Little Foxes - Mother's Day

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER

RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

TEXT: Song of Solomon 2:15; Ephesians 4:31-32; 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Yes, today we’re celebrating Mother’s Day!

ILL. Chris Philbeck, a minister in Greenwood, IN, wrote in the May 2nd issue of the Christian Standard magazine:

“Early in my preaching career, I always preached a Mother’s Day sermon, & the church would always have some kind of recognition & celebration of the mothers who were present. But over the years…my approach to Mother’s Day has changed…

“You see, over time I have become more aware of the pain many women, & sometimes men, experience on Mother’s Day. Some folks grieve because their mother has died. Some moms in church have had children die. Some women listening to the sermon have had an abortion; & for them, Mother’s Day is a painful reminder of that choice.

“Some women desperately want to be moms, but it hasn’t happened. Some single women want to get married & have children. Some people … have had a difficult & painful relationship with their mother, & some are filled with regret because of the pain and grief they brought to their mother.

“The bottom line is, our approach to Mother’s Day isn’t as simple as it might seem on the surface.”

ILL. 109 years ago Pres. Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. He established the day as a time for "public expression of our love & reverence for the mothers of our country."

And for most of us it is a very special day. Telephone companies tell us that it is by far their busiest day of the year. It is a day for greetings & expressions of love. And it is also a day for remembering.

My mother passed away 42 years ago, but in a way I lost her nearly 60 years ago because she had Alzheimer’s for at least the last 18 years of her life. I loved & respected her deeply for so many reasons, & I still think of her often – our years in the Himalayan Mtns. of Tibet, her sufferings & sacrifices for 3 years in Japanese Internment Camps, & for our years together after WW2.

I owe her so much more than I could ever say!

ILL. Someone wrote an article entitled, “What My Mother Taught Me.” Now I need to say that this isn’t about my mother.

What did my mother teach me? Well, she taught me a lot. For example, my mother taught me LOGIC - "If you fall off that swing & break your neck, you can’t go to the store with me."

My mother taught me ANTICIPATION - "Just wait until your father gets home."

My Mother taught me HUMOR - "When that lawn mower cuts off all your toes, don’t come running to me."

My mother taught me about GENETICS - "You’re just like your father!"

My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT - "If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”

And her favorite subject was JUSTICE - "One day you’ll have kids, & I hope they turn out just like you. Then you’ll see what it’s been like. I can’t wait for that day to come!"

Well, maybe your mother wasn’t quite like that either, but almost all of us have some very special memories about mother & home.

A. Mother & home when you mention one you just automatically think of the other. And when most of us think of home we forget the bad things, & remember the good.

Those of us who are older remember the sounds & sights & smells of home, of screen doors banging in the summer time, the aroma of cookies just out of the oven, & of freshly baked bread.

Home - we enjoyed a sense of acceptance there, & of being loved. And most of us knew mother loved us. We were certain of that!

But once we left home we found that the world is not as kind. It's always judging us & trying to place us into categories if we're good looking enough or smart enough or ambitious enough or successful enough. And if we don't measure up, then the world rejects us.

SUM. But still, there is home & mother. Unfortunately, home is not what it used to be. So perhaps we need to re-evaluate what is happening within the walls of the home, & in our family relationships.

B. There is a verse of scripture in the O.T. that want to call to your attention this morning. It is Song of Solomon 2:15. Here is what it says, "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom."

That verse sounds rather strange, doesn't it? But I believe Solomon was simply saying that little things can often ruin or destroy the big & important things in life.