James 1_27 – Rogate (Mother’s Day)

I blame Cwirla….

St. James 1:27 – Rogate – Mother’s Day
St. Mark Lutheran Church – May 13, 2007

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.   So, my wife leaves at 4:30pm to go tend to something leaving me with the kids.  No problem.  I’m a dad.   

She gave me dinner with the simplest instructions, “All you have to do is stick this food in the oven at 5:30.  It’ll auto start and dinner will be ready when I return.”  Piece of cake – I’ve got a advance degree.  I’m all over that.  The instructions could be in Latin and I’d be able to do them. 

5:25pm rolls around and I get the food out of the fridge to put it in the oven.  Dad’s on the job.

5:40pm, Sophia woke from her nap – most unhappy.   She really had woken up at 5:20, but I was putting the food in the oven.  She was not happy about being delayed – not at all.

She can’t speak, except to make one sound.  “Mmmm.”  That one sound means “Mom.”  She’s got no sound for me – oh well.  When I picked her up, “Mmmm” was all she said, over and over.  Dorah the Explorer stopped the Mmm’s for a bit.  Two points for Dad!

5:55pm, the heir to all I have comes in frantic.  “Dad, Dad, Dad,” he says stuttering.  “The oven.. the timer isn’t moving… it’s not on.. if it’s not on we won’t eat…we’ll starve.”

“Son, I’ve got it all under control.  Don’t fret – I followed your mother’s instructions.”  The forth time that he ran back and forth to me, I began to doubt myself.  Did she say press a button? 

So, I got up to check on it.  There I found the two boys in front of the oven having a discussion.  While my oldest was frantic, my youngest seemed very calm – almost too calm. 
I soon found out why he was so calm.   “Don’t worry, George,” he told his brother, “if this doesn’t work, he’ll have to get us McDonald’s.”  Consider that.. one son thought I’d messed dinner up and the other was pulling for me to!  

At 6:15pm, Mom returned.  The boys met her at the door with stories of their Dad-doubts.  One who wanted dinner to work and one who clearly was sure that no matter what – we should go to McDonalds.  Lookin at Sophia, I said to myself, “At least you didn’t doubt me.” 

But when I handed Sophia to her Mom, she began the “mmmm”’s again.  Then she gave her mother a giant hug and then looked back at me and then gave her another hug and then looked at me and then gave her another hug.  The message was clear, “Mom, why would you leave me with such an incompetent parent, please don’t leave us again?”

God made male and female and joined them together so that they be mom and dad.  Where there is only one parent there is something missing – something incomplete.  Only Moms are given to be the “M” word.  Thank God for the gift of Mothers.

 From the mother who suffered intense labor, to the adopted mother who knows her child from the beginnings of their lives – Mothers know their own intimately.  Dad’s can’t measure up – at least this Dad can’t.  Who could possibly?

Our Lord Jesus cooked as all little children cook in the blessed Virgin Mary’s belly and so blessed motherhood.

Cuts, scrapes, kisses make them better.   Cleaning up messes and other bio-hazardous materials.  Mom’s always have a band-aid for cuts or just know when something is wrong with their kids.

Mary did that for her Lord, for her Son.  And He honored his mother – listening to her and doing what she told Him to do.  He did that to save her, to save you, and to save me.

So, St. James commands us  – don’t merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves, do what it says.  How will those little children learn the Word to do what it says?

St. Paul tells us that Pastor Timothy had learned the faith of Christ from his grandmother and mother.   Moms pray and teach their kids the faith they are baptized into.  Getting the kiddos up and ready for Sunday School and Church.  Carting them all up to communion to be blessed by the Lord.  Making sure that not one confirmation class is missed.  That’s motherhood. 

The curse upon Eve was at the birth point – excruciating pain.   But in that the Lord shows His grace – a mother who gives birth right afterwards remembers the anguish no more, for joy that a child has been born into the world.” 

Yet, they know.  They went through it.    As my mother always reminds me, “Nine months.. and the pain of hours and hours of labor.. and you did this to me..”  That’s the sort of guilt that makes a Lutheran!

But, she was right.  I had sinned.  I had disobeyed her.  That’s the commandment brought before our eyes today – honor your mother and father.  Honor.  Listen.  Respect.

Our parents are our particular gift from God – given to us by the Father who loved us in the giving up of His Son.  He gave up His only begotten to save each of us from our sins.  His Son, for us.  What parent would do that?  But He did just that to save you.  That’s what makes us children of God. 

The Father loves us – not because we are lovable.  No, He loves us because of Christ.  Jesus says, “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”

We don’t choose our Father in Heaven, He chose us.  That makes our salvation gift.  Kids don’t choose their parents either.  They come as gift from the Lord.

So, little ones, treat your mom as a gift from the Lord.  You do this when you listen to her.  Do what she says.   Do what they say and it’ll go well for you in the Land the Lord your God is giving you – ever think about that?  The Fourth Commandment is the only commandment with promise!

I know Mom is strange sometimes.  My mother once put squash in pizza to try to get me to eat it.  Squash in pizza?  That’s just nuts. 

But, the Lord gave me my particular mom as a gift.  Only one mom – just for me.  So, my mother did what she did because I needed to eat my veggies.   I don’t like squash and wouldn’t eat it.  Still don’t.  Mom was doing what she did for my good.

That’s what the Father does for us – He is always working things out for our good, always caring for us in Christ.

 He corrects us with His Law and calls us to repent for the evil we do and forgives our sins in the blood of His Son given for us on the Cross.  He slays us so that He can make us alive.

Jesus did what we are required to do – He kept the Law in our place.  He honored mom perfectly.  He didn’t merely listen to the Word, He did what it says – even when it killed Him.

He’s risen and gives new life to us.  Life that is spent for those around us – especially for Mom  Serve God by listening to Mom.

And there’s never a point in which you can drop or despise your Mother. From the Cross, Jesus gave His mother to St. John to be tended to and cared for.  Do the same for your parents – love them and care for them as they grow older. 

And “honor them” –for an adult honor does not mean “obey.”  It means respect – be truthful.  As
He did when you were younger, God used your parents to speak for Him.  They don’t stop doing that when you reach a certain height.  Cherish their voice!

St. James says that’s pure and undefiled religion!  Visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.  I don’t care what you want to do for God the Father, if you aren’t tending to your Moms, you aren’t caring for what God wants you to do.

As parents, we are given to repent too for all the times when we have failed to put the Lord’s words first.  Where we have lived for ourselves and not for our children.  Where we have lost our cool as parents with our kids. When we have failed to be an example for them and have not taught our kids the faith – by our words and by our actions. 

Time is too short to hold anything back from Mom or our children.  Ask anyone who misses their Mom today and any parent whose hope is in a happy reunion with their child in heaven on the Last Day.  Time is just too short to withhold forgiveness from one another – especially in families

So, parents seek your kids out who have strayed or offended you.  Find them where they are lost.  Love them and forgive them.

Children, find your parents who you have offended and ask for forgiveness.

Which us brings us to the last mother to rejoice in today.  We are born in her in her baptismal waters.  She teaches us the Word.  She sings her lullabies – some of which are in minor keys.  She feeds us the very Body and Blood of Christ.  And when we die, she wraps us in clothes and tucks us in bed. 

She has warts and blemishes.  She’s not always faithful.  But, she’s Christ’s bride and our Mother.  I’m talking about the Christian Church, who St. Paul calls in Galatians the “the mother of us all.” 

Can’t very much celebrate Mother’s Day in Church without remembering that Mother where we have delivered what Christ did for us on the Cross.  The Church is our mother. 

Now on Friday, Mom and Sophia went to a banquet here at church leaving the boys and I alone again.  When seven o’clock came, they began to despair of hunger.  This time, Dad took no risks – it was straight to wherever they wanted to eat.   No messing around this time! 

Thank God for Mothers today.  For the Christian Church, where we receive the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the Cross.  And for our earthly mothers who bore us and love us.  A blessed Mother’s Day to you!  Or as my daughter would say, A blessed “Mmm” day to you!   In the name of Jesus. Amen.