A MOTHER'S LOVE

(This is an abridged version of my Mother's Day sermon preached at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore on 5/13/12)

"Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child – please do not kill him.” But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine, divide him between us." (1 Kings 3:26)

I borrow the title for this Mother’s Day message from a recent song by the popular R&B singer Kem. In hearing the song for the first time about a year ago, I was taken back to my own mother’s love for me. Reflect with me on some of the lyrics from Kem's song:

In a mother's love
You'll find Everything
Everything's alright
To a mother's love
You are bound
You can rest
On sacred ground
In a mother's love
You are free
To dream
Because she sees
What you can be.

I believe that one of the things that each and every one of us can relate to is “A Mother’s Love.” For, the very nature of motherhood is love. In God’s divine love and creative genius, God has used motherhood as the means – the avenue through which life is brought forth, and through which life has been sustained from the very beginning of time. From the very first mother in salvation history, Eve, through to the newest mother today, a mother’s love continues and abides.

Last October, our family was privileged to travel to Steubenville, Ohio to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Matriarch of Lisa’s family, her grandmother Catherlene Johnston Smith. There, the family shared stories of Nana’s strength and compassion. We ate, we heard a congratulatory tribute from Willard Scott and the “Today Show,” and we listened with appreciative and attentive ears as Nana held court and doled out tidbits of wise motherly advice from her customary place at the head of the dining room table.

The backdrop for the story from 1 Kings 3 is the testing of the wisdom of King Solomon. But in as much as this story is about King Solomon’s wisdom, I believe that it says just as much to us about the true nature of motherhood. As the story goes, two women – two prostitutes - who lived together in the same house came to see King Solomon to have him settle a dispute they were having.

They told Solomon that both of them had had baby boys. One night one of the women woke up and discovered, to her shock and dismay, that she had rolled over on her baby and he had died during the night. In her panic and grief, she took her dead baby and put him next to the second sleeping woman. Then this woman took the living baby and pretended that it was her own.

When the second woman woke up, she discovered that the baby that was lying next to her was dead. But as she looked at the little boy in the daylight, she saw that this wasn’t really her baby.

Each woman insisted that the living baby was her baby. But there was no proof. Notice the difficulty of the situation. In order to find out which one of the women was the true mother of the living boy, Solomon realized that he could not test to see which woman the living child loved the best, and therefore he had to test to see which woman loved the child the best.

As King Solomon thought about the problem, after a while, he came up with a solution. He ordered his people to give him a sword, and he said he would cut the living baby in half and give each woman a piece. One of the women was stunned. “Oh no, my lord!” she said, “Give her the child – please don’t kill him! The other woman didn’t care.

So, Solomon knew which woman was the real mother – the one who wanted to save the baby’s life no matter what. That woman got her baby back.

In this day and age, I believe that we can learn some things from the mother’s love as found in the story from 1 Kings. Today, it seems that too many people are looking for love in all the wrong places, and in all the wrong ways. Look at the number of divorces, the preponderance of domestic abuse and violence, and the number of those who find themselves in counterproductive relationships. Look at the number of Internet chat lines and dating services that continue to crop up.

Look at the number of people in our materialistic, consumer-driven world who seem to find themselves unhealthily in love with their careers, in love with their reputations, in love with their houses, and in love with their cars.

And if the truth is really told, in many ways, people today seem to be angrier than we ever have been before. Look at the evening news. Fighting and hatred are everywhere in our midst. Neighbors are fighting neighbors… countries are fighting countries… races are fighting races, the rich are against the poor… conservatives are against liberals… Democrats are against Republicans… Christians are even fighting Christians.

In light of all this, it is clear throughout scripture that God’s very nature is love, and that God’s divine intent is that humans live in love with one another. And God’s love is steadfast love.

In Psalm 5, we find the first mention of the steadfast love of God. The Hebrew word for this steadfast love is chased – that is also translated to mean the loving-kindness of God (or womb-love). This word chased is the same word that the Psalmist used later in declaring to God in a prayer, “Lord, because your loving-kindness is better than life, yet will I praise you.” (Psalm 63:3)

It is clear that perhaps the clearest earthly emblem of God’s love is motherhood and a mother’s love. In Isaiah, we find these words. “As a Mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” (Isaiah 66:13)

Reflect with me on some more of the lyrics from Kem’s song:

In a mother's love
You see the sun
Enough for two but you are one
In a mother's love
You can feel
When something hurts
You can heal
Yes a mother's love
Is real
You grow
Because she knows
To let you go.

Mothers are the embodiment of God’s love. Indeed, we might and rejoice in that our mother’s love is not unlike God’s love for us. The God-love (and mother’s love) that we speak of is first of all unlimited. (“For God so love the world…” John 3:16). Secondly, God’s love, and a mother’s love is unconditional. It is agape love, for the very nature of God is love. And thirdly, God’s love, and a mother’s love is redemptive. Ultimately, this kind of love is seen in the love of Christ, for he declared that “There is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for a friend.”

One of the things we know about motherhood is that a mother will protect their children from danger (We see this clearly in the story of Solomon’s wisdom). A mother’s love is seen in how mothers take care of their children’s souls, and protect them in times of trouble. A mother’s love comforts us when we’re down and rejoices with us when we do great things.

A mother’s love fills us with happiness and warms our hearts, much like the love of God does. Thanks be to God for a Mother’s Love!

ABIDING IN CHRIST

(This is an abridged version of the sermon preached at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore on 5/6/12.)

John 15:1-11

In each of the New Testament gospels, the respective writer offers an account of the life and ministry of Jesus. Each of the four gospel writers is different in their approach in telling the story of Jesus Christ. For Matthew, the focus is on Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy - as the one who came to offer redemption and salvation to the world. In the Gospel according to Mark, we see Jesus as the son of man, the suffering servant who offers his life in service to the world. And in Luke’s gospel, the physician offers us the most vivid images of the compassion of Christ, who through his example and teachings shows us the importance of God’s love in and for the world.

But it is in John’s gospel that we get perhaps the clearest sense of who Jesus is. John offers a depiction of the identity of Jesus through what have been termed seven “I AM” statements. In these statements, Jesus shares with us who he is by declaring “I AM.” Jesus says at various places throughout the book of John that, “I am the bread of life...” “I am the light of the world…” “I am the door…” “I am the good shepherd”… “I am the way, the truth and the life”… “I am the resurrection and I am the life…”

And here finally in John 15, Jesus offers yet another glimpse into his identity when he says, “I am the true vine.” The backdrop here is the Last Supper as Jesus has gathered here in the upper room with his disciples. And it is here at this final meal that the Lord offers another perspective on the relationship that he seeks to have with those who would be his disciples. Jesus says, “I am the true vine… you are the branches abide in me as I abide in you…”

What is the Lord really trying to say about himself here? For those among us who might on occasion have a glass of grape juice with breakfast or a glass of wine with dinner, you might be like me and not have given a great deal of thought as to the process of growing grapes in a vineyard. I am from the city, and so to better understand what Jesus was suggesting here about himself when he said that “I am the true vine,” I had to dig a bit, and do a little research on the nature of vines and vineyards.

A few things that we might want to know about vines and vineyards are that:
• First, we find that the vine is the source of sustenance and survival for the branches that will grow from it. Everything that springs forth as life has to start from a source, and the vine is the source of life for the grapes that will eventually come forth from the branches.
• Second, we discover that as they grow from the vine, branches must first grow upward. In order to grow upward the branches are usually tied to an anchor – an arbor – that will hold the branches in place as they grow.
• Third, we discover that branches, as they grow upward, must also grow outward – away from their anchor – if they are to become fruitful - fruit-bearing branches.
• Finally, there is the reality that branches are to at some point be cut. Now this cutting in the vineyard occurs for two purposes. First, there is to be cutting off (and tying up) of those branches that are not bearing fruit. In other words, there is no room in the vineyard for branches that will not bear fruit.

Then cutting takes place for the purpose of pruning. The vine-keeper will, from time-to-time, take a pruning hook and prune the branches. It is the case that in the economy of God, pruning – cutting off some of the good and productive parts of branches - actually helps growth to occur, and helps fruit to be born to its fullest extent.

In talking about pruning, maybe Jesus wanted his disciples in that day to know – and he wants us to know – that it might be necessary for some things to be removed from our lives in order that growth can occur to its fullest extent. What are the areas in your life that need pruning? What are some of things that need to be pruned from your life in order that you might experience growth and bear fruit to its fullest extent? What are some of the things that we as the church need to prune away from our ministry in order that we may bear even more fruit in the days ahead?

What would it look like for us to prune some of our possessions, to prune some of our overextended time commitments, and to prune some of our busyness? What would it look like to prune until there was a new sense of balance and meaning in our lives?

Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches… abide in me as I abide in you.” And so what might learn about our relationship with God with this image that the Lord puts before us here. I want to suggest that we reminded of at least three things here.

First, we are reminded that God is the source of all that we are or will ever be. In Jewish culture, wine was viewed as that which was a symbol of life. And without the vine – the source - there was not the possibility of healthy branches that would bear fruit, and make the production of wine possible. Many people in our world and even some in the church today forget who the source of their life is. Many people try to make in on their own, without any acknowledgement of God who created us, made us, knit us into who we are is the source of our being. God is our source.

Second, we need to be mindful to stay connected to the source. Jesus said “Abide in me, as I abide in you.” To abide is to live in constant connection to the source of life. As we seek to grow in Christ, it is important for us to remember to stay connected to the anchors of our faith. For Christians, these anchors include spiritual practices like prayer, worship, service to others, doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly, and sharing in fellowship and the teachings in the church.

Third and finally, as we remember who our source is and we stay connected to the source – as we abide in Christ, and he abides in us - the good news is that God will give us the power to bear fruit and make a difference in the world. Abiding in Christ, and living in the reality that Christ abides in us is necessary for fruitfulness in the Christian life. And so as we abide in Christ, we have power to change the world!

Thanks be to God who is our source and strength for the living of these days!