Launch Sunday II Psalm 23
Mashpee May 11, 2008 Acts 2:1-4
Luke 2:41-52
“As Only a Mother Knows”
“Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears.”
So, starts the Mother’s Day Proclamation written by Julia Ward Howe, 19th century social activist and author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Her words which so clearly respond to the carnage of the Civil War end like this:
“In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.” This is a rather bold statement to put to a society that would need another forty years or so before granting women the right to vote.
In the middle of this amazing document, are the words that so resonate with Mary “keeping all these things in her heart.” There is a common thread. The Mother’s Day Proclamation contains these words:
“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, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
Pretty amazing words considering the role of women in 1870.
The Official Start
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s day as a day for American citizens to fly their flags to honor mothers who lost their sons in war.
Since that time, Mother’s Day has evolved into flowers, cards, breakfast-in-bed, and a family dinner at Mother’s favorite restaurants. In many cases, church is added to the list. The original peace activist side of the day has certainly waned, but the basic idea of dedicating a day to honor Mothers is alive and well.
On the communion table are pictures of mothers. These are pictures you brought at my suggestion last week. Thank you for sharing these treasures. By the way, if you didn’t bring one this morning, envision the one you would have brought and hold that image.
Think about it: how many stories lay behind these photographs? Each of us could spend hours on the life behind the frame. Each of us could tell tales of love, devotion, along with tales of conflict and discipline. Family stories are deeply imbedded in our souls and at the very core of most of them are our relationships with our mothers. Just as Mary held close to her hearts the wonderful stories of her son, Jesus, our mothers hold or held stories of us close to their hearts.
“I Remember Mama”
On Mother’s Day, the remembering works both ways. This makes me think of the TV classic, “I remember Mama” starring Peggy Wood as Marta Hansen and Dick Van Patten as Nels, based on the book by Kathryn Forbes, Mama’s Bank Account. Remember how the episodes closed with: “I remember the big white house on Steiner Street, and my little sister Dagmar, and my big brother Nels, and Papa. But most of all, I remember Mama.”
I Forgot Mama!
Right after I got my driver’s license my mother went with me to run errands. I left her at a clothing store and told her I would be back in twenty minutes. In all the excitement of driving and being on my own with the car, I completely lost track of time. I went to visit a friend and was having a great conversation when I suddenly realized that my Mother expected me back in twenty minutes. This was way before cell phones folks, so when I returned almost two hours later, I expected her to be quite upset. This turned the story from “I Remember Mama” to “I Totally Forgot Mama.” But, no. Mom insisted that she enjoyed having extra time to look around the store; she really did not mind.
Memories
You know and I know that once you get started telling these sorts of stories that one leads into another. They are called memories. We all have them and for those of us blessed with good childhoods we call these memories good. There was something going on in that Temple that Mary treasured or why else the reference to her heart at the end? She realized that Jesus was being neither disrespectful nor rebellious. Rather she knew he was doing what he was called to do and that Jesus would necessarily be reprimanded by his father, but she would see more profoundly into the moment and keep this memory as a treasure.
My Mom worked several jobs, part-time, when I was growing up. For four years, she was a school crossing guard. My Uncle was a Police Captain and he got her the job. I used to play with the stop sign she would leave in the car.
Then, there was a stretch working in a bakery that specialized in Danish pastry. She worked odd hours for that one and used to talk about all the butter they spread in between the many layers of thin dough. Seldom did she bake at home simply because she did so much at the bakery.
But the job she had that I remember most vividly is that of a hairdresser. Before I was born she worked in a hair salon. After my sisters and I came along, Mom used to have customers come to the house.
Toni Home Perm Kits
Usually, she worked during the day while we were at school. I was grateful for that because the smell of the Toni Home Perm Kits was outrageous! There were curlers, plastic waving rods, all those little pieces of paper, and Bobbie pins all over the house! As I approached the front door coming home from school, I would open the door tentatively and wait to detect the odors of those stinky little bottles of chemicals. After a perm the smells hovered in the house for hours. I don’t know whether it was ammonia or that bottle of white neutralizer. Imagine the need to “neutralize” you head!
My Mom, like so many of her generation, never finished high school. So when the need came for more money to pay the rent and buy groceries (gas was really cheap then!) she worked to make a few extra dollars. She did what she had to do to see that her children had food, shelter, and clothes. As with the case of most Moms, she loved helping our Dad provide for us. She sacrificed the things she wanted for herself and focused on her children.
Many years later after a long and wonderful retirement in Florida, those of us close to Mom began to notice subtle changes in her. Occasionally she would use the wrong word in a sentence. But at that point what she meant to say was clear so no one said anything to correct her. After all, at age 80 people are entitled to mix things up occasionally – it just an accepted right after living that long.
But, six years later the occasional slip-up had transformed itself into full-blown, late stage Ahlziemer’s Disease. Mom had drifted away from us into an unknown world. At best, she could remember pulling my uncle on a sled when she was only 7 years old. Everything between that memory and the present was gone. Mom roamed the halls of the nursing home with a vacuous stare. She was still with us physically, but even on the best of days she no longer knew the very children she had born. Mercifully, God finally called her home in her 87th year.
The Story Does Not End In Defeat
The reason this story doesn’t end this message is because on this very day almost two thousand years ago, wind and fire swept through the Temple and the Holy Spirit, the living Spirit of Jesus Christ, the resurrected spirit of Jesus Christ, made its grand entrance and announced to the world that the end of life on this earth is only the beginning! As we celebrate our family life and traditions by honoring our Mothers, we know that our Loving God, the very one who created us all, cares for us as a parent. A loving Mother is a window into the very Love of God: tender, caressing, soothing, occasionally demanding, forgiving, challenging, and sacrificial.
Our second Launch Sunday comes on the day of Pentecost-the birth of the church. Just as the birthing of a child is both joy-filled and painful, the birth of the Church also was filled with joy and pain. Jesus had to pay a big price for the sins of the world. His last hours were spent in sheer agony. But, today we experience once again, the triumph over the cross and the entrance of the Holy Spirit. With Pentecost comes the assurance that “All things work together for Good for those who love God.” Paul speaks these words in Romans 8.
These words I learned early in my childhood. How is that? Over the kitchen sink my mother displayed a small frame with an embroidered cloth with these very words. Every time she stood in front of that sink, those words spoke to her in most reassuring ways.
These very words are a spiritual anchor for my life and they were planted in my memory banks by a mother who truly believed them. Just before she died, she had no way to invoke this message of hope, but that was all right. They were a part of her very soul, never to be denied their fullest expression when the time came for her to leave this world and enter God’s heavenly Kingdom.
Feel the Spirit of the living Christ in this room. This is the season for new beginnings. This is the time for a new Church in Mashpee. This is the time for all churches to celebrate life and all the remarkable joys of sharing our journeys with those who surround us in love.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you.
AMEN
