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Mother's Day Sermon: "Children, Arise, and Call Your Mother Blessed" Prov. 31:28

May 13, 2007

by Clancy Nixon

Church of the Holy Spirit

Ashburn, Virginia

www.HolySpiritAnglican.org

Happy Mother's Day! Little children come up with some great gift ideas, don't

they? Angie, 8 years old, wrote this: "Dear Mother, I'm going to make dinner for you on

Mother's Day. It's going to be a surprise. P.S. I hope you like pizza & popcorn." Robert

wrote: "I got you a turtle for Mother's Day. I hope you like the turtle better than the

snake I got you last year." Little Diane wrote: "I hope you like the flowers I got you for

Mother's Day. I picked them myself when Mr. Smith wasn't looking." And how about

this one from Carol? "Dear Mom, Here are two aspirins. Have a happy Mother's Day!"

As we bless mothers today, we also bless every woman and girl on this day, for

God has given each of you a share, a portion of the spirit of motherhood, whether you

have ever had a baby or not. Any woman can be a spiritual mother. That's why each

female gets a flower today - you are all beautiful in God's sight. We honor you today.

My intention today is not so much to preach to mothers, though I will do some of

that; my primary purpose today is to bless our mothers. The title of this talk is "Children,

Arise, and Call Your Mother Blessed." (Prov. 31:28) Let's say that together. "Children,

Arise, and Call Your Mother Blessed." (Prov. 31:28) One way we will bless mothers

today is to honor them. Romans 13:6 says we are to give honor to whom honor is due.

I'd like you to join me in that honoring. At the end of my talk, I would like several of you

to honor your mother by coming forward to share a brief story of how your mother

blessed you, or showed the love of God to you. This could be a natural mother, an

adoptive mother, a godmother, a teacher, a mother in the faith. I also want to encourage

husbands who want to honor their wives as mothers of their children, to come forward to

honor them today.

If the idea of doing that intimidates you, I understand. It goes beyond the fear of

speaking in public. While Mother's Day is a joy for many, for many others it is a mixed

bag. For some of us, our mothers have died, and we miss them. Others have lost a child,

and you grieve over that. Some of us have had conflicted relationships with our mothers

or our children, and so Mother's day may bring up for you feelings of anger or guilt.

Others of us wanted to be a mother, but it didn't work out that way, so you grieve. God

understands all of that, and he desires to heal those wounds. You can receive prayer

during the communion time from a prayer minister along the left aisle. One of the ways

we receive healing is in the act of publicly honoring our mothers even though we

understand their imperfections.

Why do we honor mothers? First, they deserve honor, because we are indebted

to them. Not all of us are mothers, but we all had mothers. For most of us, our mothers

took better care of us than anyone else. Our mothers raised us, fed us, clothed us, and all-

round loved us better than anyone else. Being a mother is one of the most selfless,

sacrificial jobs on the planet. Can I get an "Amen" for that? Motherhood and fatherhood

are antidotes to selfishness. You're there for your children any time, whenever they need

you - and that often seems to be at the odd times, doesn't it? No matter how old you get,

or how old your mother gets, your mother never stops being your mother. It's a role, a

calling for a lifetime. So is our role in honoring them.

The second reason to honor mothers is that God thinks honoring mothers is so

important, that it is one of the Ten Commandments. The Fifth Commandment says we

are to honor our fathers and our mothers. The Hebrew word for honor means to respect,

to cherish, and literally to give weight to. We are not to take our parents lightly. In

Ephesians 6:1, Paul tells us that this is the first commandment with a promise: honor your

parents, and everything will go well for you, and you will live a long life. (GW) Let's

see a show of hands: How many of you want things to go well for you in your life? How

many of you want to live a long life? Here is the key: honor your parents. God keeps his

promises, and one of the ways he does that is by letting your children see how you treat

your parents. The apple does not fall far from the tree. Let's say Proverbs 31:28

together: "Children, Arise, and Call Your Mother Blessed."

Now let's look at How we honor our mothers. The first way is to listen to your

mother. Let's read Proverbs 1:8 together. "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction

and do not forsake your mother's teaching." The verse continues: "They will be a garland

to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." Listening to your mother isn't a ball

and chain; it's like wearing a fine gold chain to adorn your neck. Honoring our parents

has divine warrant and adds beauty to our moral character, just as jewels set off personal

appearance. Another proverb, not from the Bible, but a Spanish proverb, says this: "An

ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy." Moms, you have irreplaceable influence in

the lives of your children. Children, whenever the Bible says "listen," it includes the idea

of obedience. Listening does not mean sitting there stewing and deciding whether or not

to obey. To listen, to love, means to obey.

Jesus tells us in the gospel reading assigned for today, from John 14:23, that the

one who loves him is the one who obeys him. In the Great Commandment, Jesus tells us

that loving God and others is the purpose of our lives, and here in John 14 we learn the

main way we love God. Love is not a feeling, it's an action. While our culture prizes

independent thought and action, God values obedience, both to him and to our parents.

Until they reach adulthood, children have a holy obligation to obey their parents.

Teenagers, if you are still thinking about a gift to give your mom for mother's day, well

the best gift you can give her is to obey her. Obedience is better than cards, better than

flowers, better even than chocolate. [hand to ear] Can I get an amen from some moms

on that one? Some of you hesitated when I said that obedience is better than chocolate.

Sometimes adults tell me that they don't want to hear what their parents are

telling them, that their parents just don't understand. Now I'm sure that there is some

truth in that. However, I think that most children, even grown children, underestimate

the wisdom of their parents. When you are young, part of honoring your parents includes

obeying them. Once you are grown up, you are released from the obligation to obey your

parents, but you are never released from the obligation to honor them. Your parents

know you as well as anyone they often have a bigger picture than you do of your life.

God himself gave them a duty to guide you. Always attend to the wisdom of your

parents, even if they aren't particularly godly. One practical way you can honor your

mother is to call her on the phone, ask her advice about something you're dealing with

right now, and then just listen. If you can't handle that, just open the book of Proverbs,

and read them aloud! Here's another proverb, 17:22:" A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." This Mothers' Day, let's laugh a little more.

Another way to honor mothers, especially on Mother's Day, is to give them a gift.

The story goes of three sons who give gifts to their elderly Jewish mother. The three sons

left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed

the gifts they gave.

The first said, "I built a big house for mom." The second said, "I sent her a

Mercedes with a driver." The third said, "I've got you both beat. You remember how

mom enjoyed reading theTorah? And you know she can't see very well. I sent her a

remarkable parrot that recites the entire Torah. It took the elders in my synagogue 12

years to teach him. He's one of a kind. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse,

and the parrot recites it."

Soon thereafter, the aging mom sent out her letters of thanks: "Milton", she wrote,

"The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole

house." "Seth," she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at

home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!" "Dearest Jacob", she

wrote to her third son, "At least you have the good sense to know what your mother likes.

The chicken was delicious!"

That's the thing about gifts. When you give them, you never know what the

recipient will think of it or do with it. Sometimes there is not even a "Thank you." That

is like the gifts mothers give. They give us the gift of life in the first place; they give us

the gift of the better part of their lives; they give the gift of their love; they give the gift of

their best advice; they give us skills and knowledge; and they give us wings so we can

fly. Then we, their children, do with them what we will.

The same is true about God's gifts to us. He gave each of us individual life. He

gave us the best part of himself when he gave us Jesus. God sacrificed not just his son,

but himself so that we would live forever in his family. God gives us His best advice in

his Word, the Bible. He gives us his Spirit the Holy Spirit - to live in us and guide us.

And if that were not enough, He gives us spiritual gifts to empower us for ministry gifts

like wisdom, prophecy, healings, and more. He gives them to us because He loves us;

and we do with them what we will. Of course, we would be much better off if we did

with them what God wills. Let's do that today. Amen?

Now we're going to have a time for you to honor your mothers and the mothers of

our children. Let's look at how we do that. Proverbs 31:28 says, "Children, Arise, and

Call Your Mother Blessed." This verse addresses children. This is not limited to young

children. If you know Jesus as your Lord, you are a child of God, no matter your age.

You are your mother's child no matter your age. The first call is to arise. Arise means to

get up. Get up, not only out of your seats today to brag on your mom, but arise from the

negative emotions you may carry about your mom, give those to God, so you can give

honor to your mother. Arise today, and bless your mother. To be blessed means to be

favored by God; to be special, to be gifted, and to be loved. We're not only to bless our

moms, we are to call them blessed. To call someone something means we need speak it

out or write it out so others can hear or read. We need to move our lips and just say the

thing that blesses them. Proverbs 31:31 says we are to praise her at the city gates.

The second half of that verse is instructive "Her husband also praises her,

saying, "There are many good women, but you are the best!" I'd like to ask those of you

who would like to come forward to share briefly with us one specific way that your

mother blessed you, or your wife blesses you.

At end of testimony time, repeat: "Arise, children, and call your mother blessed."