Mothering Sunday
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:1
Mother’s Day is the day when we thank God for giving us the one person, on this earth who generally has had the greatest impact on our lives.
Mothers are teachers and disciplinarians.
Mothers are cooks and cleaners.
Mothers are nurses and doctors,
Mothers are psychologists and counsellors,
Mothers are chauffeurs and coaches - and even football supporters.
Mothers are developers of personalities, moulders of vocabularies and shapers of attitudes.
Mothers are soft voices saying, "I love you."
And mothers are a link to God, a child’s first impression of God’s love.
Someone once said “Mothers are the glue that holds the family together.”
But the one great motherly quality I haven’t mentioned comes from our Old Testament reading this morning – self sacrifice.
Mothers have a wonderful capacity for self-sacrifice – putting the good of their children ahead of their own good.
This morning’s Old Testament reading is all about self-sacrifice. It is the story of Hannah – the mother of Israel’s first major Prophet.
And I would like to focus on the great motherly gift that Hannah had – self-sacrifice in the interests of her son.
She was a great woman of prayer who had prayed year in and year out for a son – and suddenly God granted her request.
She wanted the very best for her son. However, the only way Samuel would be able to fulfil his godly calling was to go away from her – to be training at the boarding school of the High Priest Eli..
I am sure as she was weaning him, it must have broken her heart - to know that she wasn’t going to have him much longer – though she would visit him regularly.
However, she was prepared to sacrifice her will for his best. She wanted him to be a man who would serve God wholeheartedly. And the only way he could do this would be to go to the High Priest, Eli for training.
And that sacrifice paid off. Samuel went on the be “The Prophet” in the Land. Politically and spiritually he became the leader of the nation for many years.
All this, I believe because of one woman’s sacrifice.
Hannah was a mother with a sacrificial heart.
I see her as an Old Testament model of Jesus.
Jesus showed great mother like qualities of love and sacrifice. Because he died on the Cross for our sakes – so as to bring us back into a relationship with God.
Hannah loved Samuel so much that she was prepared to forgo a mother’s greatest joy – that of bringing up her son and having him around her – so that he could fulfil his godly potential.
In the same way, Jesus loved us so much that he was prepared to sacrifice his very own life on the Cross - an event that we celebrate at Easter.
He died to reconcile us with the Father, so that we can fulfil our godly calling -to be sons of God.
As the apostle John put it:
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God.(Jn 1:12)
Today, Jesus extends his loving in much the same way as a mother opens the door of her home to her children and invites them in.
Jesus said: Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest" (Mt. 11:28)
When we accept Jesus as our Lord, Saviour and Master Jesus promises to be alongside us through life’s different problems.
Now life life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation. Phil Downer has an interesting comparison that can help each of us reevaluate our parenting strategies. He noted that if we aren’t careful, we can end up treating our children like fish in an aquarium. Downer said, “You fill a big aquarium with water, dump in some fish, put fish food on top, and watch them eat. Most fish owners sort of sit back and watch the fish move around, and that’s the way most folks raise kids.” His challenge is well taken. Parenting involves much more than providing food and shelter.
What ingredients go into creating the environment of a truly Christian home? Some would say it is teaching our children right from wrong, belief in God, and respect for their fellowman. But can one truly "teach" such fundamental truths as these? Rather we must live these truths each and every day so that our children are irresistibly drawn to the right and the good life by our continual example.
Have we heard of the word “Pedarchy”
“Pedarchy is a government run by children. Rare is the nation, but not so rare is the home that can be identified as such.”
It is a problem when parents do not say no to children & when children run the household.
Here are 10 rules of what not to do in raising children which contain very good advice.
They give a child everything he wants.
They laugh at a child when he does or says something wrong.
They avoid the words "no" and “wrong."
They pick up after their children instead of giving them the responsibility of doing it.
They take the side of their children against neighbours, teachers, and other responsible adults.
They make every decision for their children.
They bail them out of every situation instead of letting them face the consequences of their mistakes.
They are over-protective, and do not allow their children to do normal and healthy things.
They let their children talk back to them.
They criticise others openly in front of their children.
Today is mothering Sunday, where especially we remember the role of mothers in our families.
There is so much we can take for granted in the home, and today is where we can say a very special thank you for what all our mothers do for us and especially their love for us.
It is important for families to keep in contact with each other and support elderly people especially in this time of the corona virus emergency. Not only the elderly that are in our families but also the elderly that are not related to us.