The Hand that Rocks the Cradle . . .
1 Peter 6-14; John 17:1-11
(A Mother's Day message focusing on Acts 1:14 and John 17:9-10)
by Jim Westmoreland
Tony Campolo, a sociology professor, author, speaker and ordained minister in
the American Baptist Church, tells the story of attending a very sophisticated academic
gathering at the University of Pennsylvania. He said, "I didn't want to be there, and
I felt uncomfortable with the kinds of conversation going on. A woman colleague who taught
sociology struck up a conversation with my wife and me. At one point she turned to my wife
and asked, in a condescending fashion, "And what is it that you do, my
dear?"
My wife, who is one of the most articulate people I know, shot back, "I am
socializing two Homo sapiens into the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in
order that they might be the instruments for the transformation of the social order into
the kind of eschatological utopia that God willed from the very beginning of
creation."
Then, my wife asked politely and sweetly, "And what is it that you
do?" The woman answered humbly, "I . . . I . . . teach sociology."
We must recognize that raising children is a high and holy task.
The great mystery of the Incarnation, God taking upon Himself the form of flesh and coming
to live as we live, took place in the context of a family.
Because this is Mother's Day, I want to talk about the role of mothers, and I
want to talk about receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. At first, this may seem a
strange combination. I hope not! The world, our world, our community is in great need of
people, and certainly in need of mothers, who live by the power and guidance of the Holy
Spirit.
Certainly, there is a special role for mothers with their children still at home. How do
we do the right thing? How do we have enough patience, nurture, and stamina to do all that
needs to be done? But I am not talking about only mothers with children at home. Whether
one has been a biological mother or a surrogate, substitue mother, one does not stop being
a mother!
I want to first look at a part of the John passage and then look at the passage in Acts.
The verses we read from John 17 are known as the "high priestly prayer." Jesus
is praying to the Father about his ministry on earth. Then, he begins to pray for the
disciples who are still in the world. He says in v. 9, "I ask on their behalf; I do
not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me." Then, in v. 11,
Jesus says, "And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world
. . . keep them in Thy name . . .that they may be one, even as we are one."
I certainly hear Jesus' words as a great, priestly prayer on behalf of his disciples. But
on Mother's Day, when I hear, "God, I'm not asking for me, or the world, but I'm
asking for these you've given me. Now, I don't have them at home anymore with me. We're in
different roles now, and they are having to deal with the same things that I had to deal
with back when they were at home with me. So, God, please look after them, keep them safe,
keep them together." When I hear that kind of caring prayer, it reminds me also of a
mother's prayer for her children. The children may be grown now. They may have their own
children or even grandchildren now. But, a mother doesn't stop being a mother!
Now, look at the passage in Acts. Here, where Jesus tells his disciples that they will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them, . . . Here, where Jesus says they
will be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, . . .
Here, where they all gathered together in Jerusalem to be obedient and were continuing in
prayer, we could almost miss the fact that, amidst all those people, Mary, the mother of
Jesus, was there. Here was a mother who never quit being Jesus' mother. Now, he was with
his heavenly Father, but Mary was with all the disciples, devoting herself to prayer,
waiting for the Holy Spirit to come.
Mary, not only gave birth to Jesus, she nurtured him as a mother of faith, giving him both
physical and spiritual food. After he truly began to be about His Father's business as He
began his ministry, Mary was often present. And, we know she was present at the end as she
knelt at the foot of the cross as Jesus died among two criminals. Mary didn't get to the
foot of the cross by taking the red-eye flight from Nazareth when the TV news reported the
results of the trial. No, she had to have been there, in Jerusalem, perhaps at the trial,
and she knew how hurt and disappointed Jesus must have felt after he had tried so hard to
share God's love for his own people. Mary knew what heartache was like, and Mary never
stopped being Jesus' mother.
What word do we have for mothers who are dealing with all the trials and fears of raising
their children today? Maybe your children are grown, but maybe it is your daughter or
granddaughter who is facing the challenges of being a mother. What word is there for them?
One of my favorite preachers, Gerald Mann, pastor of the RiverBend Church in Austin,
Texas, tells the story of receiving a letter from a mother of three boys. This mother was
very distraught about protecting her boys, ages six, four and three, from all the dangers
there were in the world, and she mentioned that drugs were even being sold these days on
elementary school campuses.
Dr. Mann replied with a letter to this mother that said, "I saw a news report not
long ago which showed an aerial view of damage done by a tornado. Many buildings were
leveled. Yet, several seemed to have sustained only minimal damage. The reporter noted
that the buildings which weathered the storm had two things in common: a solid foundation
and a flexible superstructure.
What our families need and what our community needs are children who can weather the
storms of life. And what they need are solid foundations and flexible superstructures.
Then, they can stand on unshakable ground, and they are not broken by change.
How do we give them these two indispensable gifts? Our text tells us in Acts 1:8,
"And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." The same
power that leads us to be witnesses also empowers us and gives us wisdom to be parents!
Mothers need to claim the power of Jesus Christ. God will give you the confidence that you
can do the job. Don't throw in the towel, don't despair. Claim what God provides, because
"the hand that rocks the cradle still rocks the world." The world needs
Christian mothers whose lives have been changed by the love of God in Christ and who live
and love by the power of the Holy Spirit!
I have one other word of hope to those with young children, and that is that there are
three parties involved in building the foundations and superstructures of their children's
lives, and you are only one of them. It takes the parents, the children and God to build
lives that weather the storms. You can only do so much. Do not appoint yourself all three.
You are not God, which means your child's destiny is not in your power. Try to play God,
and you will learn the hard way that you are not.
You cannot do your child's part either. You can only do yours. You provide K.I.S.S.
"K" is for kindness, which includes all the ways, verbal and nonverbal
that you relate to your children. A child needs to be your delight, not your duty.
"I" is for intimacy. Intimacy is to be loved as I am. A child needs to
be fully known and fully safe to flourish. The first "S" is for stability.
A child cannot respond to change unless he has something stable to rely on, such as
definite boundaries, undoubted love, constant forgiveness, and a refusal to allow deceit
to go unchallenged. The final "S" stands for sayonara. Every child must
be set free. In fact, they are set free to go into the very world that you are most afraid
of. Life, love and health demand that they go. This is what they were born for.
What is remarkable is that K.I.S.S. is exactly how God has dealt with us. He is kind
and takes great delight in us. He is intimate. He sees us as we are and he still
loves us. He is stable. He has placed us in a world of boundaries and cause and
effect. He is dependable to love and forgive us. We are never alone. And, God's sayanora
means that he gives us freedom. In the Garden of Eden he didn't create robots with no
choice. Instead, he set us free to choose for ourselves. And He stands at the door with
the band aids and salve when we return wounded.
Our world, our community is in desperate need of mothers who know how to care. We need
mothers of every age who are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to love, care for
and support their children in the love and wisdom of God. Mothers don't quit being
mothers. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, who devoted herself to prayer, with the other
disciples, we need to devote ourselves to prayer. Mothers can teach their children the
importance of prayer.
"I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day; I had so much to
accomplish that I didn't have time to pray,
Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. "Why doesn't God help
me?" I wondered. He answered, "You didn't ask."
I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak; I wondered why God
didn't show me. He said," But you didn't seek."
I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and
lovingly chided, "My child you didn't knock."
I woke up early this morning, and paused before entering the day; I had so
much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray. "
Sometimes, we take on too much responsibility. We try to live life without God. We try to
solve all the problems, meet everyone's needs without God. Oh, we believe, but we just
don't have time to pray. We just go on the best we can.
Listen, we need mothers who know Christ and who live by the power of the Holy Spirit. And
remember, Never underestimate the importance of mothers, because "the hand
that rocks the cradle rocks the world."