Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries on Mother’s Day, 08 May 2022, by Sarah-Grace and Heather Ramsay
Today is Mother’s Day. Now,
I actually I looked up whether it is Mother apostrophe ‘S’ Day (the day of one
particular mother) or Mother ‘S’ apostrophe Day (a day belonging to more than
one mother) or whether it is Mother no apostrophe ‘S’ Day (a day to celebrate mothers
in general). Apparently, it is the former - Mother apostrophe ‘S’ Day (the day
of one particular mother) – so, I encourage everyone who is able to today, to honour
your particular mother and make her feel special.
We love you mom!
In the Bible there are many
amazing women. A few of them who are mentioned specifically for their role as
mother. For our time today, we have haikus about some of these particular
mothers from the Bible. One from the New Testament, one from the Gospels, one
from the Old Testament outside the Pentateuch and one from the Pentateuch and
as a bonus we will also have a haiku about Mary the mother of Jesus too. Our
first Mother Haiku is from Genesis in the Pentateuch:
EVE
Today’s
Mothers’ Day
The
first mom we have is Eve
For
2 sons she grieved
The Bible doesn’t tell
us too much about Eve as a mother. We do hear about her struggles and interactions
with the serpent and her husband a little bit. It is a very sad note for her
that when the Bible says death entered the world because of her and her
husband, its first two casualties were indeed her eldest two children. Her one
son killed her other son and thus she lost both children because of it. Being a
mom isn’t always easy. Being a mom can be very sad at times. We, like many
people, are sorry when it is us who cause our moms and others to be sad.
Dear God please forgive
us for the times that we have made both You and our mothers sad.
The next mom we have is
also from the Old Testament; She is from the book of 1 Samuel.
HANNAH
Sam,
my first-born child
Of
the two books named for him
Only
one he’s in
Fun fact: Samuel isn’t
even in the book of 2nd Samuel.
Hannah first shows up
in the Bible as a wife who desperately wants to be a mother. She wants just to
be a mother so much that she promises God that when He gives her a child, she
will give him right back to God. God gives her a child and when the child is
old enough, she brings her son – the boy who will later become the prophet
Samuel - to be raised serving in the tabernacle of God by the High Priest. God
blessed her son and raised him up to be the last ruler of Israel before the time
of the kings. God blessed Hannah, this mom, by giving her many more children to
love and to rear. This mom was blessed by God not only by having her child but
also in seeing how God blessed her whole nation through her son.
Mom, like Hannah, you
have made sure that we were raised in the Church – knowing, loving, and serving
God. Thank you. To all of the moms and dads here who have dedicated their children
to God, Thank you. To all the moms, parents, and other family members who are
desperately praying for their children like Hannah did, even when they are far
away, may the Lord answer your prayers.
Let us pray: Dear God
we pray for all the children and families represented here today. We pray that
our loved ones will all come to know and to love you and to know they are loved
by You. Amen.
MRS
ZEBEDEE
James
and John’s mother
Thought
her sons like none other
Made
others wonder
Mrs. Zebedee was quite
a lady. There was no holding her back. She marched her two adult sons right up
to Jesus, bowed down in front of the Lord and asked that they both be held as
more important than the others. When the other disciples heard about this, they
were quite upset that James and John would let their mother do this but Jesus
calmed everybody down, using this moment to teach about serving others rather
than looking out for yourselves.
Moms continue to look
out for their kids even after they have grown up and left home. Moms try their
best. Like with all of us, sometimes it works out and sometimes maybe it doesn’t;
sometimes, maybe like with Mrs. Zebedee, it causes a few extra little problems
that would not have happened if mom didn’t try to help out. But moms love us
and they try to help however they can. Thank you, mom, for loving us. Thank you
everyone here for the love you show to one another – your family, your friends,
and others.
Let us pray: Dear God.
Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the opportunity to love one another.
Please help us to always love unselfishly, caring for You and others more than
ourselves. Amen
Our 4th of 5
specific mothers on this Mother’s Day comes from 2nd John in the New
Testament.
KYRIA
ELECTA
Mother
of children
Physical,
spiritual
Early
church pastor
2nd John
says it is addressed to a specific mother and her children. Her name ‘Kyria’
translated to English from Greek literally means ‘Lady’ and her other name ‘Electa’
literally means ‘chosen’. Thus, the NIV reads this letter as written to the
chosen lady. Kyria Electa was chosen as one of the first Christian pastors. She
encouraged her children - those who have come to faith through her and presumably
her natural born children as well. John sent her this letter of encouragement
and it is neat because he concluded this short letter by sending greetings from
the children of another woman pastor/teacher in the church.
God has used and is
using many mothers and others in many roles in His church. Mothers especially are
great teachers of their children. In times gone past before daycares and
kindergartens moms were the primary teachers of the next generation. It is my
hope that we would all be encouraged as Kyria Electa to continue to teach and
care for one another.
Let us pray. Lord God,
we pray that we will faithfully care for and teach those you give us to teach
and we thank You for the many people You have provided and continue to provide to
care for and to teach us. Amen.
Our next mother today
is from the Gospels. She is probably the most well known and most often represented
mother in artwork in the history of the world. The next mother we have today is
Mary.
MARY
Mary
Did You Know
That
your son would save us all
Everlasting
life
Mary was chosen by God
to give birth to the Son of God and raise Him and care for Him. I can’t imagine
what it must have been like for her to see Him grow and do the things He does.
I can’t imagine what it would be like for her to realize and respect her son as
the Lord. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for her to see him upon
the cross. He loved her so much: He entrusted her care to his friend even while
He was upon the cross. I can’t imagine then what it would be like for her to
know of His resurrection and eternal life. I can’t imagine how humbling it
would be to see what God has and is doing through her little boy.
Moms, dads, and
families are often proud of their children. They are very happy when they see
how God uses them. God used Mary’s son, His Son, to accomplish so much in this
world and the next. Mary’s son is also the Son of God and He was conceived, born,
lived, died, and rose again so that we may all live forever more.
On this Mother's Day,
let us all take Jesus up on that offer and let us all serve Him both for now
and forever more.
Let us pray: Dear God
on this Mother’s Day, we thank you for our mothers and others who love us. We
pray for those near and dear to us. We pray that You will be with them and care
for them; Lord we pray that we will know that You are near us and those we love
in times of trouble. Lord, we thank you for loving us for now and forever more.
Amen.
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