Collect for Mothering Sunday
God of compassion,
whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:
strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion
Loving God, as a mother feeds her children at the breast you feed us in this sacrament with the food and drink of eternal life:
help us who have tasted your goodness
to grow in grace within the household of faith;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Luke 1: 26-38
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
TSL 12-03-2018
Introduction
Story: I came across this story that happened during the Holocaust in the Second World War.
Solomon Rosenberg, his wife and their 2 sons were arrested, together with his mother and father for the crime of being Jews.
They were placed in a Nazi concentration camp.
It was a labour camp, and the rules were simple.
"As long as you can do your work, you will be permitted to live.
When you become too weak to do your work, then you will be exterminated."
Rosenberg watched his mother and father being marched off to their deaths as they became too weak to work.
He knew that the next would be his youngest son, David - because David had always been a frail child.
Every evening, Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of hard labour and searched the faces for his family.
When he found them they would huddle together, embrace one another and thank God for another day of life.
One day Rosenberg came back and didn’t see those familiar faces.
He finally found his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping and praying.
He said, "Josh, tell me it’s not true."
Joshua turned and said, "It is true, Dad. Today David was not strong enough to do his work. So they came for him."
"But where is your mother?" asked Mr. Rosenberg.
"Oh Dad," he said, "When they came for David, he was afraid and he cried.
So Mum said, `There is nothing to be afraid of, David,’ and she took his hand and went with him."
A mother’s love that was so strong that she would willingly sacrifice her life to comfort her child.
The story still takes my breath away and I have told it lots of times.
There is something very special about a mother’s bond with her son.
And Mary, Jesus Mother is no different.
There was Jesus’ very special birth heralded by the angel Gabriel.
Every Mum thinks her little boy is special but Jesus was a bit more special than others.
Mary heard the prophecies of Simeon and Anna about her little boy - that we read in the Gospel reading today and I wonder what she thought
Today I want us to look at the characteristics of the mother that God choose to raise his Son.
And as we look at Mary we will see that she is a model of motherhood.
Characteristics of Mary
It is a bit unusual for a Protestant to talk about Mary – as I did in Israel in Jerusalem in February.
But the Catholics are right on at least one thing – she has an incredible amount to teach us.
1. Her humility
2. Her commitment to God and
3. Her commitment to her Son.
1. Her humility
When the angel Gabriel came to her and told her
”Mary do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen you are going to conceive and bear a son and you must name him Jesus”
Mary could have said; "Lord I’m just a girl I’m not ready to be a mother. I’m not wealthy, I’m not educated. I’m not worthy of this - maybe it would be better if you got someone else."
That’s not what Mary said is it, no she said, "I am the Lord’s servant, may it be as you have said..."
So my first point is this:
No one is too insignificant for God to use them if their heart is right with God.
2. Her Commitment to God
Mary had the right perspective.
She was totally “sold out” to God.
She knew who God was (The Lord Almighty) - and who she was - His servant.
She knew nothing was impossible for her God.
If God had said it, Mary knew that it would happen, even if she didn’t really understand how.
And if the Lord Almighty wanted to give her the task of raising the Son of God - then she would accept it.
When Mary went to visit her cousin Elisabeth during her pregnancy and told Elisabeth what the angel had said, Elisabeth’s comment on Mary’s obedience can be found in Lk 1:45 where she said:
45 She, who has believed, is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!”
What a shining example for us to follow.
My second point is this: If God says it – we are to trust Him.
Because if we don’t we are calling God a liar
3. Her Commitment to her son
One of the things we read about Mary was that when people like Simeon told Mary things about Jesus, she treasured them up in her heart
Tradition tells us that Luke got his infancy and early years stories of Jesus from Mary.
Why – because Mary took stock and remembered what had been said about Jesus
We read further on in Luke 2 how Simeon prophesied that Jesus would have a wonderful
ministry but that this ministry would cost Mary herself dearly:
Let me read this well known passage to you that comes just after the passage we know as the Nunc Dimittis:
34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.
And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
And when he hung on the Cross it must have broken her heart.
Commitment to Jesus can be costly and painful – as Christians in Islamic and Communist countries can testify.
It can cost you’re your family and friends, it can cost you your chances of promotion (Christians in Islamic Countries can only get the menial jobs)
It can even cost you imprisonment and your life.
It cost Mary the Mother of Jesus a lot to be his mother – because like any good mother she loved and cared for her son.
And so to see her Son crucified – one of the most cruel deaths devised.
It was so cruel that Romans in polite company did not speak about it. It was taboo.
And so my third point is this:
If we want to be his disciples, we need - like Mary - to love Jesus and do what God tells us to do come what may.
Let us follow the example of Mary, Jesus mother too
Conclusion
So the three points I have drawn from today’s Gospel reading concerning Mary are:
1. No one is too insignificant for God to use them if their heart is right.
2. My second point was If God says it – we are to believe it – otherwise we are calling God a liar and
3. My final point is this:
If we really want to be disciples of Christ we need to be as attentive and to love Jesus and do the things God has commanded us to do just as Mary did.
Luke Chapters 1 and 2 record the infancy stories and the prophecies surrounding Jesus.
Mary experienced these events and heard prophecies about Jesus
And there is this wonderful phase recorded in Lk 2:51 about Mary’s heart: It says
… his mother treasured all these things in her heart..
Can I leave you with a final thought
Do we treasure what God has revealed to us in Scripture as Mary did?
