Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The Day of Pentecost (Mother's Day) 2008

Pentecost A 08
May 11, 2008
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
John 20:19-23

The Mother of the Church

Pentecost is the holiday today, but it happens to fall on Mothers’ Day as well. You may not know that Pentecost was originally a Jewish festival with two levels of meaning. One was simply a celebration of the harvest, but it also remembered and celebrated the time in the wilderness by Mount Sinai when God gave Israel the commandments.

And well we all know: like Moses, moms sure knew how to lay down the law.

Take for example the Book of Mom’s Laws for the Table. I’ll read just a few. I’m sure you’ll recognize them.

“…if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were. Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me. Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke.

“Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are for; if you will dip your blocks in the milk, and lick it off, you will be sent away.

“When you have drunk, let the empty cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck: for you will be sent away.

“When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you.

“Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips. I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is.

“And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why. And though the pieces of broccoli are very like small trees, do not stand them upright to make a forest, because we do not do that, that is why.

“Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away. Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup. And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.”

The Laws of Mom for Pentecost. They actually come from a book by "Lamentations of the Father" by Ian Frazier, though of course, they fit for mom too, don’t they?

When I think of my mother, Betty Cook, I find myself selfishly missing her. She died fourteen years ago, almost exactly.

I miss being able to call her and tell her about my achievements, most of them a bit exaggerated. I’d tell her about them because I was looking for that smile, that affirmation, that special glow that you get when your mom says, “You’re a good boy. I’m proud of you.”

Moms give us life, teach us right from wrong, comfort us when we hurt, encourage us when we doubt ourselves, and want nothing from us except that we grow into the wonderful people they know us to be. And for most of us, our mothers come to have almost mythical stature and power in our lives.

This relationship is almost a matter of instinct or reflex. Even in the most damaged and dysfunctional families, a child will most often excuse, pardon, forgive and love a mother despite abuse, neglect or complete incompetence.

In the best of situations, of course, this relationship is a life-giving blessing to both mother and child. I truly believe many of us, myself included, achieve many of the things we achieve throughout our lives seeking within ourselves the approving smiles our mothers. We are simply born this way.

And in the Holy Spirit, we are reborn.

Through Christ, God opened the way for us to receive the Holy Spirit, and thereby feel the same kind of passionate devotion for God that we have for our mothers. The Spirit of God wants to give us life, teach us wisdom, comfort us when we are hurt, encourage us when we doubt ourselves, and wants nothing from us in return except that we grow into the wonderful people God created us to be.

To be reborn as God’s child is to become a part of a new and bigger family. This new family is not defined by genetic relations or racial similarities, but includes people of all shapes and colors and sizes. And just as those of us who grew up among brothers or sisters found that we had a certain role to play in the family organization, so in this new family of God we each have a role. And just as in our earthly families, we are each unique and wonderful individuals, but nevertheless born of the same mother, so in the church, we each have differing gifts to offer but receive them from the one Holy Spirit.

To become God’s child is also to become a citizen of a new and greater nation. This new nation is not defined as earthly nations are, with geographical boundaries and particular languages. The language is the word of God, and everyone who belongs to the Lord understands it. This new nation has no army, no police, no jails, no weapons. It is ruled by Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and it has no law but the law of love.
St. Paul writes that no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Until we have been adopted as children of God, we cannot have any real understanding of the only-begotten Son of God. Until we feel about God as a child feels about her mother, it will be very hard for us to understand the teachings of our Lord, and more importantly, we will be unable to sense his living presence in our lives.

For at the heart of this new family born of the Mother Spirit is the basic practice of forgiveness. This is a great deal more than simply bearing with one another. We forgive everyone in our new family not only for their sins, but for their differences from us. There can be no nationalism, racism, sexism, classism or imperialism in any of our hearts if we are to embrace this new community. There can be no greed or selfishness or arrogance. For the family of God is to be a kingdom of peace and justice, and forgiveness is the beginning of peace, and peace is the beginning of justice.

In the new birth from the Spirit, we lose nothing of what we were before, but gain a new eternal and universal perspective. We have not ceased to be Americans, and we can love our earthly nation, but we am now citizens of a greater, eternal kingdom, which we are called to love even more. We continue to love and honor our first-birth mothers, but also have a new spiritual mother who is truly all-knowing, all-loving and powerful enough to make us everything we are meant to be.

Here at Philippi I have two hundred and fifty brothers and sisters, and millions more in the whole church around the world. And now, most importantly, I am part of a great mission, a great kingdom goal, to let the world know how deeply God loves us all.

When Peter stood up that morning and spoke, his sermon inspired three thousand people to be baptized that very day. To my knowledge that record has never been broken. But such is the power of the Holy Spirit, the great Mother of the church, still flowing out from Jerusalem and the ancient world, through the centuries and across the seas.

I hope this morning you are thinking about giving birth to new churches and the special offering we are asking for that purpose. And I hope you are thinking about God’s love for those who are dying around the world, especially in Myanmar. And of course, I hope you are blessing God for the gift of earthly life as it came to you through your mother, and for the new life that came through the Mother of the Church, the Holy Spirit.
And maybe there’s someone here today that will make a decision.

Perhaps today someone will decide to join this great family, perhaps today someone will feel eternity tugging at their hearts, perhaps today someone will feel the arms of God opening to receive them.

Whether your mother is here with you in person or in spirit, perhaps today she will see you reborn, and rejoice.

Amen.

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