For May 10

 

Sermon: The Hand that Rocks The Cradle

Intro: Mother’s Day is an especially good time to reflect on the Mothers and Moms who have influenced our lives. William Ross Wallace’s 19th-century poem, “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" highlights that influencing child development is more impactful than political power, and that the strong power of Mothers and Moms is in their nurturing and shaping the next generation, and ultimately the world. The recurring verse of his poem is, “For the hand that rocks the cradle, Is the hand that rules the world.”

 

I. The Sacredness of Life

A. And yet, motherhood is being challenged by the changing norms of society that support abortion. Thankfully, although many liberal churches support abortion, the GMC strongly opposes it. Many who have chosen to have an abortion, later experience the grief and regret of that decision, a consequence that haunts the life that was supposed to be free of that unwanted child. On the other hand, I read of one mother who had decided against aborting her ‘unwanted’ child, years later proudly telling that her ’unwanted’ child was now preaching the Gospel message in the pulpit of a large church. The hand that instead chose to rock the cradle of the child she had been given, had become an influence that made a difference in this world. And Moms who step in for an absent mother, or join with a Mother, share in that love and support that makes a difference in a child’s life, that can also make such a difference in the world.  

B, One Native American woman shared that in their culture, Mothers and Moms were somewhat interchangeable because all took part in raising the children. In fact, she told me that she was a teenager before she fully realized which one of her Moms was her actual birth mother.

C. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus tells the Church of Ephesus, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”  When His Church allows teaching contrary to Scripture, it has lost its first love for Jesus. The God who alone gives life, therefore making life sacred, who even sent His Son to die for us because He loves us so, could never condone the murder of an unborn, taking a life that only He has the right to do. When we no longer hold God-given life sacred, we have forsaken our first love for Jesus and His Church where He is its foundation. When we no longer see life as sacred, taking a life loses any moral significance. Then, shootings, abortions, sex trafficking, and massive drug profiteering that plagues today’s world becomes normalized.

D. But my main intent with this morning’s message is to accentuate the positives of motherhood, even coining the term “Mom-hood”. Moms can supplement, even substitute for a biological mother. And we certainly can’t have too many Moms in our lives. Ideally, Mothers and Moms will influence their children to know and love the Lord. And unlike the criticism of the Ephesus Church, continue in their first love for Him.

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II. Exodus 1:22 – 2:10

A. What impact might that have on us, our community, or even our world?  There are several Biblical examples of that. Hannah deeply wanted a son, but was unable to conceive. In her fervent prayers, she even promised to let that son be raised in the Temple service of God. Her answered prayer was named Samuel. Although her son was raised in the Temple by the priest Eli, she continued to visit and influence her child. Samuel grew to take over the local priesthood responsibilities after Eli died, then became the greatest prophet and priest in Israel’s history, answering God’s call to anoint, and be God’s counselor to Saul, the first king of Israel, then David, Israel’s greatest king. The hand that had rocked Samuel’s cradle was the influential mother of the child that grew to rule Israel.

B. We also see that in earlier days of Israel under the oppression of Egyptian slavery. The number of Hebrew slaves was growing so rapidly that Pharaoh feared they’d outnumber the Egyptians, and even worse, might side with an invading enemy. So, he decreed all Hebrew baby boys to be killed at birth, slowing their population growth, and limiting the ability of the slaves to fight against Egypt. Pharaoh didn’t recognize the God of the Hebrews, or the sacredness of the life of His creations.

C. But one mother refused to obey that decree. After three months, she could no longer hide him from the Egyptian taskmasters, and placed him in a waterproof basket to float in the Nile River passing Pharaoh’s palace. From a distance, the child’s sister, Naomi, watched as a daughter of the Pharaoh took him to raise as her own. Naomi stepped forward, asking if she could get one of the Hebrew woman to nurse the child for her. The Princess agreed, not realizing the ‘volunteer’ would be the child’s birth mother, Jochebed. The Princess named the child Moses, meaning ‘drawn from the water’, and raised him as a Prince in Pharaoh’s court, training in leadership and the skills that would later be vital in Moses’ role in the Exodus from Egypt. God had worked His miracle to have a Mother and a Mom equip Moses to become God’s greatest leader and miracle worker in Israel’s OT history. He would stand up to his once brother, now Pharaoh, to secure Israel’s release from slavery, receive the Ten Commandments, perform numerous miracles, while leading Israel to the Promised Land. The hand that rocked baby Moses’ cradle, put him in a floating basket to the care of an influential Mom, rocked Egypt, Israel, and the several nations that tried to oppose Israel on the way to the Promised Land. These were just two of the OT leaders that developed because of a Mother and Moms that recognized the value of their child’s life, influencing that child as they raised it, sacrificed from their love, that led to their becoming what God had created and intended for that child, who influenced the world.

 

III. Luke 1:26-38

A. Luke begins his Gospel with the birth of John the Baptist. Like Hannah, Elizabeth had been unable to conceive, but unlike Hannah, she was too old to conceive.  Her husband, Zechariah, was also well up in years when the angel Gabriel tells him they would bear a special son. He expresses some doubt about that possibility, and is then unable to speak during Elizabeth’s pregnancy, until their son is born and named John, as Gabriel had instructed. Elizabeth could have resisted, claiming to be too old to be a mother, but instead, rejoices, considering a child a blessing, a sign of favor from God. Luke relates in 1:58 that Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. The joy of Elizabeth's neighbors and relatives not only reflects their happiness for her, acknowledging God’s miracle, but implies that, typical of the communal nature of Jewish society, they would have joined with Elizabeth in raising this special child. But this would be no ordinary child. He was born filled with the Holy Spirit, to be the one prophesied to be the Voice crying in the wilderness, making straight the way of the Lord.

B. Even though the Holy Spirit had already filled John at birth, and would lead him to fulfill his special purpose, a Mother and those Moms helped raise, and influence him. John would become God’s messenger, baptizing many for repentance, announcing the Messiah’s imminent coming, and ultimately even baptize Jesus into His ministry. The hands that rocked John’s cradle were important influences to John rocking Israel.

C. But the Motherhood of all times fell on the shoulders of an unmarried teenage virgin named Mary, a peasant girl in the small obscure village of Nazareth. So obscure was it that a common adage was “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”  The angel Gabriel explained that she had found favor with God and would bear a son to be named Jesus, a name derived from Yeshua, meaning “Deliverer”. Although she was engaged to be married to Joseph, the Holy Spirit, not Joseph, would cause her to conceive.

D. How would we expect Mary to react to this news? She was engaged to Joseph, and until the actual marriage, was expected to remain a virgin. In today’s society, she might have been confronted with so many reasons not to go through with her pregnancy. Pregnant, unwed women were subject to being stoned according to the Law of Moses. Being engaged to Joseph, who was not the father, would have further shamed Mary, and disgraced Joseph. But Joseph, being a good man, intended to end the engagement quietly, not wanting to subject Mary to more public shame, but not wanting to be disgraced either.

E So, Mary wouldn’t even have the support of a husband. Girls, even women in Mary’s position in today’s world, might have further reasoned that she wasn’t ready to be a mother, she was too young. Neither was she in a financial position to support herself and a child. Perhaps her visit to her cousin Elizabeth before her pregnancy became noticeable, was to avoid the consequences from those who would learn of her condition. Mary might have considered abortion in today’s society. Instead, she responded to Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May Your word to me be fulfilled.”

F. We don’t know much about Mary’s abilities as a mother. Songs like “Mary, Did You Know?”, or her loving, although fictional, character in The Chosen, portray her as a very good mother. In Luke’s Gospel account, she takes the shepherds’ visit to heart. Then, eight days later, on the way to having Jesus circumcised in the Jerusalem Temple. she encounters Simeon, waiting to see the prophesied Messiah, who holds Jesus up and prophesies that He would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel, destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, so that the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed, but also that a sword would pierce her own soul as well. It would have been a lot to take in, especially for such a young, first time mother, but Mary pondered these things quietly in her heart.

G. We see Mary frantically searching for her 12 year old son she fears is lost in the very crowded Jerusalem, only to find him authoritatively questioning the Temple leaders. Undeniably, the Holy Spirit, as Jesus’ divine teacher, would have enabled Him to have such an interaction with the well-educated Temple leaders. Although Mary would have been strongly challenged in raising her special son, she would have also been a strong influence on the education of her child in the home while Joseph was out working.

H. Mary’s special relationship with her son is later seen at the wedding of Cana. Mary is concerned that her hosts have run out of wine, a serious social faux pas in that culture. She asks Jesus to help, expecting a miracle, although Jesus says it wasn’t yet His time. But Mary, confident in His power and His response, tells the servants to do as Jesus says. In The Chosen movie, there’s a special look of understanding love between Mary and Jesus, before He does turn the water into fine wine, His first recorded miracle.

I. The Chosen movie focuses more on His human side with several more of those special moments between Jesus and His mother. One scene has Mary, in a special Mother-Son time, washing Jesus’ hair, while Jesus talks ith her about concerns in His ministry, and she listens with understanding to her beloved Son. While such scenes are creative fiction, they do present the very possible interactions  of a human Jesus with His special Mother.

J. The Gospel of John shows Mary at the Crucifixion, a Mother’s worst nightmare, seeing her Son suffering, feeling as if the sword pierced her heart as Simeon had prophesied, yet knowing it was His destiny from His birth. Even from the Cross, despite His agony, He shows His love for His mother by putting her in John’s special care from then on as if she was his own mother. His Mother who had rocked Jesus’ manger, stood by Him to the very end, despite feeling a Mother’s agony of feeling her Son’s suffering.

 

Conclusion: But that’s what Mothers and Moms do. It’s what makes them special. It’s their love that gives us, their children, our special encouragement to go forward. When Mothers fail, there’s a deep void in their child’s soul that can be partially filled by Moms. Christian Mothers and Moms that rock their children’s cradle are the hope for their children to one day make a difference in this world. May God, and all your grateful children, bless all you Mothers and Moms for all your love and sacrifices for us. And may your home be happy, because God is there. Amen