Acts 13; 44-52
Psalm 145
Revelation 19:1, 4-9, Acts 13:44-52
Gospel: John
13:31-35
Happy Easter and Happy Mother’s Day! As I begin today, I
hope you will forgive me a personal note—my own dear mother died many years
ago. Today is her birthday. And my older brother was born 56 years ago
today on her birthday, of course, which was also Mother’s Day that year. So this is certainly a special day for me
and my family.
On this glorious fifth Sunday of Easter and as we also
observe Mother’s Day, remembering and honoring our mothers, I wanted to share
parts of an e-mail I received last week from a school colleague, entitled “I
Owe My Mother.”
My mother taught me to
appreciate a job well done. ---
If you two are going to kill each other,
do it outside. I just finished cleaning
the house.
My mother taught me logic. ---
Because I said so, that’s why.
My mother taught me more logic---
If you fall out of that swing and break
your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.
My mother taught me about
stamina---
You will sit there until you eat all
that spinach.
My mother taught me about
behavior modification---
Stop acting like your father!
My mother taught me genetics---
You are just like your father!
My mother taught me about
anticipation---
Just wait until your father gets home!
My mother taught me about
Justice---
One day you will have kids and I hope
they turn out just like you!
My mother taught me about
religion---
My mother taught me wisdom---
When you get to be my age, you will
understand.
We may remember a parent saying some of these things to us
as children. And those of us who are parents probably would have to admit to
uttering similar words of wisdom to our own children.
But we know most of all, that our mothers or another loving
parent figure we may have had in our lives, taught us mainly about love.
There is a popular children’s book called Love you Forever by Robert Munsch. It begins with a mother holding her newborn
baby. She rocks him and sings a little
song:
I’ll love you forever
I’ll like you for always,
As Long as I am living,
My baby you will be.
As years go by, the baby grows and as a toddler gets into
everything. He is driving his mother crazy.
But at night she still sings him to sleep with their special song.
I’ll love you forever
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I am living,
My baby you will be.
The child grows more, & at nine years old he never wants
to take a bath, he says bad words when his grandmother visits and mom feels
like selling him to the zoo! But still
at night, she sings him to sleep:
I’ll love your forever
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I am living,
My baby you will be.
The boy becomes a teenager.
He has strange friends, wears strange clothes and listens to very strange
music. Mom feels like her house is the zoo. After he is asleep, though, she watches him
for a moment sleeping and sings her song to him.
I’ll love your forever
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I am living,
My baby you will be.
Finally the boy is grown up and moves across town,
But the mother when she sees him and just when she thinks of
him, she still sings her song.
As more time passes and the mother is old and sick, she sings to him when he visits her. Finally, she isn’t able any longer to finish the song so her son holds her close and sings to her:
I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
My mother you will be
When he returns home that night, he goes into the nursery
where his own baby daughter is sleeping and sings:
I’ll love you forever
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I am living,
My baby you will be
So the cycle of love between parent and child begins all
over again. The giving and the sharing,
creates the capability in another to engage in the same sharing of love
We can find a deep connection between the kind of mother’s
love that is reflected in Robert Munsch’s story and the new commandment that
Jesus gives us in today’s Gospel.
Jesus says, they will know
you are my disciples, they will know
you are my children, they will know that you are witnesses for God through the
love you show and share. The giving and
sharing and receiving of God’s love is the essence of Jesus messages and ministry
during his Earthly days and that is the essence the imperative he speaks to his
disciples as he prepares to leave them.
Jesus says that to
love one another is the hallmark of the Christian life.
They, whoever “they” may be for each one of us in our lives,
will know we are Christians by our love.
Not because we believe we have the correct set of beliefs. Not because we say we are right. Not because
we are always right. Not
because we claim righteousness or some sort of special favor. And not because
we might have the might to criticize, condemn, harm, judge or dominate.
The world will know
we are Christians by our love. They
will know we are followers of Christ by our love. They will know because we will be trying with all our might to
follow the loving, servant hood example of Jesus, by the love we show for one
another.
I have thought long and hard about what that means for a
parish, the church, and the Christian faith.
The parish in the Christian church is the family of God. The life of our fellowship is a continuous
coming together to worship and work. We
are a small fragment of God’s kingdom but an important one, and in this place and from this place we bear
witness to God’s love and carry out God’s plan for our lives. This is our bounden
duty. The Christian life permeates every part of our existence—to be a
Christian means that directs our sense of humor, our perspective, our
courage. We must live as a Christian,
act as a Christian, think as a Christian, talk like a Christian and be a Christian
parent, boss, spouse, child, and friend.
In the parish, we must make Christ known at every meeting,
every activity and in every encounter.
Every individual Christian must ask God to help them in this endeavor, “Is
it I, O, Lord, who needs correction and direction?” “Am I being a witness to
your love?” “Am I doing the work of the
kingdom?”
The ministry of a parish then is not just the music or the
prayers or the beautifully planned and worded services. The ministry of the parish counts on the
individual commitment that each one of us makes. It is the commitment each one of us makes in the words we say
when we are confirmed: “To follow Christ,
to worship God every Sunday, and to work and pray for the spread of God’s
kingdom.” It is the individual
imperative that Christ gave to his disciples that day and now to us as
Christians in this day to be witnesses to God’s love.
This individual commitment within the community of a church is
what illuminates and gives live to a parish.
This is when the parish church, as a part of God’s kingdom, becomes the
lighthouse to those seeking a safe port or the bright city on the hill that
gives live, hope and love to those in need of any kind.
When love is the cardinal virtue, then those seeking God
will be drawn to such a place.
If we grew up in a loving environment we are fortunate. If we didn’t it is never too late to receive
that love and live into love. And then
the church can show forth this love in the world.
God’s love is always available—“I will love you forever, for
always, even until the end of the world—my child you will be.”
And in this boundless, perfect love God calls us to be
instruments of his love to our brothers and sisters, to share this love with
our fellow human beings in every word and action, in the parish and in the
world.
There is a custom in some Episcopal churches that when the
peace is passed, as hands are clasped and one looks into the eyes of his
neighbor, the words are said “I love the face of Christ I see.” This is the
love that Christ asks us to share. As
we pass the peace today, on this Mother’s Day, perhaps we can call to mind the
faces of those whose love has been a reflection of Christ’s love for us and
pray that God will us in the same way---to be witnesses to his love.
They will
know we are Jesus’ disciples. They will
know we are Christians by our love.
Amen