spoil all that . . . but the
fact is, Shepherds were anything but warm fuzzy characters in first
century Palestine . . .
The Old Testament is rich with shepherd imagery... When Israel was
nomadic that image was one that stood for leadership and pastoral care .
. .
But as Israel became a cosmopolitan nation... centralized religiously and
politically in the city of Jerusalem . . . as cultic concerns.... concerns of
things clean and unclean . . . and matters of ritual purity... and the proper
forms of religion moved to the head of the class of things important . . .
Shepherds took a significant back seat.
By the time Jesus is born in Bethlehem . . . the occupation of the
shepherd is seen as a demeaning one . . .
The orthodox people of the day despised them because they weren't
able to keep the details of the ceremonial law... they couldn't observe all
the meticulous hand-washings and all the regulations of prescribed ritual .
. .
----Not too many a first-century father living in Jerusalem would have
wanted his daughter to marry a shepherd... People avoided shepherds
much as we might avoid someone who wants to have us over to dinner
in order to sell us into a pyramid scheme.... or the stereotypical man in
the checkered sport coat with sleeves several inches too short, and a tie
louder than a rock concert, who sells used cars down at "Honest Bob's"
When Jesus put the word "Good" in front of the word "Shepherd," it
was not all that unlike putting the word "Good" in front of the word
"Samaritan." Well, not quite as bad, but you get the idea. . .
When Jesus identified himself as the "Good Shepherd," Jesus was really
in typical character . . . He never cared much about reputation . . . that's
why he called tax collectors "good" by hanging out with them . . .
that's why he called prostitutes good by unilaterally and unconditionally
forgiving them and by allowing them to join his discipleship . . .
That's why he called lepers good, by doing what no one else in the
country would ever think of doing.... Jesus physically touched them.
---- When Jesus goes into his story mode and says, "I am the Good
Shepherd," I can just see Peter rolling his eyes and saying to himself,
"here we go again.... Couldn't he have said, ‘Good King,' or ‘Good
Landowner," or ‘Good anything,' --- did he have to say ‘Shepherd?'"
By now the twelve "Spin Doctors" were probably getting fairly used to
cleaning things up after Jesus finished speaking to the crowds.
But, you see, the Good Shepherd does more than just love and nurture
and protect . . . the Good Shepherd does all those things without regard
for reputation!
Isn't that amazing . . . my thoughts here go right back to my mother. . .
--- All those nights she stayed awake to hold me in her arms when I was
sick...
All those times she gave up doing what she wanted so that I could be
where I needed to be, doing what I wanted to be doing...
All those times she helped me with my homework.... and sometimes
even finished my homework...
No one would ever know about those times.... not even my brothers
and sisters if I hadn't told them....
That love wasn't about reputation!
Jesus is the Christ through whom everything that exists was made. Jesus
is part of the same Godhead who created a few hundred trillion stars
and all the diversity of life as we know it . . . And what claim to fame
does he take? He likens himself to a shepherd who calls his sheep by
name.
I'm beginning to understand why it says in the Scriptures, "Jesus made
himself nothing..."
I don't know about you, but reputation has always been fairly important
to me.....
I want to be seen with the right people, I want to be acknowledged for
certain accomplishments, I want to be remembered in the right light..... I
know I'm dreaming, but I would even like to be universally well-liked. . .
This is getting better as I get older and wiser, but it's still true. I must not
be too awfully alone here. . . Image building is a significant industry these
days.... But Jesus understood that image and reputation flaunting is really
just another sly means to gain power and control. . .
I know that when I'm introduced as "Bill" people want to buy me a
beer... But when I'm introduced as The Rev. William J. Adams, people
get quiet and the language suddenly becomes appropriate for first
graders. . .
God has not designed us to live within the facade of our reputation.... for
that is often a lonely place to be.... And so the Good Shepherd didn't
live that way: "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathered
around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law
muttered to themselves...."
The Good Shepherd is one that cares for the sheep, not because they
can do anything to enhance the shepherd's reputation, but because
caring for sheep is simply what it is all about . . .
As I speak to you, the old adage that says, "A sermon that makes too
many points is usually pointless," is ringing in my head..... but I just have
to take note of how Jesus ends this parable. He speaks of "other sheep,
not of this fold," that he must also call into the fold....
In Jesus' day, like today, it was real easy for people to think of their
religious community as a sort of comfortable sheep pen where a select
group of like-minded ones gather to be cared for by the Shepherd....
For many today, the church is just such a place.
Too often Justice is spelled "just - us."
But Jesus simply cannot close this discourse without making sure we
understand the universalism of all this love . . . There aren't any sheep
who are denied admission through the gate . . . white sheep, black
sheep, blemished sheep, good sheep, bad sheep, and yes even the
goats.... it matters not . . . The Good Shepherd loves them all and will
not rest until every last bleating one of them is in the pen safe and sound.
If someone is bent on hell... I suppose that's their business.... but they
better watch out.... they better always be looking over their shoulder,
because Jesus isn't going to rest until all of sheep are rounded up... Jesus
will never stop shepherding. . . Jesus will always pursue us.... kind of like
a mother hen who gathers her chicks under her wings.
Happy Good Shepherd Sunday! Happy Mother's Day!
Peace and blessings,
Bill Adams
Trinity Episcopal Church, Sutter Creek, CA. USA
http://trinityepiscopal.tripod.com
"Grace can't be cheap because it's free." [Back to Top]
#1 We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"
"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations...."
But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of childbearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.
I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.
I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the
prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years-not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she
will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future. I want to describe to my daughter
the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter's hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. This blessed gift from God . . .that of being a Mother.
#2 Unconditional Mom
I was a rotten teenager. Not your average spoiled, know- it-all, not-going-to-clean-my-room, getting-an-attitude-because- I'm-15 teenager. No, I was a manipulative, lying, acid-tongued monster, who realized early on that I could make things go my way with just a few minor adjustments. The writers for today's hottest soap opera could not have created a worse "villainess." A few nasty comments here, a lie or two there, maybe an evil glare for a finishing touch, and things would be grand. Or so I thought.
For the most part, and on the outside, I was a good kid. A giggly, pug-nose tomboy who liked to play sports and who thrived on competition (a nice way of saying: somewhat pushy and demanding). Which is probably why most people allowed me to squeak by using what I now call "bulldozer behavior tactics," with no regard for anyone I felt to be of value. For a while, anyway.
Since I was perceptive enough to get some people to bend my way, it amazes me how long it took to realize how I was hurting so many others. Not only did I succeed in pushing away many of my closest friends by trying to control them; I also managed to sabotage, time and time again, the most precious relationship in my life: my relationship with my mother.
Even today, almost 10 years since the birth of the new me, my former behavior astonishes me each time I reach into my
memories. Hurtful comments that cut and stung the people I cared most about. Acts of confusion and anger that seemed to rule my every move -- all to make sure that things went my way. My mother, who gave birth to me at age 38 against her doctor's wishes, would cry to me, "I waited so long for you, please don't push me away. I want to help you!"
I would reply with my best face of stone, "I didn't ask for you! I never wanted you to care about me! Leave me alone and
forget I ever lived!" My mother began to believe I really meant it. My actions proved nothing less.
I was mean and manipulative, trying to get my way at any cost. Like many young girls in high school, the boys whom I
knew were off limits were always the first ones I had to date. Sneaking out of the house at all hours of the night just to
prove I could do it. Juggling complex lies that were always on the verge of blowing up in my face. Finding any way to draw attention to myself while simultaneously trying to be invisible. Ironically, I wish I could say I had been heavy into drugs during that period of my life, swallowing mind-altering pills and smoking things that changed my personality, thus accounting for the terrible, razor-sharp words that came flying from my mouth. However, that was not the case. My only addiction was hatred; my only high was inflicting pain.
But then I asked myself why. Why the need to hurt? And why the people I cared about the most? Why the need for all the lies? Why the attacks on my mother? I would drive myself mad with all the why's until one day, it all exploded in a suicidal rage.
Lying awake the following night at the "resort" (my pet name for the hospital), after an unsuccessful, gutless attempt
to jump from a vehicle moving at 80 miles per hour, one thing stood out more than my Keds with no shoe laces. I didn't want to die.
And I did not want to inflict any more pain on people to cover up what I was truly trying to hide myself: self-hatred.
Self-hatred unleashed on everyone else. I saw my mother's pained face for the first time in years - - warm, tired brown eyes filled with nothing but thanks for her daughter's new lease on life and love for the child she waited 38 years to bear.
My first encounter with unconditional love. What a powerful feeling. Despite all the lies I had told her, she still loved me. I
cried on her lap for hours one afternoon and asked why she still loved me after all the horrible things I did to her. She just
looked down at me, brushed the hair out of my face and said frankly, "I don't know."
A kind of smile penetrated her tears as the lines in her tested face told me all that I needed to know. I was her
daughter, but more important, she was my mother. Not every rotten child is so lucky. Not every mother can be pushed to the limits I explored time and time again, and venture back with feelings of love.
Unconditional love is the most precious gift we can give. Being forgiven for the past is the most precious gift we can
receive. I dare not say we could experience this pure love twice in one lifetime. I was one of the lucky ones. I know that. I want to extend the gift my mother gave me to all the "rotten teenagers" in the world who are confused. It's okay to feel pain, to need help, to feel love -- just feel it without hiding. Come out from under the protective covers, from behind the rigid walls and the suffocating personas, and take a breath of life.
By Sarah J. Vogt
from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
Copyright 1997 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger [Back to Top]
My Mother taught me LOGIC...
"If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can't go to the store with me."
My Mother taught me MEDICINE...
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they're going to freeze that way."
My Mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD...
"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job!"
My Mother taught me INTUITION...
"Put your sweater on; don't you think that I know when you're cold?"
My Mother taught me TO MEET A CHALLENGE...
"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...Don't talk back to me!"
My Mother taught me HUMOR...
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT...
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.
My mother taught me about GENETICS...
"You are just like your father!"
My mother taught me about my ROOTS...
"Do you think you were born in a barn?"
My mother taught me about the WISDOM of AGE...
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."
My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION...
"Just wait until your father gets home."
My mother taught me about JUSTICE...
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU...then you'll see what it's like."
And she thought no one was listening!
Truth is, we all learned a lot from our mothers (though we never would have admitted it growing up!). What a double blessing those of us enjoy who had a Christian mother from whom we learned things of a spiritual nature.
"...I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also......from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15).
Take a moment to give thanks to God for all that you learned from your mother. And to a very special lady who will have the opportunity to read this thought: I love you, Mom!
from Alan Smith [Back to Top]