The Ministry Of Mom

May 8, 2005

Pastor: Richard Pfeil

The Ministry of Mom

Psalm 103:2-4, John 13:31-35, 1 John 4:10-11

Good morning, again. For the last couple of weeks we have been shifting our focus from God’s interior work to God’s exterior work, focusing on missions and discovering our purpose for life. Why does God have us here? When you discover your purpose and why God puts you here, things happen in your life - life takes on a whole new meaning, our lives have focus. There is a greater sense of peace because you have the sense that you have found your place, like Michael W. Smith who sings the song My Place in This World. We were not created merely to consume, in fact if you live that way, after awhile you just get tired of it. And you ask the question in your mind, is that all there is? Is consumption all there is in life? Well, it’s not. There is more than that. God created us not merely to consume, but God created us to make a contribution, to make a difference in this world.

Since it is Mother’s Day, as we were planning this series on missions and focusing on and discovering our purpose in life, Kristine and I thought what greater calling is there than the calling of “Mom,” of being a Mom? That is our focus this morning. When you discover this is your mission there is great meaning and focus in your life. Saying that, I know being a Mom is not easy, not by my personal experience you know, but it’s not easy. If you want something easy you can join the roller derby, or be a golf pro or something, but you don’t become a Mom; there is nothing easy about being a good Mom. It’s back breaking, it’s heart wrenching, anxiety producing, and that’s just by breakfast time. I want to talk to Moms and Grandmoms, in particular, to ask this question throughout this morning - have you ever considered the Ministry of Mom as your ministry?

Every time I baptize a child I look at them and I wonder how their life will turn out. Children are like this unwritten book. There is so much potential in every child, and what we write makes a difference in what is produced in their life. As parents we have a lot to do with what is written in those early parts of the chapters and it sets up the rest of the story. I’ve seen parents who have crippled their children, and I have read stories and seen people’s lives where they became men and women of God, of impeccable integrity. It all has to do with how well we parent, in particular, today. How good we are at mothering. A mother is one of the most powerful and influential ministries in the world. We talk about hospitality being most effective in the church; being a mother, the ministry of Mom, is the most influential in the world. You can read countless stories on the internet and look up famous people - there are countless stories of famous men and women who made a difference in the world and credited their mother’s influence for their success. Some examples- Albert Einstein is one of them. The artist, Paul Cezanne, who was one of the masters of cubism, had this story. I don’t know if you would have reacted this way. One morning he gets all his paints out and he puts them in the living room. He sets up his paint shop in the living room as a child. He was painting away, and as a child he is not thinking about where the paint goes - and it goes all over him and his nice clothes. It goes on the floor; it goes on some of the furniture; gets on his sister. And now his Mom enters the room and just sees this mess. She walks up to him and kisses him and says, “That’s an excellent portrait my son.” Cezanne said, “That kiss made me an artist.” How would you have reacted at that moment? I’m not sure I would’ve …… Oh! the Carpet.

Isidor Rabi who was a Nobel Prize winner for physics in 1944, said his success was because of his mother because when the other kids came home, their mothers said, “What did you learn today? My mother asked me this question instead: she said, “What did you ask today? It made me inquisitive and as a result, a master in physics.” That’s just some evidence that the ministry of Mom is incredibly powerful, incredibly effective. Well, there is much more.

Another - Mother’s Day trounces Father’s Day in many ways. Hallmark says that today, for this holiday, we sent 150 million cards to Mom, compared to only 95 million to Father on Father’s Day. We will spend an average $105 for Mom on Mother’s Day and only $90 for Dad on Father’s Day. (Which reminds me, on Father’s Day I am going to count things up to see if I get the $90). There are more phone calls on Mother’s Day than there are on Father’s Day. In fact you will find all over the country today, men and women of high prestige with suits on, doctors and lawyers, CEO’s, senators, representatives, even presidents, respected people in the communities, will be talking on the phone saying things like, “Mom will you stop it already.” Of course what they are getting is a ‘momily.’ [like a brief homily given by Mom, rhymes with homily] Have you ever gotten a momily? There are famous momilies, showing the effectiveness of mothers. There are many momilies that have been passed down through the generations. I will give you a few. “Don’t make that face or it will freeze in that position.” “Be careful with that or you will put your eye out.” That’s a famous momily. “What if everyone jumped off the cliff, would you?” “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” There’s a momily. The busiest day at car washes is the Saturday before Mother’s Day. Why?- because sons and daughters want to make sure the car looks good for Mom. It’s almost like this other momily, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” It’s not in the Bible, but it’s a momily; you get these.