Praying Moms
Easter 7
May 12, 2024
Fr. Tim Nunez
May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Happy Mother’s Day. I used to think Mother’s Day was invented by the advertising industry to boost sales of greeting cards, flowers and the like. But the truth is happier.
Mother’s Day was conceived by Anna Jarvis to honor her own mother, who had rallied women to promote sanitation and public health in Appalachia in the Civil War era and afterwards. The first official celebration was in 1908 at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. Her campaign to make it a national holiday led to President Woodrow Wilson declaring the 2nd Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in 1914.
We all have Mothers, starting with the woman who brought each of us into the world. That may or may not be the same woman or women who have nurtured, blessed and guided us whether or not they were legally or technically a mother. And while we all have different experiences with our own mothers, adoptive mothers, step-mothers and mothering aunts, grandmothers and guardians, we share a general sense of what motherhood ought to be.
Consider how mothers pray. Before a child is born. Upon birth and as early childhood develops, those prayers continue with the watchful eye of care and for the wisdom and strength to meet the baby’s every need. Prayers for toddlers as they careen into the exploration of the world with bumps and bruises along the way and as children find their place in their families.
As they grow and become more independent, prayers don’t decrease, they increase. Think of the first time they pull out of the driveway on their own. When they move away. They say a mother only feels as good as her most miserable child. Paul said “Love never ends.” A mother’s love never does. And then if they are so blessed, prayers ascend for the gift of grandchildren.
My own mother is a woman of steadfast and earnest prayer. I’m sure I helped her hone those skills. Perhaps she prayed for patience before I was born.
With all of that in mind, let’s look at how Jesus prayed for his disciples for guidance on how mothers might see their role as the true calling, the holy vocation that motherhood is. Much of what I’m going to say applies to fathers as well, friendships and really all our meaningful relationships. But today is Mother’s Day so we will focus on mothers.
Jesus begins this prayer by acknowledging that God the Father gave his disciples to him. He affirms it several times. Likewise, we often refer to children as a “gift from God” because that is what they are. They are not a possession to be enjoyed, used or disregarded at our leisure. They are a holy charge and responsibility.
This includes feeding, sheltering, clothing, medical care, educating, and all the other responsibilities that come along with raising a child. But ahead of all of those important elements is making the Lord’s name – making the Lord himself – known to them.
Jesus frames his care of them in the midst of the conflict he came to finish. Remember who Jesus is. Jesus is himself the incarnate Word, the embodiment of God’s speech through whom all things were created. On one side is keeping God’s Word and absorbing the words Jesus has shared with them. The creation is broken and flawed by sin. Jesus’ words are words of life, resolving that brokenness bit by bit as he speaks and demonstrates the Kingdom of God into reality.
The other side Jesus frames as “the world.” When we think of the world, we tend to picture the planet. But this the Greek world here is Kosmos. That doesn’t mean the night sky to them. It means the material universe, mankind with all our systems and power structures that for most of human history and in most places to this day continue to crush far too many of God’s children. It is built on power, control, influence, manipulation, and exploitation: the law of the jungle.
It’s the battle between light and dark, good and evil, Spirit and flesh, blessing and curse.
Today, almost immediately a child will begin to navigate that divide. And to the very core of their being, every child should know that no matter what, no matter how hard or tragic their circumstances are or how horribly the world has treated them, he or she is first and foremost a beloved child of God. You not only matter, you are of infinite importance.
A mother’s love communicates the same message: infinite importance.
The world says no, you and all of us are merely accidents of nature. We’re all going to die and nothing and no one matters. The world wants to - has already begun to - build a data file on them even before they are able to speak, to want to watch a TV screen or tablet or smart phone. Complex algorithms teach them to be objects of marketing, driven by their appetites and desires as well as their insecurities, anxieties and fears. Who does that sound like? Who would do that to a child, to a teenager? The evil one. Evil is easy to find in this world and nowhere else. If you struggle with the idea on an Evil One, you’re not looking very hard.
The words God has given us through Jesus and in scripture as a whole give life. Mothers choose what children will be fed, what books they will begin reading to them from day one. Goodnight Moon and The Very Hungry Caterpillar are two of our favorites. And starting them with stories about Jesus from the start helps lay a foundation of grace, from which grows a godly sense of right and wrong.
Mothers must not leave that to chance. We all must not leave that to chance.
As much as we love our children, they are God’s first, even as we are all God’s first. Motherhood is a high and holy calling to love children in such a way that with a little guidance they can readily see their mother’s love as a reflection of God’s love. That appreciation grows as we grow.
Jesus’ prayer is a prayer of consecration, for God to bless and protect them as they pursue their ministry.
Mothers’ ministry is a primary extension of the disciples’ ministry.
Amen.