Mother’s Day 2022
Sunday Evening Video

Two years ago, we met on Sunday morning on Mother’s Day in the multi-purpose room. I preached a sermon out of Jude, since that was the series we were in. I will be honest - I don’t remember much about that service because I was very distracted. That evening I flew back to Denver and I saw my family for the first time in 11 weeks. I recorded a video that went live on Facebook at 6pm while I was in the air, and by the time I landed I had a bunch of messages thanking me for the video. But for that year, Mother’s Day was something very different for me, because my focus was on another mother in my life - the mother of my children.

I will say this, I do not think that was necessarily wrong, and I did all that I could to speak multiple times with my own mother that weekend and make it special for her as well. Yet the reality is that as we grow older, we celebrate our spouses on these days almost as much as we do our parents, often because we see in them the values that our own parents possessed that we were too young or too dumb to recognize when we were growing up. Why does this matter? Like it or not, our parents are a part of us - in good ways and bad ways. I spoke this morning about how people see our parents in us, and that is a very considerable thing.

When Eleia and I got married, our circumstances were such that unfortunately, the part of the service where the pastor talks about a man leaving his father and mother to unite with his spouse had to be a little bit of a focus, because relations with our collective families were not at their best. Ephesians 5:31-32 states “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

If we unpack that verse a little bit, there is more to it than just the establishment of a new, separate family like we normally consider. Paul compares this action to that of Christ - where in fact He left the presence of His Father for the sake of the church - His bride. BUt if we consider this idea, realize that while Jesus came here - he never fully left His Father. Constantly throughout His ministry and teaching He is regularly spending time with His Father and pointing people to His Father - arguably growing closer to Him as He worked with His earthly family - His body.

I bring this up because I believe, especially when it comes to Mom - we never leave completely. I recognize that there are many people who do not have the best relationships with their moms, or any relationship for that matter, I don’t mean to leave those out of this discussion. Yet, if you have or had a good relationship with your mom, I think you understand where I am coming from. As I watch Eleia in her role as a mother to our girls, I see the love, the heartache, the frustration, the pride, and fierce protectiveness, the forgiveness, the basically unconditional love that it seems like only a mother could ever have. I see how much heartache I caused my own mom who remained faithful to me and to our family no matter what horrible things I threw at her (sometimes literally.)

Mom’s have a thankless job. It takes someone who does not have access to a loving mother to show you how lucky you are when you are blessed in that way. When I was growing up, one of my best friends for many years had lost his mom when he was only 3 years old. We spent untold amounts of time at each other’s houses, but he most often wanted to be at ours, because my mom would cook for him, encourage him, and show concern for him that was new to him and special to him. The fact of the matter is that those things should have been equally special to me, but I was way more privileged than I deserved.

When I was in Jr. High, I spent the night at a friends house, and we were playing hide and seek in the dark outside near midnight, running around barefoot and being idiots. I stubbed my toe on a sprinkler head and broke the big toe on my right foot. My friend's mom was the one that had me sitting on the bathroom counter so that she could clean my stinky pubescent feet and tape up my toe - taking care of me like I was her own kid. That’s just what a mom does.

In school, the most embarrassing thing you could ever do was to slip up and call your teacher mom - yet so many of us did it at least once. Why does that happen? We start to feel safe, secure, and able to be fully ourselves around a teacher, and that’s how it is around mom. Even today, when I am spinning out of control in stress and worry, a talk with my mom can soothe me in a way that nobody else can - not because of what she says, but because she is mom.

Over the past 2 years, I have seen unbelievable examples of Mom in this congregation. I can tell you that a major reason that Jordan Compton is where he is today in spite of his various prognoses is because his mom was there every step of the way. I look at Alex and the health problems with little Kasseus and I see a mother’s love constantly on display - and it gives me hope for the declining dynamic of family in our society. I see many of the ladies in this church embracing their kids and grandkids as well as each other’s kids and grandkids and being the village that it takes to raise kids in the way of Christ. I see my own wife fighting on behalf of our sick daughter, but even more so, being the comfort and the strength and the safety that Arianna needs through all of this.

I saw something else over the past 2 years as well. In two years I have had the honor of presiding over 19 funerals. It is an honor, but I could never call it a pleasure, because I get a glimpse into what it means to lose a mother. I got an especially close view of this when Eleia lost her mother in October. Eleia and her mother were best friends - they spoke daily, they laughed, they shared in all sorts of things. I don’t know what to say to someone who has lost their mother, and even less so when they are so close to each other and I am so close to the situation. It is a hole in her life that can never be filled - because nobody else can ever be mom.

Solomon says in Proverbs 31:28-29 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Mom does for us what nobody else can do, and often it is not something you can put pen to paper and describe. He says earlier in Proverbs 6:20-22 20 My son, keep your father’s command and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. This speaks to how we never really leave our mothers - and even after they are gone they remain with us - they guide us, they watch over us, they make us who we are.

The last time I saw my mother was in September of 2017, and we did not think she was going to survive. The last view I had was her in the ICU with tubes and IVs and everything that made her seem not like the mother I grew up with. I spent most of that week in that room with her - I read her Psalms, I sang her worship songs, I tried to give her the comfort that she gave me so many times when the tables were turned. I am fortunate that my mother is still with us today, and it is my sincere hope I will get to see her soon.

That is what today is about - we honor our mothers, not just for what they did for us, but for who they are. I want to encourage you - if you have the ability to connect with your mother - do it, and tell her you love her, Tell her she has value, and thank her for being your mom. Nobody else could have done the job. Take those things that helped make you the wonderful person that you are and cherish them, pass them on, and celebrate them with the woman who gave you life.

For all of you mothers, grandmothers, step-mothers, mothers-in-law, foster mothers, adopted mothers, and honorary mothers - God bless you. You are loved. Thank you for being who you are, and have a wonderful Mother’s Day.