May 8, 2005

 

Girls Rule

Listen to Your Mother

John 2:1-11

Opening Words: Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) first suggested an annual national observance honoring all mothers because she loved her mother so dearly. At her own mother’s memorial service on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave every attendee a carnation, her mother’s favorite flower. However, it was not until May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, that Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May Mothers Day. By then it had become customary to wear a white carnation to remember departed mothers and a red a carnation to honor the living.

Today you will hear sermon number five in my eight part sermon series I have called Girls Rule. Each week, for eight weeks, we will look at a different woman in the Bible. Each one illustrates a different Biblical model as we continue to develop as disciples. Today, on this Mother’s Day we will look at Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

Introduction

Susanna Wesley set the standard high for Christian parents. She and her husband Samuel had nineteen children, only ten lived, three boys and seven girls. Home for this family of twelve was Epworth, England. Samuel was the local pastor leaving most of the family responsibilities to Susanna. With a firm hand she raised her children in an orderly fashion. She supervised their behavior. She cooked the meals. She kept their clothes clean and home schooled them. They learned various foreign languages and she prepared them spiritually for life. Susanna set the standard high for Christian parents. Does Susanna Wesley’s life inspire or intimidate you? Perhaps you can relate better to my Uncle Gary.

He and my Aunt Elaine had four children, all daughters. He told me once, “We were expert parents with the first two. However, the last two reminded us we knew nothing!” So this is my question for you today. Do you need a little help with your parenting skills? Do you need a little help in dealing with the younger generation? Or am I the only one?

I am always a little uncomfortable preaching these sermons. Perhaps the reason is I don’t consider myself a great parent. I am not even sure I am a good parent. I love my children but I am not always sure what to do. The world that they are living in is far different then the world of my youth. Am I the only one that feels that way? I will admit it. I need some help in this area of my life. I don’t want to mess my girls up. So today I am going to look at the most famous mother in the history of the world for help. We are going to look at Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Body

We are in the second chapter of John. Mary is spending some time with her adult son, Jesus. They are at a wedding reception. Mary seems to be responsible for the reception. What grabs our attention in the story is the first miracle, changing water into wine. However, what fascinates me in this story is Mary’s relationship with Jesus. It is the kind of relationship I want to have with my children. It is the kind of relationship you should want to have with your children. In order to help you have a healthy relationship with your children let me give three helpful words, each helpful word begins with the letter “P.” So if you feel like you need a little help in this area of your life then say, “Amen!” This is Mother’s Day and you have dinner reservations so I am going to be fast.

Helpful Word Number One: Potential The one advantage Mary has over us in the area of parenting is potential. Before Jesus was born, Mary knew that he was going to be the Messiah. It was a burden to raise the Messiah but it was also a great help to know that Jesus was the Messiah. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what God has in store for the children in your life! It is hard to discern what God wants you to do in your life. It is even harder to discern what God wants your children to do.

Can somebody explain to me why we set the standard high when our children are young and lower that standard the rest of their lives? In the name of love we make too many excuses for them. We have too many adult children who can’t survive without their aging parents. The potential of their youth is lost.

Someone once said, “The greatest thing we can teach our children is independence.”  Look at the Bible story. It is the mother who encourages the adult son to do something. It is Mary who tells Jesus to live up to his full potential. Everyone is born with divine potential and anything short of living up to that divine potential is a sin. The first helpful word is potential.

Helpful Word Number Two: Pattern Webster defines a pattern as, “a model from which exact copies can be made.” There are many things we do not know about Mary but we know one thing clearly. She was a woman of faith. The Bible reminds us of that time and time again. When the angel came to visit her and tell her she was going to be the mother of the Messiah, she surrendered to God’s plan of salvation for the world. When Jesus was born she took Jesus to the temple. When Jesus was twelve years old we are told that she and Joseph went to the temple annually. She was a woman who lived the faith. She exposed her children (not just Jesus) to the faith and those children became leaders in the early church. She was a wonderful pattern or model for their lives.

I would love to tell you this point works all the time but I am not going to lie to you. I can give you Biblical models who were good people that had bad kids. Adult children make their own choices but I will say you have the greatest influence on their lives. If you don’t show them a positive model then who will?

If you want your children to be kind and loving, then you must be kind and loving. If you want you children to be honest then you must be honest. You want your children to be hard working then you must be hard working. If you want your children to be patriotic then you must be patriotic. If you want your children to take the family seriously then you must take the family seriously. The second helpful word is pattern.

Helpful Word Number Three: Positive Look at the story one more time with me. Mary is in charge of the wedding reception. The worst possible thing happened. The wine ran out! Mary looked to Jesus to fix the problem. Mary believed in Jesus. She knew his potential and she knew he could save the day. She believed in Jesus. She was positive in her relationship with him.

Let me say this clearly: life is hard. It isn’t just hard for you. It is hard for them. We live in a fast pace society, where everything is expensive. My patents bought their home for $4900. There are not many $4900 houses on the market today. When my dad traded cars he would trade his old car and add $500. What kind of a car can you get for $500? The average working American saves less than one per cent of their income for a rainy day. Many haven’t saved a dime for retirement. My parents counted in Social Security in their future and I am not so sure it will be there in mine. Life is hard and there is a lot of pressure. We live in a society where we are told we are failures regularly. Many believe it.

Last week I preached on being a failure and people responded. Ten people must have said to me, “Were you thinking of me when you wrote that sermon?” When you are working with the younger generation you need to be positive because we all need a word of encouragement. The third helpful word is positive.

Conclusion

Susanna Wesley set the standard high for Christian parents. She raised ten children with a firm hand. She cooked their meals and washed their clothes. She prepared them for this world. She home schooled them and taught them everything they would need to succeed in this world. She taught them the basics of the faith to prepare them for eternity. She set the standards high and maybe you do too. Or maybe you need a little help?

Do you need a little help in your parenting skills? Do you need a little help in dealing with the younger generation? We need to look at Mary and learn. She illustrates for us three helpful words that we can use when we are dealing with the younger generation. First, Mary taught us to look for the divine potential in their lives. We should want what God wants for them. Second, Mary taught us to be a pattern for the young in our lives. You have the greatest influence on their lives. Third, Mary taught us to be positive. And all of God’s children said, “Amen!” Go on out there and make your mom proud!