“Mother’s Day Proverbs”

May 12, 2024
St. Andrew Church
Rev. Anne McAnelly
Mother’s Day

First Lesson:                                                Proverbs 6:20–22

²⁰ My child, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. ²¹ Bind them upon your heart always; tie them around your neck. ²² When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.

Second Lesson:                                         Proverbs 31:1, 24-31

The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:  ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes. ²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. ²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. ²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸ Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her: ²⁹ “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” ³⁰ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. ³¹ Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

• What did the mommy spider say to the Baby spider?
  • You spend too much time on the web.
• What kind of candy do moms love for Mother’s Day? 
  • Her-she’s Kisses.
• Have you heard the urban legend about what happens when you scream “Mom” three times in the shower? 
  • A nice lady appears with the towel you forgot.
• What did the tree tell her son before a big game? 
  • I’m rooting for you.
• You know you’re a mom when you understand why Mama Bear’s porridge was too cold.
• Knock, knock. Who’s there? Justin! Justin who? 
  • Justin time to say Happy Mother’s Day!

Jokes are a fun way to wish all our moms a wonderful Mother’s Day.  Proverbs speaks of an ideal wife/woman with this poem that is an alphabetic acrostic poem.  Each line starts with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  It starts with the lessons taught to a king by his mother providing the ABCs of a good wife.  Now, patriarchy is woven through, yet it does affirm an empowered woman. She is wise, strong and fears the Lord.  She is a merchant and mother with dignity and kindness. In the 21 century it is interesting to note it says nothing about a woman having value from her husband, or for giving birth, or about her shape or size.  These are many of the traps’ women have been judged for over the centuries. Good to lift these truths about women and mothers.

A retired Rabbi shared, “Each Sabbath evening, I recite the poem in Proverbs 31 to my wife. It begins ‘A good wife who can find…’ and ends with the husband addressing his wife directly, in a ‘you’ statement:

Many women have done excellently,

But you surpass them all (verse 29).

This meant that once a week, after reciting an alphabet full of statements about your good wife, you look her in the eyes and switch to a “you” statement saying, in effect, “There are lots of great women around. But babe, you’re the best of them all!” (Working Preacher, James Limburg).  I start here, because supporting a good marriage is part and parcel to being a good mother.  Yet Mothering is so much more.  Mothering is about teaching our children, helping them to discover who they are, and loving them no matter what. 

Proverbs 6 affirms the power of a mother’s teaching: “do not forsake your mother’s teaching” for it will lead, watch over and talk to you.  How many of you can still hear your mother’s words in your head?  I hope they are supportive and encouraging words, not just, “Stand up straight.”

Recently Cooper shared with me a concern about family dynamics with family members in Texas.  He is learning about expectations and communications and how he fits within it all.  I shared with him that no matter what is happening within your family we all get to choose how we respond and can even find family beyond family.  I shared some of my crazy family stories.  But then told him, I learned how to care for and love people from my mother.  If we have one person who grounds us and teaches us, that’s all we need.  He reached out and took my hand and said he learned how to care for people from his mother too.  That was my early Mother’s Day present.  

Mothers help children discover who they are and what they want to become.  This story is told about a famous American painter Benjamin West. He is known for painting the Treaty of Paris and helped to create the Royal Academy.  “Benjamin always told the story of how he became a distinguished artist. One day, Benjamin was left at home to watch his baby sister. Unknown to his mother, he took out his paint oils and brushes–and painted a rather unique picture of his younger sister. He made a mess of the whole house. However, his mother returned home earlier than expected from her errands. She saw the awful mess and unique portrait of his younger sister. Benjamin said what she did next completely surprised him. She picked up his painting and said, “My, what a beautiful painting of your sister.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked away. With that kiss, West says, he became a painter. It was the kiss of encouragement. Mothers often see in their children what others cannot see and will not see. It is often the mother’s love that supplies the encouragement when their children are blinded by self-doubt and rebellion.  (So mothers, fathers too) never underestimate the power and influence you have by the example you set each day of your life. Abraham Lincoln once said, “No child is poor who has a godly mother.” (Sermons.com, Erik Ritz).

Mothers teach with their every action, sigh and look.  Mothers help to shape their children in the smallest of ways that can bloom into amazing legacies.  Yet what mothers do better than anyone is love.  Rudyard Kipling wrote, If I were hanged on the highest hill, I know whose love would follow me still. Mother of mine. Mother of mine. If I were drowned in the deepest sea, I know whose tears would come down to me. Mother of mine, Mother of mine. If I were damned by body and soul, I know whose prayers would make me whole. Mother of mine, mother of mine” (Sermons.com, Brett Blair).  

A mother’s love starts with just the idea, an idea that will change one’s life.  An anonymous author describes feelings that most mothers will relate to. Her words say it better than I could. Let me read them to you:

“We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of ‘starting a family.’ ‘We’re taking a survey,’ she says, half‑joking. ‘Do you think I should have a baby?’

“‘It will change your life,’ I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

“‘I know,’ she says, ‘no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations . . . .’

“But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of childbearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable…

“I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of ‘Mom!’ will cause her to drop a souffle or her best crystal without a moment’s hesitation.

“I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby’s sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right….

“Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years‑-not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

“I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children’s future. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

“My daughter’s quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. ‘You’ll never regret it,’ I finally say. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter’s hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. This blessed gift from God . . . that of being a Mother”  (Sermons.com, King Duncan). 

Amen.