United Church of Pittsford

Proverbs 31:10 and 26-31
Proverbs 6:20-22

Today is Mother’s Day. A day that I consider to be a very important and significant American holiday, conceived and established to remember, honor, praise, and appreciate the unique and indispensable contributions a good and faithful mother, not only provides for her family but for our culture, and society as a whole. As the wisdom of Proverbs implies a good and faithful woman is not only a man’s greatest treasure, but a stable societies greatest treasure, as well.

Her guidance is thoughtful, practical, and inspired by God and her care and love for her family, uncompromising and unconditional, a reflection of the way we are all guided, cared for, protected, and loved by our Creator. A good and faithful wife and mother is vital, valuable, indispensable in the development of morally sound and socially responsible children. All who are or have been blessed with such a woman in their lives are truly blessed and should never fail to recognize and appreciate their good fortune and if at all possible, shower that woman with praise and adoration for, as Proverbs states, she is most deserving!

A group of insightful and enthusiastic second graders have shared their astute opinions about, and observations of, their mothers as a way to help us remember and honor our moms. Initially, they were asked why they thought God made mothers. “God made mothers mostly to clean the house” one youngster noted. Another said God made mothers, “to help us get out of there when we were getting born.”  They all agreed moms were made out of dirt, just like the rest of us but one child added, “God made my mom just the same like he made me, He just used bigger parts!”

When asked to explain why God gave you your mother, instead of some other mother, one child replied, “Because we’re related!” Another shared this profound thought: “God knew she liked me a whole lot more than other moms do.” Finally, they were asked the question, what kind of a child do you think your mother was when she was little? One very logical young lad said, “I don’t know, because I wasn’t there . . . but my guess is she was pretty bossy!” And the final word on the subject comes from a lovely little girl who simply said, “They say she used to be nice!”

Of course, we all know that parenting is no easy task; it requires a great deal of patience, humility, self-control, the willingness, to not only forgive, but to request forgiveness. It requires wisdom, sacrifice, discipline, flexibility, and that divinely inspired unconditional love!

Being a mother can prove exhausting! A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their mother with a house plant one Mother’s Day. They had performed a number of household chores in order to earn enough money to purchase the gift and their mom was so proud of them, and absolutely thrilled! When they made their presentation, the older of the two said with a sad face, “There was a bunch of real pretty flowers at the store, that we really wanted to buy for you but the lady said we didn’t have enough money.“  He continued with "The flowers had a real pretty ribbon tied around them that said, ‘Rest In Peace.’ “We thought it would be just right because you are always saying, ‘Could I please have a little peace around here . . . so I can get some rest!’”

A woman once told me about the Information Form at her pediatrician’s office, where it stated beside the space marked occupation: “If you devote the greater portion of your time to loving, caring, and making a home for your family, just put a big star in this space.” Tony Campolo is an extremely popular and highly respected inspirational Christian speaker who literally travels around the world preaching and teaching his particular interpretation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, his wife, Peggy, has chosen to stay home and give herself and all that she has to the “bringing up,” as she likes to say, of her two children. A couple of years ago, Tony was preaching in Ocean Park and we were privileged to be present. Following the worship, my wife, Debra was determined to meet Peggy who had accompanied Tony on this visit to Maine. On those rare occasions when Peggy does travel with Tony, she often finds herself engaged in conversation with some of the most accomplished, impressive, influential, and sophisticated people in the world; like my wife, Debra! After one such trip, Peggy told her husband that sometimes, when she visits with these powerful people, she finds herself feeling intimidated and sometimes even questioning her own self-worth.

After giving it some thought, Tony suggested this: “Why don’t you come up with something you could say when you meet people, that will let them know that you strongly value what you do, and you feel that it is dramatically urgent and crucial and important.” Not long after that, Tony and Peggy Campolo where at a party, when a woman approached and addressed Peggy in a rather condescending tone with the question: “Well, my dear, and what do you do?” Peggy took a deep breath, and responded: “I am nurturing two Homo Sapiens into the dominant values ofthe Judaeo-Christian tradition, in order that they might become instruments for the transformation of the social order into the kind of eschatological utopia the Lord God envisioned from the beginning of time.” And the woman who asked the question said, “Oh my . . . I’m just a lawyer.”

Peggy Campolo reminds us that there are a lot of very important jobs in this world, including that of a lawyer, but none more important than being a good and faithful mother!”

Amen.