May 11, 2025
Mothers' Day
21When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because
her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers
the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you
again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
Normally, it is awkward, to say the least, to hear a man describe
what it’s like for a woman to go through childbirth. But this is no ordinary
man. Jesus our Lord, knows all, understands all, and shares all with His people,
men and women. He understands the and sympathizes even with the pains of a
mother giving birth.
Birth pains are one part of the curse on creation because of
sin. Adam began calling his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the
living – a play on words because in that ancient language, “Eve” sound like the
word “living”. She is our universal mother. Jesus too, who took on human existence,
had Eve as his mother. But He is also her savior, taking her sins, and her
sorrows.
In Isaiah 53, Jesus is called the Man of Sorrows. It says, “Surely
he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”. Jesus died for you. On the cross, He knew
exactly what He was dying for: your sins
of thought, word, and deed – your actual sins and your original sin, that you
are by nature sinful and unclean, by nature, by birth, by your lineage that
goes back to Eve. Jesus forgave that, by taking it away from you and taking it
on Himself, bearing all your guilt, all your punishment, all your sorrows and
all your curses.
By baptism and by faith a Christian mother is united with
Christ. In the pains of child birth, He is there, with her, in union with her. Not
as a coach, but as the suffering Servant of God, serving Mothers.
When a women desires to be a parent, but it is not to be, the
Lord bears the grief and carries the sorrow.
At the bedside of a sick child, Christ is with the Christian
mother, sharing in the grief and the fear.
When a mother has a child that is failing, falling short of
the marks for development, or the grades at school, and Mom and Dad wonder what
will be the future for this daughter, this son? It’s not like we planned, what
we hoped for. The Lord Jesus participates in that grief.
We are all failing children. By what we’ve done, and by what
we have left undone, we’ve let our mothers down. We have all been disappointments,
delinquents, and derelict in our duties. And when there is grievous sins, it
can shame the whole family and mothers feel that shame the most. Jesus Christ has
borne our mothers’ shame and sadness.
Jesus is the Savior of Mothers. Jesus is the Savior of us sinful
children.
But hear Jesus Gospel promise in the 16th chapter
of John: “You will be sorrowful, but
your sorrow will turn into joy”.
Here on the night before He would be betrayed, arrested, and crucified,
Jesus told His disciples they would no longer see Him. There’d be sorrow for a
time. But then, in a little while, they would see Him and there would be joy. Our
life is just like that, grief and sorrow, but in Christ, there is joy. And joy
wins out.
He takes our griefs and sorrows and replaces them with His
joy. Here is Christ’s joy, as spelled
out in Hebrews 12: “for the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the
throne of God.”
Jesus went through His sorrow and suffering, with joy set
before Him. His joy was that He would ascend and sit at the right hand of God
the Father almighty. His joy is continually increased every time one of His
loved ones believes and is saved. That’s His greatest joy, not in His own glory
but in bringing you His dear ones into His life and glory. His joy is complete
and perfect when we are with Him and love Him and share His blessings of peace
and love and joy.
Have you noticed, That’s a Mother’s true joy, also. When her
children are happy and healthy, loved and loving.
As some of you know, I’m part of the Camping World. It’s
interesting how the camping culture is a microcosm, an example of the world in
general. When campers get together they talk about their equipment. They compare the size and even
the expense of their campers, how many feet, how many pullouts. They brag about
the gadgets and the toys that go with it. They strive to have more, cooking
better meals, more amenities, as if more frills equals more fun and more joy.
That’s the way of the world – pretending that money can buy happiness and
seeking joy in the accumulation and exploitation of earthly, material things
Last night I got to watch a mother’s joy at the campground. She
exuded true joy as her children and grandchildren had fun, laughed and played. Lasting
joy is when you love others, more than yourself. Eternal joy is when you love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.
Mother’s Day is not a church holiday. You don’t come to
church to idolize Mom, but to worship the Lord. Today Mother’s Day aligns with
Jesus words about a mother’s sorrow turning to joy. We need to listen to Him,
because we live in world with messed up ideas about who we are as men and
women, male and female. There are so many with messed up ideas about what is a
woman. There are confused men who try to pretend to be women, but only focus on
the outward and exaggerated shape and mannerisms, while despising the true
beauty of women, seen in our mothers’ love and joy. There are many who despise motherhood, because
they despise babies, considering them a burden on their pursuit to selfish joys.
But hear how our Lord honors mothers, using their joy to
describe our life in him:
“Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from
you”.
Amen.
