Flowers For Mother

Flowers for Mother

“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby,

he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” John 19:26

Intro: Today there are two occasions of celebration that bring us together to worship.

On the Christian Church calendar today is Ascension Sunday.

After the resurrection of Christ for forty days Jesus lived and appeared to the disciples and to crowds of people as proof of His resurrection and the power of God.

Jesus encourages His disciples that they will “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”

He tells them that they must serve as His “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,

and to the ends of the earth.”

Immediately after these words are spoken, the ascension takes place:

“Jesus was taken up into heaven before their very eyes.

They were still looking up into the sky after he was gone

When two men dressed in dazzling clothes stood before them.

People of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?

This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,

will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'”

The ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the most significant events recorded in the New Testament.

It teaches us that we must continue to work through the Holy Spirit and the church

Until Jesus returns again.

We must not stop teaching the Gospel.

We must work to transform the world and to save the lost sinner before Christ returns again.

Then just 10 days later the Holy Spirit gave birth to the Church.

And that same commandment was repeated that the church must make disciples.

The church must share the Gospel.

The church must encourage one another

The church must evangelize the world.

Like a good mother the Holy Spirit brings us New Birth.

No one asked to be born into this world.

We don’t get to pick the conditions of when or where we are born.

We did not get to choose our parents.

Scientist can teach us the biological and chemical conditions necessary for birth.

But like death much of birth is still a mystery.

Connected to the mother we have everything we need.

You leave the mother’s body where you were nourished and protected

and are pushed out into the harsh realities of life.

Your first breathe is accompanied by a slap.

The stick of a needle, the suction of mucus.

You come into the world crying and gasping for breath.

But then there is something more that happens.

Being wrapped up in a warm blanket you are held in someone’s arms.

Then there is a mother’s kisses.

Happy grandparents.

No matter what your circumstances at birth are you have the potential to reach for the stars.

There is nothing you can’t do.

The poorest of the poor can become rich.

From Steve Jobs who was abandoned as an infant

to Opray Winfrey who was sexually abused as child.

They came into the worst this world had to offer

Both became billionaires.

Dreams big.

Set goals high.

Raise your standards.

Change doubt in to faith.

Your past does not determine your future.

When Jesus was crucified on the cross he could look down and see his mother.

This was the worst Mother’s day ever for Mary the mother of Jesus.

No parent is supposed to outlive their child.

No parent wants to see their child arrested and punished and crucified especially when their child is innocent.

We can only imagine the pain, the agony, this mother is going through.

When June McCarter’s youngest daughter died after heart surgery,

she did as any grieving mother would do.

In the last moments of maternal love she sat at the feet of the hospital bed watching in utter despair

knowing there was nothing she could do to change what was happening.

The memorial service at church was nice.

The church and community surrounded the family with expressions of sympathy and support.

The meal provided by the church gave an intimate time for the family to spend together.

For any one the loss of a family member or friend can cause us to feel numb and depressed.

Like it is difficult to continue on.

Your emotions are shattered and you struggle to keep your heart beating.

June McCarter said after losing her child, “You either give up, or you get up.”

It was her faith in God that gave her the courage to get up and go on.

Jesus in his dying moments told Mary to take John and to a mother to him.

And then he told his best friend John to take Mary and treat her like his very own mother.

Jesus said, take care of mother.