THE BRANCH OF MOTHERHOOD
Texts: Ezekiel 19:10 & John 15:1- 8
Ezekiel 19:10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard transplanted by the water, fruitful and full of branches from abundant water (NRSV).
John 15:1-8 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. (2) He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. (3) You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. (4) Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. (5) I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. (6) Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (7) If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (8) My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples (NRSV).
A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: “My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?” When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word Mother. Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press. In a way, the second graders were not wrong. Mothers can be “magnetic” in their witness by their examples to their children. What happens to the children of mothers who don’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? Christian legacies matter because motherhood is a stewardship that will leave its mark! How well do we "magnetically" pick up, embrace---retain and live out what our mother's taught and instilled in us?
How can we relate Mother’s Day to today’s text, John 15:1 – 8? We can relate Motherhood to today’s text by thinking of Motherhood as a branch on the Vine that Jesus is talking about. John 15:1 - 8 echoes Ezekiel 19:10.
A vine in the words of Jesus serves as a metaphor, a life line to all that grows from it. That is what Jesus meant when He said “I am the Vine and you are the branches and apart from Me, you can do nothing” (John 15: 5). This morning, we will take a look at the “Branch of Motherhood”. If a mother is detached from the fellowship of God, then how can she be fruitful toward God?
The pages of history are filled with those whose lives were fruitful. Today we will focus on how Motherhood is a stewardship that leaves its mark.
MOTHERHOOD IS A STEWARDSHIP
Consider this small inventory of children whose mothers made a difference. Among the names of some who changed history is …..
> Saint Augustine, a fourth century church father whose mother prayed for him without ceasing until he left his playboy lifestyle and got saved. He became one of the major influences in early Christianity. (St. Augustine's Confessions).
> John Wesley, was the fifteenth of nineteen children, and his mother Susannah Wesley taught him how important self examination was because of how sin likes to hide. http://www.fullyaliveinchrist.com/2010/08/sunday-salt-what-john-wesleys-mother.html He became the founder of Methodism.
> General George Patton whose mother, according to Paul Harvey, helped him tremendously in his childhood with his reading, writing, and horse –back riding [equestrian skills], and countless others. He was the general the Germans feared the most in WWII.
> Insert your own name and consider what your mother did for you!
How is it that motherhood is a stewardship? Does it seem odd to call the role of motherhood a stewardship? A steward is a caretaker.
1) Stewardship of motherhood: A steward takes care of things that belong to someone else.
2) Like a shepherd: A good example of stewardship is shepherds taking care of the sheep of their flock. Motherhood is a stewardship in the ways that a mother takes care of her household as Proverbs 31 describes.
3) Susanna Wesley’s stewardship as a mother. “Susanna’s children were covered daily in religious devotion, discipline, and academia. She and her husband placed a tremendous emphasis on piety and the importance of a virtuous life. However, she had a difficult time showing her affections to her daughters, and even to John. She knew God had a calling on him, and thought that any tenderness toward him might get in the way of his being put solidly on the path that God had chosen for him. Admirable as that is, her coldness hindered him with women all of his life. [Opinion or fact?] He was never able to settle comfortably in a lasting relationship with a female”. https://www.sgaumc.org/newsdetail/the-story-of-john-wesleys-sisters-1864837
4) Shaping history: Napoleon once said, “Let France have good mothers and she will have good sons”. [So what happened to Napoleon and his mother’s influence on him, or lack thereof?] Napoleon also said, “The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother”. [Again, what happened to Napoleon?] (Dr. George Sweeting. Special Sermons For Special Days. Chicago: Moody Press, 1977, p. 63). Consider how the Bible describes the stewardship of parenthood:
5) Stewardship: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 NKJV).
How do Christian mothers view their role of motherhood differently?
1) Godly influence: Consider Susanna Wesley’s six rules for raising children.
1. Subdue self-will in a child and thus work together with God to save his soul.
2.Teach him to pray as soon as he can speak.
3. Give him nothing he cries for and only what is good for him if he asks for it politely.
4.To prevent lying, punish no fault which is freely confessed, but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go
unnoticed.
5. Commend and reward good behavior.
6. Strictly observe all promises you have make to your child.
Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.
2) Roots and wings: Christian mothers strive to involve God and His influence in all that they do in establishing roots and wings. Christian mothers live their lives striving to be as Christ-like as they can be.
How important are roots and wings? To answer that question consider a study that someone once did exploring the difference between those who were raised in Christian homes and those who were not. Look at these two lives and consider how well and how poor the roles of the mothers must have been for these two people and their descendants.
1) A Christian branch: The first person in this study was Jonathon Edwards. He was a minister who had a great deal to do with the Great Awakening. He married a devout Christian young lady. From their union came 729 descendants. “Of these, 300 were ministers, 65 were college professors, 13 were university presidents, 60 were authors of good books, 3 were United States congressmen, and one was vice president of the United States. Most made a significant contribution to society”. (Brian L. Harbour. From Cover To Cover. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1982, p. 118).
2) A wayward branch: The second person in this study was Max Jukes, an unbeliever who lived close to Edwards. “He married an unbeliever and from that union came 1,026 descendants. Of these, 300 died early in life, 100 went to prison for an average of 13 years apiece, 200 were prostitutes, and 100 were alcoholics. The descendants of this man cost the state more than a million dollars to care for them” (Harbour, p. 118). When we compare these two people and their descendants we cannot help but to ask how did their mothers look at their roles? What kind of stewards were they? What is the difference in the kinds of roots and wings that they established?
MOTHERHOOD MAKES A MARK
Motherhood makes a mark because it leaves a legacy. If you consider the comparison between the lives and descendants of Jonathan Edwards and Max Jukes we can clearly see that a legacy is not only something that is handed down from one generation to the next. A legacy, as we have seen can be something that leaves a mark in history for the better or for the worse.
Consider the marks that mothers of other historical figures have made.
> “George Washington’s mother was a patriotic and religious woman”. ((Dr. George Sweeting. Special Sermons For Special Days. Chicago: Moody Press, 1977, p. 64). . He became our first President.
> “Lord Bacon’s mother was a woman of superior intelligence and deep piety” (devotion). (Sweeting, p. 64).
> The mother of Patrick Henry was well known for her conversational ability. (Sweeting, p. 64).
> Sir Walter Scott’s mother was a great lover of poetry and literature.
> Nero’s mother was greedy, lustful, and a murderess. (Sweeting, p. 64).
> After becoming president, Abraham Lincoln generously said, “All that I am, or can become, I owe to my angel mother”. (Sweeting, p. 64).
> “A reporter once asked the great theologian Karl Barth: “Sir, you have written many huge volumes about God; tell me how do you know it is all true?” The learned German, eye laughing, is said to have answered, “My mother told me.” (Lewis B. Smedes. How Can It Be Alright When Everything Is All Wrong. New York: Pocet Books, 1982, p. 128).
> Enrico Caruso’s mother worked hard to help her son get voice lessons, when one of his early teachers said that he sounded like shutter sin the wind. He went on to become one of the greatest opera singers that the world has ever known. (Dale Carnegie. How To Win Friends And Influence People.
> George Foreman’s mother was a very influential person in his life who helped him find his way through guidance and seeking good mentors for him. (George Foreman’s book, God in My Corner)
> Dr. Ben Carson’s mother was also influential in helping Ben in his formative years and he went on to become one of the best surgeons that the world has even known.
> Fill in the blank ……. what did your mother’s influence have (or is having) on your life.
The way that a mother cares for her children will leave a legacy and make a mark. Mothers help their children to develop and establish roots so that as they mature , they will know how to use their wings.
Consider the example of stewardship seen in role of the mother eagle who strategically trains her baby eaglets to learn how to survive and thrive apart from the nest. Teaching them how to fly when they leave the nest.
Consider how Paul reminds Timothy of the “generational vine” of a mother’s witness in 2 Timothy 1:5: I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.
Consider the Christian heritage in the “vine” of those raised or being raised by Christian mothers, including your on. There is no denying that Christian motherhood is a branch---a stewardship that receives its life from Jesus Christ. It is a branch rooted in in Jesus Christ who gives us the gift of eternal life. Apart from Jesus, we cannot do anything that is fruitful toward God (John 15:5). In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
