Mother’s Day Excerpt

I have often said that Mother’s Day may be the most difficult holiday upon which to preach.  There are so many variables and differing expectations.  Yet to totally ignore the occasion in the sermon never seems like the right thing to do, either.  So, I thought I would share with you a little excerpt of my sermon from this past Sunday.  The sermon was titled “Another Helper.”
 
The word of our Lord upon which we will focus this morning is from today’s Gospel reading.  Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.” (John 14.16-17)  I suspect you know that when Jesus speaks of sending “another Helper” he is speaking of the Holy Spirit.  This got me thinking about the similarities between the Holy Spirit and a godly mother.
 
I will take the time this morning to list just 3 such similarities.  First, the Holy Spirit is the most easily forgotten member of the Holy Trinity.  In a similar way, moms are easily taken for granted.  Second, most of the Holy Spirit’s work in done “undercover”.  His work is never to glorify himself, but rather to draw our attention and faith to Jesus.  In a related way, generally the greatest blessings mothers provide for their families are accomplished “behind the scenes” of everyday life.  In many ways they function like the mortar that holds the family together.  Finally, the Holy Spirit’s gifts are many, and no two people are gifted the same, yet all are equally gifted.  So there is no “one way” to be a godly mom.  There is no pattern that is better than the others.  And there are many different patterns.
 
Take, for example, three mothers who have been in my life.  My sainted mom was very intelligent and a gifted leader, yet she always worked somewhat under my father.  First on the farm and in later years, when my dad became the township treasurer, as his full-time assistant (who did most of the work).  Throughout the years she served in many different ways in our home church, and also worked as secretary/office manager at a nondenominational church.  Working with our father, my mom instilled in my brother and me self-confidence and our Christian faith, along with a great desire for learning and reading.
 
My wife, Monica, is a very gifted teacher, but she set aside her teaching career to raise our children.  As time went on, she used her gifts in serving as the nanny for two different families.  Later she worked in a variety of other educational settings.  And now she is using her gifts to be a special blessing to our two granddaughters.
 
Our daughter-in-law is a medical professional.  She works in a clinic two days a week and teaches in the Nurse Practitioner school for U of M Flint two days a week.  She is also a strong advocate for Nurse Practitioners on the state and national levels.  However, you don’t have to spend much time at all on her Facebook page to know that she does not let any of this get in the way of mothering our two granddaughters.
 
Three very different people.  Each one has been blessed differently and each serving as a blessing to others in a different way.  And were I to take the time to add my sainted mother-in-law, we would have a fourth illustration completely different from the first three.
 
In the same way all of us are blessed differently by the Helper, the Holy Spirit.  Yet we are all equally blessed.  And all of us are blessed to be a blessing to others. … (I’m here skipping over the bulk of the sermon that took us through John 14.16-18.)
 
Jesus helps us by asking the Father … the Father helps us by sending the Spirit … with all three focused upon us and our needs.  Who is your Helper?  The Holy Spirit – sent by your Heavenly Father – at the request of Christ Jesus.  Your Helper is nothing less than all three persons of the Holy Trinity.  All three helping you in two significant ways.  One, guaranteeing your salvation.  And two, helping you bring our Lord’s saving grace to the rest of the world, one person at a time.
 
Or, think of it this way.  As a godly mother’s greatest pleasure is found in being a blessing for future generations, so through these “Ultimate Helpers” (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) you enjoy the pleasure of eternal salvation AND the great pleasure of being a great blessing (think helper) to many others.  By God’s grace, we each can be classified as “another helper,” just not of the Ultimate kind.