Who Are Our Mothers?

  

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 10th of May, 2026 - Mother's Day.  Today's service included a few extra events and was running a little long.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

This is a very special day, when we celebrate our mothers, even those who have gone on to their heavenly reward.  Some of you probably have lunch plans, and I don’t want to hold you up too much.  We’ve already had a busy morning and a longer than normal opening to our service.  So I going to keep this part shorter, letting God and our bible do most of the talking while celebrating motherhood.

And to get right to it, I want you to recall the wedding feast in Cana that our Lord Jesus and His disciples attended, the wedding of the son of friends of the family.  This is where Jesus somewhat reluctantly performed His first miracle of record.  Please listen and follow along to a short portion of what the Apostle John recorded of this event, leading up to the miracle itself.  This comes from the 2nd chapter of John’s Gospel account, verses 1 through 5, and I’ll be reading from the Easy-to-Read version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother was there. 2 Jesus and His followers were also invited. 3 At the wedding there was not enough wine, so Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”

4 Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why are you telling Me this? It is not yet time for Me to begin My work.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do what He tells you.”

--John 2:1-5 (ERV)

Let us pray…  Father God, the first thing You did after creating our world was to establish the institution of family.  You gave us a father and a mother, to protect us and nurture us when we are small and helpless.  Our mothers are reflections of You, with their faithfulness, selflessness, and unconditional and sacrificial love.  Since the fall of mankind, not all mothers have been good mothers, but all have tried the best they knew how.  Thank You for our mothers, Father.  Please help us to always remember their love, and to hold them lovingly in our hearts.  Remind us of how Jesus obeyed His mother, even when He didn’t really want to.  Help us be more like Him in all aspects of this life.  This we pray in the beautiful name of our Lord Jesus.   Amen.

Someone now unknown once noted that, “No one deserves a special day all to herself more than today's Mom.  A cartoon showed a psychologist talking to his patient, who was a mother:  ‘Let's see,’ he said, ‘you spend 50 percent of your energy on your job, 50 percent on your husband and 50 percent on your children.  I think I see your problem.’”

Like I said in my prayer, a good mother is a close reflection of God.  She loves unconditionally, sacrificially, selflessly.  She gives so much of herself to her family, there is usually nothing left over for herself.  Pray that our Father God give mothers everywhere the peace and rest to face each day.

I hope you were able to read between the lines a little bit in our short scripture passage.  As the wedding party progressed, the wine started running low.  Maybe more guests than expected arrived, or they drank more than usual, or the wedding party manger failed to order enough.  Whatever the reason, they were about to run dry.

Mary knew the family, and she knew how devastating it would be for them if the wine ran out before the feast ended.  I bet she was just a little frantic when she approached Jesus and said, “They have no more wine.”  Jesus sounds a little nonchalant and uncaring when He replies, “What is that to Me?  Why should I care?  It is not time yet for me to start showing who I am, what I am.”

Mary knew her son.  If you think about it, that is rather a profound statement, since Jesus is God and can anyone really know God?  Well Mary knew Jesus.  After all, she raised Him, taught Him, changed His messy diapers, bandaged His cuts and scrapes, consoled Him, loved Him through everything.  So like any good mother, Mary ignored her adult son's protests and instructed the servers to do whatever He told them, knowing He would go ahead and do what was right, what was needed.  We know the rest of the story.  Jesus turned some water into wine, the feast was saved, and the family was spared embarrassment.

You may wonder why I chose the title of today’s message as I did.  Why not something simple and appropriate to the day, like “In Celebration of Mothers”?

Well, leading up to the day, I was thinking about my daughter’s mother, who left this world far too early.  And that got me to remembering some of the women who helped me as I struggled to comfort and raise a twelve-year-old on my own.  They helped me mother my child.

Motherhood really can be a mixed bag.  For some women, motherhood is an accident, and not always a welcome one.  For some, biological motherhood isn’t possible.  For some, motherhood under the very best of circumstances is still less than a bed of roses or a primrose path.  For some folks, their mothers weren’t all that nice.  But if not for motherhood, none of us would be here.  And then there are those women, and some men, who provide a mother’s love to a child they did not give birth to.

Jesus was well aware of all this, and so much more.  He knew that not all of our “mothers” were the women how gave birth to us.  Please listen to a short exchange the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in the 12th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 46 through 50…

46 While Jesus was talking to the people, His mother and brothers stood outside. They wanted to talk to Him. 47 Someone told Him, “Your mother and brothers are waiting for You outside. They want to talk to You.”

48 Jesus answered, “Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?” 49 Then He pointed to His followers and said, “See! These people are My mother and My brothers. 50 Yes, anyone who does what My Father in heaven wants is My true brother and sister and mother.”

--Matthew 12:46-50 (ERV)

Who is my mother?  Anyone who does what our heavenly Father wants them to do.  You – any who do what God wants - are my brothers and sisters and mothers.  And some of you ladies mother me a lot.  I like that, even if I don’t always show it, or respond like you might want me to.  But I always try to do what is right.

There’s another time I’d like to look at, when Jesus let us know that non-traditional mother-child relationships are not only acceptable but also preferred.  Hear what the Apostle John saved for us in the 19th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 25 through 27, from the day Jesus clung to life while nailed to the cross, nearing His last breath...

25 Jesus’ mother stood near His cross. Her sister was also standing there with Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 Jesus saw His mother. He also saw the follower He loved very much standing there. He said to His mother, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 Then He said to the follower, “Here is your mother.” So after that, this follower took Jesus’ mother to live in his home.

--John 19:25-27 (ERV)

Now John already had a mother, who the Apostle Mark identified as Salome.  But Jesus was more concerned about His mother, already a widow and soon to lose a son.  And yes, it wouldn’t hurt for John to have someone to care for and see to, something to distract him from his own grief over losing his Master.  So this arrangement benefited both.

But it also tells us that there may be times when we need to look past normal familial bonds and bring others into the closeness of family.  We may need mothering, or we may need to mother someone else.  Or maybe a little of both, all at the same time.  And that will be OK.  We’ll be doing what God wants us to do, loving someone like He loves us.

So yes, today let’s celebrated our mothers by honoring them or their memory.  But let’s also think lovingly on those folks, women and men, who have loved us like mothers, or those we have loved like our own children.  And let us thank God for mothers and their love.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for giving us the warmth and comfort of family.  Thank You for our mothers who reflect Your love.  And thank You for all those who have mothered us in this life.  Sadly, Father, we know that not all those who brought life into the world were good mothers.  And we know some mothers have suffered greatly, even while trying to do their best for their child.  But Father, we also know that some people have willingly, whole-heartedly, taken on the role of mother for someone who needed it the most.  So we thank You for the blessing of all mothers.  Please protect those who are still with us in this life, and richly reward those who are now with You.  Please help us stay true and faithful to our Lord so that we can all be reunited some sweet day.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us Your human side in Your relationship with Your own mother.  And thank You for also showing us that there can be many and various different mother-child relationships in this life.  Sometimes we just need someone to mother us, to hold us when we’re sad, to rejoice with us when we’re happy.  Please help us remember that all mothers are a reflection of God and His love.  And that all people – all of us – are created in God’s image.  Help us show Your love and His love as we reach out to others, sharing Your words and Your works, telling them all about You.  Help us carry out the mission You gave us, seeking the lost sheep and leading them to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.