A Mother’s Desire
May 12, 2002
Grace International Baptist Church
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 the letter 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”.
Happy Mother’s day! Moms are great aren’t they? Have u heard that there are 3 stages of motherhood: young, middle age and "you’re looking fine". If there were no moms none of us will be here. If there were no moms we wouldn’t know how to relate to another. They are the first special people in our lives we all relate to. No one remembers the paramedic who helped your mom give birth to you, while stuck in rush hour traffic. No one remembers the social worker or lawyer who picked you up when you were adopted. But mom you can count on. Mom, you remember!
Our moms are a lot like “Spiderman”. Already that new movie is touted as no. 1 movie for this summer on CNN, beating out “Star Wars Episode 2.” According to CNN, “Of all the superheroes, Spider-Man has always been a little more human than the rest. He doesn’t fly; he swings. … Even when it comes to the ladies, he struggles. Is it any wonder it’s so easy to relate to him?” That’s just why moms are #1 on our list. Just like Spiderman she swings into action for us. Yet she is very much human, she may not fly (maybe off the handle a bit at times) but she sure can swing it when it comes to getting the minivan, without forgetting to buckle us in our seats, to soccer practice/ music lesson and cook/help with homework and wanting the best for us kids. Like any human, she may struggle but she will never be voted off, she’s like the ultimate Survivor whom we love and adore.
In scripture we find a mom just like that… She swung into action for her boys.
Listen in to the story… as we hear a mother’s desire…
Matt.20:20-21 (NIV)
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21 "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."
Here she is, the typical mom doing what she can. Swinging into action. She knew she could approach Jesus. So she asked Jesus a favor. But who is this woman?
Take a look into her life… We know that her name is Salome, according to Mk.15:40 and 16:1. She was one of the three women named in Bible who witnessed the crucifixion and went to the tomb on the first Easter morning. That she was named as an eyewitness to both the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ says something of this woman’s faith. There must be something about her that Jesus liked that she was given this privilege. You see, she is not just some casual believer, but has a strong faith that Jesus is the Messiah. That is why she came kneeling and would ask Jesus a favor. Even the very the nature of her request and posture indicates that she is aware of Jesus’ kingliness and majesty. She believes that Jesus will be who He says He is and He will reign as King. In short, she was a woman, who knew her theology. You can’t fault her faith. It was right on. Jesus too acknowledged her faith, (v.21) and it seems to me, welcomed her intrusion into his private space.
Here she is with great faith but a mom nonetheless. A mom who wants nothing but the best for her darling boys, James and John, disciples of Jesus, and who were also cousins of Jesus, who were also close friends of Jesus, part of the inner circle that included Peter. I believe these boys were her pride and joy. She must have visions of greatness for her boys dancing in her head. Being so close to Jesus, being related to Jesus, sure was a bonus.
There was a new mom who told this story: “I shouldn’t have been upset, but I must admit I was. My doctor released me from the hospital only two days after my baby was born because my mother would be here to help me. I had been home only about an hour when the doorbell rang.
Our neighbor’s thirteen-year-old son was standing outside. “Can I see your baby?” What could I say? “Sure, come in.”
As he peered into the crib he sucked in his breath through his teeth. “Wow! Sure looks funny, doesn’t he? All red and wrinkly like an old man. Hey, you!” he said, thrusting a grubby finger into the tiny fist of my brand-new baby. “He sure isn’t very good-looking, is he,” he said cheerfully, blowing a big bubble with the gum he chewed noisily. I choked back the words I wanted to say, and instead said, “Give him time.”
After a few awkward moments, the boy left, and as I closed the door behind him, I turned to see my mother looking at me with a bemused expression. “It’s not easy to take, is it,” she said. “But I’m afraid it’s only the beginning.” “The beginning of what?”
“Of your baby being evaluated by others. People more often than not say what they think. He’ll always be compared to someone else. That’s life in a competitive world.”
Salome, perhaps felt this same sort of pressure. She was protective for her boys who lived life in a competitive world. Where her sons will be compared and just to get an advantage over the competition, she came and requested her sons be seated on the right and on the left of Jesus when He in enthroned as King in His kingdom. What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with a mother who has a desire for her boys to succeed? To be seated on right and left of a King, that’s a position of power, that’s a position to rule, to do whatever you want, no questions asked. It’s a life of privilege, of nobility, of royalty. That’s like almost being a king, but without the title of king. That’s what Salome wanted for her boys, a great future with the future King. Typical mom eh? And from where I am standing, her boys raised no objections, they wanted that too!
Here are some positive things Salome or Mrs. Zebedee did…
1. This mom prays for her kids.
2. This mom think highly of her kids.
3. Sometime moms do not know what they are asking. That’s OK, believe it or not!
Here are some examples of some mothers and what they could have SAID:
MONA LISA’S MOTHER: "After all that money your father and I spent on braces, Mona, that’s the biggest smile you can give us?"
HUMPTY DUMPTY’S MOTHER: "Humpty, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times not to sit on that wall. But would you listen to me? Noooo!"
COLUMBUS’ MOTHER: "I don’t care what you’ve discovered, Christopher. You still could have written!"
MICHELANGELO’S MOTHER: "Mike, can’t you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"
NAPOLEON’S MOTHER: "All right, Napoleon. If you aren’t hiding your report card inside your jacket, then take your hand out of there and prove it!"
JONAH’S MOTHER: "That’s a nice story, but now tell me where you’ve really been for the last three days."
Yup, sometimes they just don’t know what they’re saying or asking… That’s because it is not easy to be mom.
James Dobson tells about a time he came home when his son, Ryan, was a small baby. It had been a terrible day for his wife. Ryan had been sick, & had cried all day long.
Once, as she was changing his diapers, the telephone rang & Shirley reached over to answer it before fastening up his diapers. Just then Ryan had an attack of diarrhea.
She cleaned up that mess & put him in clean, sweet-smelling clothes. Then she took him into the living room & fed him. As she was burping him he threw up all over himself, & her, & the couch, too.
Dobson writes, "When I came home I could smell the aroma of motherhood everywhere." Shirley cried out to him, "Was all of this in my contract?"
Also, remember the world in which they lived in. Not a great time. A world of violence! The average Jew does not feel privileged. They were captives in their own land. They felt besieged by their Roman conquerors. They felt short-changed. If they have the power, they would restore King David’s kingdom right here and now. They were looking for a Messiah to deliver them from evil clutches of a dark and decadent empire. They were rebels in the land called zealots, much like terrorists of today, but the empire would strike back. The empire’s treatment of the rebels was cruel and horrifying, many died on the crosses that littered the land. The Jews wanted to become the conquerors not the conquered. Their religion seems to be filled with rules they can’t measure up to, their preachers were dry, severe and humourless, they drew no comfort from it. They felt powerless. In short, they were in a place where, in the words of the rolling stones, they can’t get no satisfaction.
Is our world any different? For some of us besieged by bills, work, health problems, family commitments, the list goes on. Luke Helder, 21, felt that too. He is the “domestic terrorist” who blew up mailboxes in rural US. Arrested last week, he confessed to building and planting all 18 bombs in various locations in mailboxes in rural USA. It was reported that he was trying to make a statement about the US govt about how he felt. Our medical doctors are not getting any satisfaction, so are our teachers who were forced back to work, our are our provincial government who are telling up to put with more cuts in the public sector. Even our major league baseball players are saying they get no satisfaction with the millions they earn as they threaten to strike. Has the world showed us any true satisfaction? Throughout history we see folks struggling for some satisfaction…
Apparently it is…
Not in Unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."
Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."
Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that.
When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."
Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Not in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."
Not in consumer-oriented society – where every time you think you got the best computer, they found a way to make yours obsolete, need more upgrades. You think you got a pretty good car, then they roll out the latest model with the latest gadgets that makes batman’s car look like it belonged in the museum. No satisfaction, it seems the world is built around this, doesn’t it?
Not in religion – that’s why there are so many brands, people trying this and that…
And for Salome, Jesus had to tell her - satisfaction is not found when her boys get this world’s definition of power. Satisfaction is found when you teach your boys about the cup! AND
Satisfaction is found in … a CUP. A cup? What cha talking about?
CUP? Most of the guys here will be thinking right now, the Stanley Cup, yeah? Those of us who did not grow up here will think world cup of soccer coming soon in Japan/S. Korea. But that’s not what Jesus was pointing to. Cup Jesus points to is not one of glory and fame and fortune and power and prestige.
I think what Jesus is talking about is closer to what moms think of. Moms here will think “Cup” – they think of pressure, not pleasure - the cup of coffee for the rattled nerves, just to survive the day. The cup of coffee to could make or break a day.
What Jesus is referring to, is a cup on which God’s righteous judgment is to fall on the innocent Lamb of God (Jesus) who will be made the scapegoat for the sins of the world. It’s a cup of shame, suffering and giving up your rights, giving up your life. It’s a CUP of that’s bitter to taste. Like a cup of coffee, it is a cup that will make or break the world, a cup of justice that will settle the rattled nerves of sinners, who broke the heart of God with their pursuit of things of the world and ignored a relationship with Him. It is a cup that says “wake up and smell the coffee” telling us to wake up to the realities of a world gone mad, a broken world.
And what this cup says essentially is the God of justice will judge this mad world’s violence and wait the story is not over. JUSTICE IS doled out but God will take the punishment for sin on Himself. Jesus will go through the cup, the cross, the place where He will experience violence of this world firsthand. Jesus will take the death penalty, be violated, humiliated and die in our place for our sins, and the sins of the world. So the cup will feel more like a big loss. Suffering, death Shame… not glorious, lacking in power…, it’s not pretty, bloody… dirty, ugly, it shows the ugliness of a world gone nuts.
BUT whosoever will believe God so love the world, that God will pour the cup of judgment on Himself. He is saying out of the reservoir of His love, I choose to love, to show grace, to give out the gift of forgiveness, reconciliation, will gain the more than they will ever lose, they will gain eternal fame and glory, riches and prestige as God’s children in the Kingdom of God. The beauty of the cross is a new hope, where the empire of darkness cannot strike back, where there will be a renewed fellowship with God. This cup will bring new living water to thirsty souls. It will bring satisfaction.
That’s why Jesus replied:
22 "You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered.
23 Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."
We need also to recognize that when Salome came to Jesus, while Jesus did not grant her request, neither did he deny it. He simply reminded her of the cost of being seated on the right or left. It will consist in a big way the Cup. Your desire for your kids will be secured by the cup that Jesus will be drinking from. Indeed they will drink of it, cup that includes suffering death soon for her boys to witness for Him, but a cup that will bring eternal life as well. Then He told her that it is the Father who determines who will be seated right or left. So she need not worry.
I believe we understand deep down a bit better perhaps today, that each Mom, desires a great future for their kids. As I see Jeany work away with our kids, I can sense in her that great desire. Moms, we’re behind you, we salute u even when u don’t say the right things. We salute u for believing in us, believing we can be great, praying for us. Moms, I ask you to keep doing that - praying for your kids, let your desire for them go to Jesus and affirm that as best as u can.
Remember this desire to be great is not sinful – we were designed to be great. After all we were made in the image of the Greatest One. Not Mohd. Ali or Gretzky but in the image of God.
Recoreded in Genesis 1:26-28
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [2] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Jesus did not deny Salome’s request at all nor say of her, you bad girl, how can u think of such things. The longing, the desire to be great is great. However, to be great, in the image of Christ, is not to jockey for a position of power.
Jesus addresses the strategies and motive for greatness – lording it over all, using the pagan way of thinking - thinking of ruling, power, selfish gain, to be bossy, to be obnoxious, to be elitist, to be snobbish, looking down on others, creating distance. So one could feel secure, cared for, feel good about self.
That strategy for greatness has great flaws… steps on people, ruins another person, it brings down others. How many times have we been hurt by others because they want to feel better about themselves? So they spread rumors, create chaos, fight… just to feel great, I am better than u.
It was Carl Jung who said “The central neurosis of our time is emptiness”.
To fill this emptiness, to sense we are worthwhile, to be affirmed, recognized, we are something, we strategize jockeying for positions of power… That’s no way to be great!
Hitler did that for a while… but at what cost? Many lives were lost and furthermore his empire did not last. It left a bitter taste, many wounds, much pain in this world.
Look at the result when the others heard of the request of Salome - enmity: V.24 “the ten…were indignant”.
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
25 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Creates antagonism, hostility, ill feeling, resentment, rivalry – wanna stir up anger, then jockey for power, guarantee u will rile up some one.
Oh do we not sense or see the futility of such strategies.
Mark Twain shortly before his death said:
A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they
squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; ...those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. It (the release) comes at last--the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them--and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence,...a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever.
What does it mean to be great?
Jesus challenges us to think upside down… to make the world right side up.
Wanna be great? Improve your serve… what have u done will do to show a servant attitude, not a selfish me first thing, means coming down from the high horse, instead of complaining be content, instead of jockeying for power, be secure in the love of God who promise us better things than things that fade away.
26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, (rather than demanding your ways be done, let the concerns of others be first)
27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—(be vulnerable, come down like Jesus)
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Have you responded to the challenge of the Son of man? Look did he not even went to the point of giving His life? Respond to Him!
Recognize the family resemblance! Image of God in you, made of the best stuff. You need not prove it. You are already great, worthwhile, you are loved. He counts every hair on your head, believe it or not? Or else why would Jesus give His life for you?
Also, see family resemblance in others too, serve them, serve the King.
Conclusion:
Have you changed the way you think about greatness?
Isn’t the greatness of our moms seen in the way she served us, loved us, cared for us, they way she picks us up like magnets?
Jesus did that for us and more. Jesus picked us up from the scrap heap of the world, and loved us. Wow eh? Have u invited him to be your God and your friend forever? He went thru the agony of the cup to prove His love, do you know this love? Pick up that slip in bulletin and indicate your decision to give your life to follow Jesus.
Friends, go on serve today, it’s not easy. Being moms is not easy, sometimes they’re off their games yet our moms model the greatness JESUS SPOKE OF, they agonize over us, serve us well, they put themselves last, that’s why you’re No.1, that’s why we think they’re great.
Moms, keep coming to Jesus for your kids and believe in them, will u?
What are you looking for today? Ultimate desires to be met for your kids, for yourself? Choose Christ…
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Ps. 37:4
