5-12-24 “A Mother’s Prayer”

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A Mother’s Prayer

(Mother’s Day & Ascension Sunday)

 

I want to start with something funny that I found on an internet site: Three sons left, went out on their own, and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the Mother’s Day gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.

The first said, “I built a big house for our mother.” The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes-Benz with a driver.” The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can’t see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it.”

Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks: “Milton,” she wrote the first son, “The house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”

“Marvin,” she wrote to another, “I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes-Benz. And the driver is so rude!” “Dearest Melvin,” she wrote to her third son, “You were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. That chicken was delicious.”

Today is Mother’s Day. What have you done to prepare a Mother’s Day gift for your mother? And what kind of gift do you expect your children to bring to you for Mother’s Day? Only once a year, on Mother’s Day, I cooked a meal for my mother, made her a paper flower, and put it on her sweater. Again, I did this for her only once a year, and I received a great legacy of faith from my mother. I know it’s not because I did this, but because of God’s grace, which poured out on our family members, leading them to convert to Christianity. I have shared my mother’s story several times. I can recall my mother every Mother’s Day. After my mother’s funeral service, the pastor told me that my mother never stopped praying for her children. I believe that I am here today because of my mother’s prayers.

Last Monday, we had a celebration of life service for one of St. Croix Falls’ long-term members. During the service, we shared a video recording that I took when she was staying at a nursing home. In the video interview, I asked her how she came to our church. She answered, “I wanted to send my boys to Sunday school, and a church member would give us a ride. So we came to the church with my boys, and they were confirmed there, and I spent most of my spare time at church joyfully, praying, singing, and working.” I realized that she came to church for her boys. That’s a mother’s legacy of faith. I’m sure she prayed for her children every day.

I believe that most of you are here because of your mother’s prayers and her legacy of faith. How easily we forget their love, care, and prayers for us. Mothers are the unsung heroes of our faith journey, nurturing us with love, instilling in us values of compassion and empathy, and teaching us to walk in the footsteps of Christ. Theirs is a legacy of faith that transcends generations, shaping the course of history and leaving an unforgettable mark on our hearts. Let’s honor the mothers in our lives−those who have nurtured us, prayed for us, and showed us the way of faith. Let us give thanks for their sacrificial love and unwavering devotion, and let us strive to emulate their example as we seek to fulfill the great commission entrusted to us by our Lord.

In today’s scripture, we find a prayer uttered by Jesus himself, a prayer that echoes through the hallway of time, resonating with the essence of love, protection, and divine purpose. Right before Jesus’ arrest, he knew what would happen, and he prayed to God for his people who would remain after him. He prayed, “They are mine, but all that is mine is yours. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me.”  Jesus recognizes the disciples as those whom the Father had given him out of the world. This acknowledgment speaks to the depth of relationship, a relationship rooted in divine love and purpose. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we are reminded of the sacrificial love, unwavering guidance, and fervent prayers of our mothers, those who have been entrusted to us by the Divine God.

Just as Jesus prayed for his disciples, our mothers have prayed for us. They have interceded on our behalf, seeking God’s grace, protection, and guidance in every step of our journey. Reading this scripture, I can imagine how my mother prayed for me. As I mentioned before, her last wish was for me to “go to America, study, and become a pastor.” My mother was concerned about leaving me behind in a society where discrimination against women is prevalent. Having had an encounter with an American missionary, receiving an education, and being baptized by him, she believed America would provide a good environment for me to live and minister. She may have prayed, “Father, I am no longer in the world as I am going to you. Please protect my daughter and guide her. You entrusted her to me, and now I offer her to you. She is yours.” My mother’s prayers have been a beacon of light, guiding me through the darkest of nights and the storms of suffering.

I believe most of you pray for your children. Remember that your payers can bring about change in your children and grandchildren, just as Jesus’ prayers transformed his disciples. His disciples were filled with fear and scattered after Jesus died on the cross, and even hid  and suspended after his resurrection. However, they stood confidently in faith and courageously spread the Good News after Jesus’s ascension. As Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, he did not leave them alone. He promised to send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to guide them and empower them in his absence.

Just as Jesus entrusted his disciples into the Father’s hands, he entrusts each one of us into the loving care of our heavenly Father. His prayer was not only for his disciples, but for all who would believe in him through their message. That includes us. We are the recipients of those prayers, the beneficiaries of his divine intercession.

Why don’t you make your children and grandchildren beneficiaries of both your prayers and Jesus’ prayers? Let’s draw strength and inspiration from the prayers of our mothers and the promise of Christ’s presence in our lives, extending it to the next generation. May we, like Jesus, be bearers of light in this world. May we, like our mothers, be vessels of love in this world! And may we, through the power of the Holy Spirit, fulfill the divine purpose for which we have been entrusted into the hands of our heavenly Father. Thanks be to God, Amen!