St. Aidan’s Sermons
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Dorothy Bell, May 8, 2011
3rd Sunday of Easter (Mother’s Day); 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m., Holy Communion
“God’s Gift to the Church – Our ‘Mothers in God’”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Psalm 139:13-16; Hebrews 12:1-3; Luke 1:26-38
I speak to you today in the name of God who loves us, Jesus who saves us, and the Holy Spirit who empowers us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are enabled to be God’s hands, feet, and voice to all who need comfort. Some need us to hear about their pain and to offer prayers to God for their healing.
I have titled this talk “God’s gift to us – our mothers in God”. Today is Mother’s Day so this talk will focus on the gifts God gives us as women to be Mothers in God. No one is excluded. As women we are blessed with unique gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. These fruits of the spirit are given to us to use in the nurturing ministries to which God calls us; ministries in our homes, in our work places, in our church and everywhere else God may call us to be mothers in God. Who is a Mother in God? Every woman who loves God, is Saved by Jesus, and who is filled with the Holy Spirit is a mother in God.
I have been a part of St. Aidan’s church for 31 years. Some of you have been here longer than I have and some of you are new members in this fellowship. What I want to do this morning is share with you some of the women in this church who have been mothers in God to me over my thirty one years here. Some of you will know the examples I will be using. For all of you I hope I can give you a bit of history on important events in our lives.
Soon after coming to St. Aidan’s I was asked if I would consider becoming a lay reader. My answer was yes, I would consider it an honour to be able to read the scriptures at our worship services. At this time there was only one other woman lay reader here. Her name was Margie Glassco. She was an older woman and patiently and lovingly guided me in learning the ropes of being a lay reader in the style to which St. Aidan’s was accustomed. I continue to be thankful for the training I received from Margie, a mother in God to me, a new recruit. Margie taught me how to prayerfully prepare through the week for the Sunday morning reading. I needed to believe what I was reading and allow it to become a part of who I am. I was not just reading words but was sharing a part of who I had become through praying and studying the scriptures. Margie, my mother in God, gave me tools I have used and will always use whenever I read scriptures to any gathering.
I had been a lay reader for a few months when I was approached by a woman in the congregation after I had read the scriptures that morning. Her name was Betty Dimock, Betty said to me “You read very well. I can hear every word” Another woman came to me and said “I see you have met Betty. What did she say to you?” I said that she had said that I read very well and that she could hear every word. This women asked me “Do you understand what she is saying to you? You see Betty is totally deaf”. Betty was another mother in God to me. I learned from her that if I am faithful and prayerful in my preparation for reading through the week, there is a possibility that the deaf will hear God’s word to them when I read in a service.
I had been at St. Aidan’s a few years when I was invited to be a part of a committee led by Bill McKee. The committee was to find someone who would agree to let their name stand at our annual meeting to be the next people’s warden. As a committee we met a number of times to come up with names of people to ask to consider being the next warden. Quite a few men were asked and for various reasons would not agree to let their name stand for election. We scheduled another meeting to come up with more names. Bill McKee arrived at the meeting that day and he said to us “You know my wife Sigrid” We all said “yes”. Bill said Sigrid is a woman who prays and she is praying for the work of this committee. When I was leaving to come here today Sigrid said to me” Bill I have been praying for your committee and I believe God is saying that you are looking in the wrong place. Our next people’s warden is on your committee”. This is how I was asked to be St. Aidan’s people’s warden. In those days at St. Aidan’s women were not asked to be wardens. But I said I would pray about it. I told God about the reasons why I was not a suitable candidate to be warden. When I was finished, God said to me “Dorothy, what St. Aidan’s needs as their warden right now is a mother and you are a mother. So I want you to let your name stand for election at the annual meeting”. Sigrid McKee, a woman who prays and listens to God was another mother in God to me. Since that time I believe we have continued to have a woman as one of the wardens.
On the first Sunday I came to church as people’s warden, I met another mother in God. This dear lady’s name was Adele Smith, and I knew that she was one of our prayer warriors. She came to speak to me and congratulate me on becoming the people’s warden. Adele grew up in the church when only men were in positions like wardens. She told me that she believed that the job I had been elected to was a man’s job. I knew Adele to be a mighty woman of prayer so I shared with her how I had prayed to God about whether I was to be a warden here, and as far as I could discern I was to be the people’s warden. I asked her to pray and if God’ was telling her something different than I had discerned then to please let me know. Adele became a friend and supported me in every way as the people’s warden here at St. Aidan’s. Adele, my mother in God, taught me so much about prayer and intercession. Adele and many other dear women, who spent their senior years in praying for the needs in the congregation, have gone home to be with Jesus. They are the great cloud of witnesses we heard about in the Hebrews reading:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-2).
They are those who did not grow weary and lose heart. Whenever we are going through trials here in the church. I am sure that Adele and many other mothers in God from St. Aidan’s are interceding for and with us before the throne of grace. Adele also left a legacy for us at St. Aidan’s because on many Sundays we have three generations of her family worshipping here. I hope that each person here this morning can name some women who have been mothers in God to them.
Now there may be some here today who have a hard time with Mother’s Day. Perhaps your own mother was not able to be the mother for you that you needed her to be. Maybe she was too busy or too sick or perhaps you felt that she just didn’t care. What ever your experience, you may be feeling sad and empty, so how can Mother’s day be a happy occasion. I want us now to think back to the psalm that we read this morning.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16)
These are healing words from God for each one of us. God has always been there in our lives. Whatever experiences we have had, God was there and he shared our tears when we have not been treated well. God wants us to give Him our pain, our loneliness and our emptiness. He wants to heal and restore us. He wants us to believe that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are all precious creations of God.
Now I want to say a few words about our gospel reading from Luke (Luke 1: 26-38). This is the account of Mary’s visit from the angel to tell her that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus. Mary had some questions about this. I’m sure she would also know that she would not be believed and that she would be judged by many. Finally Mary made a decision. She decided to trust God and agree to be the mother of Jesus. She made a decision to be a Christ bearer.
We are offered many opportunities here Sunday by Sunday to be Christ bearers. When we read the scriptures aloud in the church we are Christ bearers. When we lead the intercessions, we offer our needs and concerns to Jesus for his healing and grace. We bring Christ into these situations. When we pray for people to be healed we bear Christ into those situations. When we administer the bread and wine we bring Jesus to those who choose to receive Him. When we sing praises to God and lead the praises of God we are Christ bearers. Mary has shown us the way and she is our mother in God. We heard these words in Deuteronomy:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 to 11)
Our bearing of Christ needs to be visible in our actions and present in our conversations. It needs to be what people see and experiences in our homes and in all of the places we are called to be.
On this Mother’s Day, go and be God’s gift to the world and show by who you are, the good news of Jesus our Saviour and Lord. Go forth from here today rejoicing that you are a gift of God and a mother in God. May God bless you all.
