May 9, 2010. 2 Timothy 1:5.
Mother's Day is a secular holiday. There is nothing churchly or
liturgical or Christian about it. Because Mother's Day is a secular holiday
it is a day that probably benefits greeting card companies and florists more
than mothers.
Many pastors oppose Mother's Day observances in worship for an
important reason. The focus of Christian worship is to be exclusively upon
Christ and the work of forgiveness that Jesus Christ fully finished for us
upon His cross.
Nothing in genuine worship should focus our attention upon anything
other than Jesus and His gifts for us. When ceremonies, music, pastor,
children, sermon, or anything else in God's House refocuses us on something
other than Christ-crucified: it ceases to be worship & becomes something
else. Those are the sorts of things we may focus on outside of God's House
/ worship.
Some try to bring Mother's Day into the Church by celebrating a
liturgical feast that uses Biblical imagery of motherhood. I'm going to try
that by holding up two examples of Christian mothers in the Bible: "Living
Faith Passing to Others.".
2 Timothy 1:5 I've been reminded of your sincere faith, which 1st lived
in your grand-mother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded,
now lives in you also.
Something reminded Paul of Timothy's faith: maybe news, maybe another
young man, maybe a fragrance; no one knows. But Paul was reminded of
Timothy's faith.
Paul says it is a 'sincere faith'. Hebrews 11 says "faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is
taking a person at his or her word without complete evidence. For example:
you may not know all the biochemical and physiological science, but you
believe in Mom when she says, 'eat your veggies." You may be fuzzy on all
parts of Luther's Small Catechism, but believe what it says.
Faith is a gift from God (Eph 2:8). It is a state-of-being based on
the certain promises of God, not on our promise, our feelings, or our
knowledge which can change. (Mal 3:6)
Faith is living, too, breathed into us by the Holy Spirit, like the
breath of life was breathed into Adam; and just like the Holy Spirit
breathed life into the writers of Holy Scriptures so their words would have
life and power.
This is why we call the Bible the Word of Life. God breathed into it.
God breathes thru it to give us life. The Gospel is the power of God to
salvation (Romans 1:16):. not any static knowledge, or our changeable
feelings. The God-breathed Word gives eternal life. Faith is NOT to be
"PART of my day". Faith IS my day.
Faith is centered in the Good News, or "Gospel". By God's love and
favor alone, without any goodness on our part (that is, by grace alone), all
of His holy anger against our failures to obey Him perfectly and our acts of
rebellion (and Original Sin) were placed on Christ at His cross. Our
eternal death penalty of hell was paid-in-full by the Son of God: and by
believing in what God has done and still does for us, we have living faith
and eternal life. Put in simpler terms, the Gospel is all Jesus Christ did
and does for me: giving me forgiveness, hope, strength, peace, joy, and
eternal life.
God breathed life into Adam. Adam did not ask for it. Physical life
is a gift from Dad & Mom. Especially Mom: she carried you 9 months and
cared for you in many ways. But you were born dead in sin (Eph 2:1, 5), or
'spiritually stillborn'. Therefore God had to give you new life. You were
born-again as God's creation breath gave you life in the waters of Holy
Baptism.
This faith is the sincere, living hope which first lived in a Greek
woman named Lois, then her daughter Eunice, and then in her son Timothy.
Just as any good mother feeds and cares for her children, so did Lois
for Eunice, then Eunice for Timothy. But they were truly wise. Paul writes
in 2 Timothy 3:15 from infancy you've known the Holy Scriptures, which are
able to make you wise for salvation thru faith in Christ Jesus.
While the gift of physical life is vital, the gift of eternal life is
the most crucial thing. Timothy was Baptized into Christ, then fed
spiritually often with the Word of Life by his mother and grandmother. Why?
"For salvation thru faith in Christ Jesus". Christian faith is not a
one-time meal. It is a daily hungering and thirsting for Christ's rescue.
It comes every time God's Word is heard. Timothy heard it often thru his
Mom.
"Faith comes by hearing. the Gospel," as Romans 10:17 records. We hear
it in church, Sunday school, Bible study, and other public places. We hear
and read it in Portals of Prayer, Lutheran Hour, and other good devotions.
And I'd say many of us (but not all) learned it first from our Moms.
A good mother teaches Holy Scriptures as genuine history: it is God's
love for His creation and people acted out in the record of Holy Scripture.
Scripture is not fables with morals, amusing fairy tales, or a book to teach
science. It Gods hand working all things for the good of our salvation.
Some parents and grandparents work to amass a fortune to give to their
children at their death. Lois and Eunice were giving a priceless treasure
to Timothy so he would have eternal life with them.
Secular society admires athletes, actors, music stars, politicians,
and billionaires. Those are not always bad models. But the mother who
holds a child closely to tell of Jesus and what it means to live in Him is
doing a far more admirable thing that will be rewarded far more (Matthew
6:3-4). She is passing along more than words or stories: she is passing
along life. For the Christian mother, children are a trust from the Lord to
be prayed for, told about Christ's cross for us, to be held, and to be
brought up "wise for salvation thru faith in Christ Jesus."
So, to whom it may concern: happy Mother's Day.
Lest I be accused of not preaching at least something on the lessons:
Jesus says, "In the world, you WILL have tribulation." Every mother knows
that. And we know many Christian mothers who are willing to sacrifice
themselves out of godly love for their children {whom Satan wants eternally
dead in faithless life}. Christ continues: "But take heart; I have
overcome the world." THAT is the message of living faith that Lois, Eunice,
and all Christian mothers pass along to their children. Christ Jesus lived
a perfect life in our place, then died on the cross in our place, so by His
grace in living faith we are given a place with Him forever. He is risen!
Alleluia!
[Collect within the prayers of the day}. Oh God, You show care for us thru
the vocations of this world. Mercifully grant hope, strength, and joy to
all mothers in the power of Your Word, so that by Your Spirit they pass the
gift of living faith and eternal life in Christ to their children. Thru the
same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the
Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
___________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless
otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors;
posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for
redistribution _with_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by
the author (as long as no charge is made for the work and it is
not made part of a compilation), as well as for quoting or use
in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
