The Sacred Impress

Good morning!  It is a joy to be here with you today to celebrate not only the Gifts of Women Sunday, but Mother's Day as well.  It is especially meaningful for me to be with you, as I have had the blessing of becoming a mother again in your very midst and with all of your love and support, for which our whole family will be eternally grateful.   

It is also fun for me to preach on Mothers Day because I had the opportunity a few years back to preach on Father's day so now I get to check off both.  However, I am hoping this morning is a bit less stressful than that experience! 

Let me share with you briefly the context. When I was in my final year of seminary I was also in the final process of being ordained in the Presbyterian Church.  One of the hoops you have to jump through is to have your preaching ability evaluated.  You can do this by having someone from your home presbytery attend a church where you are preaching, but since our home presbytery was in Alaska, that was unlikely to happen.  Instead, I was asked to videotape a sermon and send that to the presbytery.  I tried to get them to accept a video taped sermon from one of my preaching classes but that was voted down.  This had to be a real sermon to a real congregation at a time of worship.  Understandable.  So, I needed to find a church to preach in. The pastor of the church I grew up in in Maryland had been asking me for a while to come and preach. Father’s day was up for grabs so I snagged it! This would be very special since this was my Dad's church, having grown up in this church with his own parents.   However, there were a few contributing stressful factors to this blessed event.  One, this large Lutheran church now had four services, one on Saturday night and three Sunday morning.  I would be expected to preach at all.  Fine, I said...by the fourth time it will be easy!  But also, Father's day falls when?... the middle of June.  Being in Maryland…this meant hot and humid conditions in an old church with no air conditioning. Being the preacher, I was to wear a big heavy robe.  While this is usually not such a big deal...just a bit uncomfortable…. I was7 months pregnant with Andrew and had recently been told by my obstetrician that I was perhaps showing some signs of early labor and that, while he was not putting me on bed rest, he wanted me to take it as easy as possible until the baby arrived. That doesn’t really jive well with driving three hours to preach four sermons in one weekend. However, I was committed….. Add to this that I really wanted to do a good job preaching at my home church, especially since those that were still there from my childhood years were a bit shocked, to say the least, that I had grown up to want to become a pastor. And then there were two more stressful factors. I had two uncles in attendance that day. One uncle, who was also a pastor at this very church, was annoyed with me because he had found out the night before that I was planning on quoting Ronald Reagan in my sermon. This was the same week Reagan had died and there was massive media coverage of the event. During one interview, Ronald Reagan’s oldest son shared how his Father had shared the gospel with him on an airline flight many years before. This story fit in with my Father’s day sermon so I was going to use it. My uncle, being a fierce democrat, was sick of hearing anything about Reagan at this point, and railed against the idea of him being mentioned from the pulpit. I used it anyway. My other uncle happens to be a Baptist minister who didn’t think I had the right as a woman to be giving the sermon at all. He was only there that day by coincidence, being asked to come and share photos that morning of a recent trip to the Holy Land.

So, by the fourth service that Sunday morning, …there I was…doing my best to give a good and faithful sermon, with one uncle still scowling at me waiting for me to mention Ronald Reagan, the other trying to be supportive even though my very presence in the pulpit was a sin, preaching in the 90 degree heat, knowing full well I was being videotaped, and trying not to go into labor! I didn’t, btw. Andrew came safe and sound two months later.

 So I thought preaching on Mother's day would be much less complicated.  However, I don't think that is true.  While I don't have the pressure on me this morning to have this videotaped and evaluated, I am aware of the special significance of Mother's day and what it means to different people.  For some, it is a joyous day to look forward to, a time with family and perhaps a nice big shared meal after church. But for others, the day does come with complications. I know what it has meant to me at various times in my life.  While I know most of you know me as the Mother of three, there was a time when Matt and I were afraid James was going to be our only child.  Andrew came in God's time, but that was well over a year after we had our hearts set on having a second child.  During that very difficult time, Mother's day was hard! And as I went through my own struggle to conceive a child that year, I became much more aware of the similar pain around me.  I started to listen more and talk less.  I started to look at the faces of those around me when well-meaning people in our seminary circles would joke that you "shouldn't drink the water" because everyone was getting pregnant.   I met one of my closest friends that year as we shared this struggle of Motherhood as she had four consecutive miscarriages, and then had to put on a smiling face and attend all of our friend’s baby showers.  Mother's day is not uncomplicated for her.  Although she now has two children, she will always grieve for the four that were lost.    

And then, for some, the healthy pregnancies never come.  Becoming a Mother the way they always intended is not to be.  Mother's day is not uncomplicated for them.  And aside from the issue of becoming Mother's ourselves, what about the Mother’s we have.  For some of us, we have or have had wonderful relationships with our Mother’s.  This is a gift for which to be grateful. But let’s face it...in this troubled world, relationships are not easy and are sometimes downright painful.  Some of you may have been mistreated by your Mother, the very person who is supposed to be one of the safest in your life.  Or you are a Mother yourself, and find that it is not at all like you thought it would be and are having a hard time.  And I suppose I could go on, listing the ways in which those of us who are mother's feel like we mess up and wish we were better....and so on.  But you get the point.  Mother's Day is not uncomplicated when you stop and think for a moment.  

My point is not to be depressing on this wonderful holiday. I hope that it started out, for many of you, with a nice breakfast in bed and a handmade card telling you how special you are! .....It is simply to acknowledge that sometimes we need to think a little more about those around us, and to go deeper than the surface on such holidays.  

I looked a little deeper into the History of Mothers day and found out some fascinating things.   In your bulletins you will find an insert that gives you a little bit of the background on this special day and something called the “Mothers Day Proclamation.”  I want you to pull those out for a moment and look at them with me. 

As you read this, you will find that the History of Mother’s day is more complicated than you might have thought.  This day did not come about, as some would have you believe, by the flower, restaurant and greeting card industry to make money, but for a much deeper purpose.   The original idea for having a day set aside to recognize mothers came from an activist named Julia Ward Howe. You may recognize her name for she is also the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She wrote this proclamation after the civil war, as a call to find a day to unite women who had lost their husbands or sons.   As you will read in the proclamation...go about half way down, she writes...."Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.  Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and moan the dead.  Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.  

This was a call to action.---.a call to meet for the purpose of achieving peace in a broken world, recognizing that every Mother son was first a child of God.

And this call to action involved leaving home. 

I find it very interesting that today, Mother’s day is often a celebration about what our mothers have done for us at home.  When we think of our Mother’s we often think of the comforts of home, the security and help that they offered us.  But in this proclamation, the call is to leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.  It was a calling out from a place of comfort and security to meet first, to grieve for what has been lost and then to work towards peace for all people.

And in this seeking of peace, is the recognition that every member of the human family bears the sacred impress of God.   An Impress is a stamp or seal used to make an impression. Howe’s words can be taken in several ways. One, that each of us bears the stamp of God upon our life. And we know this from scripture. We are made in the image of God and belong to God. Each of us was knit together in our Mother’s womb by the hand of God. The impress of God has been upon you from the moment your life began.

But we could also take her words to mean that each of us is to leave the impression of God upon the world as we go. Another way to say this is ..our lives are to bear witness to God…in all that we do. We are to be his witnesses in all the earth, sharing the Good New of the Gospel and leaving behind the Sacred Impress of God.

This call to bear witness to God is found in our text for this morning.

In the beginning of the Book of Acts, we find the story of the Holy Spirit coming on the day of Pentecost.  It is another story of a group who have been called to gather, to be with one another as they wait for the power that God has promised them.  

If we look back to chapter one in the Book of Acts, we find the context for this meeting.  Verse 4 reads "On one occasion, while Jesus was eating with them, he gave them this command.  "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speaking about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

The disciples of course wanted to know exactly how this would happen and if this would usher in the restoration of Israel, to which Jesus replies:

"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." 

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes. 

This is another call to action...You WILL be my witnesses.  This is a calling out from the comforts of home, to take action on behalf of the family of God.  

Not only do we belong to God, but also God has gifted us with the power of the Holy Spirit to be his Witnesses in all the world.  

Bearing witness to the gifts of God is what Julia Ward Howe wanted Mothers to do when they gathered on Mothers day.  It was to bear witness to the presence of God in every member of the human family, and to take action to protect that and to honor that.  

But we know from scripture that we cannot be witnesses for God without the promised power of the Holy Spirit.  Life is simply too hard, and our human attempts, although well intended, will be inadequate.  

If you look again at the scriptures found in the first chapter of Acts, you will see that this early group of believers was a struggling group.  Part of this was read last week as the first scripture reading… it is the gathering of the disciples after the ascension of Jesus.  Starting at verse 14: we are told:  "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers”  Because this is not only Mother's day but also the celebration of the gifts of women I wanted to make sure you heard that right....”they all joined together ..with the women and with Mary.” 

But even with the women there, the next verse is shocking to me.  It reads, “In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty).”   A hundred and twenty. Only a hundred and twenty.  This was after all of Jesus ' earthly ministry.  This was after he fed the five thousand, and then the three thousand.  This was after massive crowds gathered to hear him preach and teach and witnessed his healings and his miracles.  The group that gathered in Jerusalem after his resurrection was only a hundred and twenty people.  

But fast forward to Pentecost and everything changes.  Peter again addresses the crowd and says "This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:  I will pour out my spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my spirit...

He then goes on to share the Gospel with this gathering crowd of onlookers.

 The crowd wants to know what to do with this information and Peter tells them to repent and be baptized.  He tells them that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit, saying, "The promise is for you and your children and for all those who are far off--for all whom the lord our God will call."

We are then told "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.  

From 120 to over 3,000. That is the power of the Holy Spirit. The rest of the book of Acts records the way the disciples took their call of action to be witnesses to the power of God as far as they could go in their lifetimes. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. 

We have the same call of action on us today.  Whether we are men or women, mothers or fathers.  We bear the sacred impress of God and hold the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit for all who believe.  These are tremendous gifts! 

These gifts allow us to serve, not only in our own family but also to the whole family of God.  These gifts give us the strength and courage to face the challenges put before us each day.   Because of Pentecost, we know that God is with us as promised.  The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is our counselor and our guide, and that we can trust its presence in our lives.  The Holy Spirit is also described as one who brings comfort. So if you were among those I described in the beginning of this sermon, and this is a hard day for you…take comfort in the fact that God knows this and that his Spirit rests upon you.

 One of the most meaningful groups of people in my life is the Mother’s group here at church.  We gather each week to study the bible and to pray and to eat and to share our lives as Mothers.  We say many things about being a mother, but I promise you....one thing I have never heard from anybody is that it is easy.  We struggle together, often cry together, give advice to one another, and then we pray.  We always end the group in prayer, asking for God's help to get us through the coming days.

And we trust in the Holy Spirit. It is what binds us together while we are apart.   And the Holy Spirit is what binds us together as the church.  What a beautiful image of the church as the body with many parts, bound together by the same spirit. 

On this day, we celebrate the gifts of women in our church.  And what a clear way to see the diversity of spirit filled people.  The women of this church teach and preach, and serve as elders and deacons. They sing in the choir and lead the choirs. They serve on committees; go on mission trips, and give of their time and talents in too many ways to count. They are young and old and everywhere in between.  They are mothers and mothering, as well as leaders and workers and servants of God.  Some women you see quite often and hear from in vocal ways.  Others serve more quietly week after week.  Some women are able to be here each week, while others listen faithfully by radio, while still sharing in our family.  

Whatever our stage of life, it should be a comfort to us that we are not going it alone.  Not only do we have this church family by our side...more importantly, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us and give us strength.    Our caring and service extends far outside of these doors, while our witness continues to be needed around the world. 

I am proud of the women of this church for bearing this witness to the wider world. This summer a team of women from this church will be going to Malawi to help interpret the Widows Fund. We have women leading the Mexico trip and leading Vacation Bible School. And we have women in this church serving in the military, who will carry their faith with them every time they are deployed.

Just as our Mother's Day Proclamation was written to recognize those in a time of war, so we find ourselves now.  And our call to action remains the same, to recognize the sacred impress of God on all members of the human family and to work for peace. 

Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, let us continue to answer this call.

Amen