SERMON: WAITING, WORKING, WONDERFUL WOMEN
Mother's Day sermons are among the most difficult of all for me to prepare and deliver. The reasons are several .... like, what can I say that hasn't been said, before?
Or ... what can I say, when somewhere in the congregation there is almost always one or two who's mother wasn't all that great?
Or ... what can I say to those women who, due to life's circumstances, never got to BE a mother?
Or ... how can I present a sermon that isn't dripping with lachrymosity ... aha! Got you with that one, didn't I! That simply means weepy eyed, crying, gushing with sentimentality, and so forth.
So, what I hope to do this morning is to present a few of the mothers of the Bible who can teach us a a thing or two. Not teaching us how to raise our kids, necessarily, because most of us have done that, already, but teaching us lessons of life that never go out of style.
If you were preparing this sermon, you might choose different mothers than I have chosen for a brief spotlight this morning, but that is okay. If you think of other ones, it's just a double blessing for you!
I will say that these do not appear in any particular order. I didn't go from first to last, by any means.
The first concept to highlight this morning is that of waiting. The Scripture tells us to wait, many times .... in fact, in the KJV, it is used 154 times. In THE MESSAGE version, it is used 176 times. And, if I were to ask you which mother in the Bible best exemplifies the characteristic of waiting, you might choose a different one.
The one I have chosen is Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Waiting. How does she demonstrate the characteristic of waiting? Let's read a bit of her story from Genesis 18.
God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.
He said, “Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I’ll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I’ll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path.”
They said, “Certainly. Go ahead.”
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. He said, “Hurry. Get three cups of our best flour; knead it and make bread.”
Then Abraham ran to the cattle pen and picked out a nice plump calf and gave it to the servant who lost no time getting it ready. Then he got curds and milk, brought them with the calf that had been roasted, set the meal before the men, and stood there under the tree while they ate.
The men said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He said, “In the tent.”
One of them said, “I’m coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man.
Abraham and Sarah were old by this time, very old. Sarah was far past the age for having babies. She was 89, and Abraham was 99. Sarah laughed within herself, “An old woman like me? Get pregnant? With this old man of a husband?”
God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh saying, ‘Me? Have a baby? An old woman like me?’ Is anything too hard for God? I’ll be back about this time next year and Sarah will have a baby.”
Okay, ladies! Look at your age .... well, all of you but Krista ... can you in ANY POSSIBLE WAY imagine yourself having a child this time next year? But yet ... God had said it ... and so ... Sarah probably lived the longest year of her life, as she thought about what was happening. Now, it is obvious, isn't it, that she knew several months before the child was born, that a child was on the way. It's pretty hard for a woman NOT to know, especially the last few months of the pregnancy.
I have a friend who's wife had a child, gaining only 12 pounds, and never wore a maternity dress. No one else knew she was preggers, but she sure did.
But the wait ... how does that translate into a lesson for us, today, whether you are a woman, or a man?
Now, do not miss this ... it is very significant! Sarah had not been waiting only a few months ... she had been waiting, let's say from age 15 ... to age 90 ... to have a child. That is 75 YEARS .... she waited for her child Isaac, to be born.
How about that little snippet in Psalm 150 that reads: I pray to God—my life a prayer— and wait for what He’ll say and do. My life’s on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching ..."
Yes, my friends, Sarah waited!
2. The second woman I want to think about today is that one in Proverbs 31. I dare say this scripture is the one most often used, today, everywhere mothers are celebrated. Let's call this one the woman who worked!
Sarah worked, also, of course, but she is the woman who waited. The woman who worked is highlighted in Proverbs 31.
Hear some of her story.
10-31 A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it. Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing. She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places and brings back exotic surprises.
She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day. She looks over a field and buys it, then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth, diligent in homemaking. She’s quick to assist anyone in need, reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows; their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear. She makes her own clothing, and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them, brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops. Her clothes are well-made and elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly. She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise: He says, Many women have done wonderful things, but you’ve outclassed them all!”
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God. Give her everything she deserves! Adorn her life with praises!
When you were younger, if I would ask you to tell me a favorite saying of your mother, what would it be?
And, should I ask if your mother worked hard in raising a family, would you say NO? I doubt that, very much!
I remember my Mom getting up at 530 on weekdays to get breakfast for my coal miner dad, and for two hungry boys, before they went to school. I remember her packing lunches for the three of us, and having supper on the table at 330, when Dad came home from work.
I remember her washing clothes, hanging them on outdoor clothes lines, ironing them, and putting them away.
A lot of what I remember was before we had a TV in the house. I do NOT remember her taking long periods of idleness.
And now, what woman do you know in real life who is like the energizer bunny, never stopping, seldom even slowing down.
The first one I think of is Kim Brown, better known as Kim Matzel. I don't know where she gets her energy. I have seen her rather late in the day, writing in charts as she puts her day to rest, long after office hours are over.
If I were to say, "A woman's place is in the ____," what would you say ... I am waiting .... A woman's place is in the HOME. But is that true?
I dare say most of us would not agree with that old saying. We would resent it ... at least, I do.
A woman's place is where God wants her to be. Now, it may be in the home for some, but not for all.
This section of Proverbs 31, vv 10-31, has a curious note to it. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and each verse begins with one of those letters, starting with the first letter of that alphabet, and going in order, 1 through 22, in verses 10-31.
Those verses talk about how hard a good woman works. Now, her place might be in the house ... but it might also be in the House of Representatives, or even the senate. she might be very ably suited and called, for the good of all people, to work for all of us.
The point is that she does good, no matter where she is called to be.
The woman who waits is praised. The woman who works, is praised.
We have two women, and two W's wait and work. The third one (every preacher is supposed to have three main points, right?) ... the third W is the woman who wonders. That's right ... W.O.N.D.E.R.S. Wonders.
What woman in the scriptures wonders? Let's check in with the Gospel writer, Luke, chapter 1!
26-28 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you.
29-33 She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.
He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; He will rule Jacob’s house forever — no end, ever, to His kingdom.”
I dare say that you, too, would have been wondering at such an announcement, were it made to you!
I think 'wonder' is such a wonderful word, if I can say it like that. I like, also, words like MIRACLE, and PHENOMENON. Mary is promised that something wonderful is going to happen! A miracle is going to happen! A phenomenon is going to happen!
Something is going to happen that has never happened before ... nor since!
A Savior is going to be born ... was born ... has been born, and we are the recipients of that wonder, here, in this sanctuary, today!
May the WONDER OF THIS DAY be with each of you! Amen!
