"Mothers Rule" - Acts:1:6-14 - May 12, 2002

Israel has been in the news almost everyday the last several months. Seeing the reports reminds me of my visit there in 1986. I remember walking in many of those areas that the media now takes us to, only through our televisions sets. I’ve walked through the door of the Church of Nativity. I’ve sat in a cafe along the streets of Haifa. It’s shocking to think that today I wouldn’t be free to move about in the Holy Land like I was years ago.

One report included scenes at the wailing wall. I remember being there too. On that particular day there was a Bar Mitzvah taking place. A young Hebrew boy was carrying the Torah. A rabbi was there dressed in white, leading the ceremony. The boy’s father and elders of the synagogue were there too. It was all taking place on the "male only" side of the wailing wall. The area was separated by a fence, kind of like a snow fence. On the other side there were nothing but women. Close to the fence where this young man was being initiated were several women. One particular woman, who I assumed to be the boy’s grandmother, was giving instructions to the men on the other side. It was obvious who was really in charge of this religious rite of passage.

Men may think they are in charge, but we all really know that it’s mothers who rule.

After the disciples of Jesus witnessed his ascension they returned to the upper room. Dumfounded and confused they returned to that special place where they had shared their last meal together. All eleven of them were there, but they weren’t alone. For when they returned to the upper room, guess who was waiting? None other than Mary, the mother of Jesus. There were other women there too, although there names aren’t given.

I find it fascinating that at this crucial juncture in the life of the early church, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was present. This wasn’t the only time that we have accounts of Mary’s presence. She was at the cross (John 19:25), at the tomb on the morning of the resurrection (Mark 16:l), at the wedding in Cana (John 2:3) and at the temple, the day he read the scriptures (Luke 2:46). These are just some of the accounts for which we have a record. I am sure there were many others.

The point is that Mary was included with the group of disciples who were charged with the continuation of Jesus’ ministry. I suspect that the paternalistic nature of the scriptures ignored Mary as a contributor if not an important leader of the early church. At the very least, her nurturing helped to enhance their faith and give them confidence to move forward.

The ascension represents a physical separation. Jesus is no longer with the disciples in human form. Rather, in the future he will be with them as a spiritual presence. Jesus told them that soon "the Holy Spirit will come upon you." For me this event is the watershed moment of the faith of the disciples. They are now on their own. Like the young boy who had his Bar Mitzvah, the disciples have reached their moment to be in ministry at the time of the ascension. It was a significant rite of passage.

I will never forget the time I moved away from my parents in 1979. Until that year I had always lived in close proximity to them. Except for my college years and time in the Navy, this was the first time as an adult I had literally cut the apron strings and ventured out on my own. It was soon thereafter that I entered the ministry.

Without a physical separation from our parents, especially our mothers, we can’t be who we have to be. At the same time, the spiritual presence of our mothers is always with us.

I believe that Mother’s Day is probably more important to those of you who have lost your mothers than those of you whose mothers are still living. You understand the real meaning of separation and loss. I am sure that just as the disciples stared at the heavens grieving over the loss of Jesus that you find yourselves at times staring into the heavens too. It is during those moments you remember things your mother said or did, things she taught you or critical moments in your life that she shared with you. Mothers give us wisdom, mothers walk with us through difficult moments of life. Mothers just understand and love us like no one else can.

The day I left Florida I remember my mother standing in the driveway trying desperately to hold back the tears. She sensed I would not be returning. Mothers are like that. They have the ability to sense things that men don’t seem to have. As strange as this may sound I felt that at that moment I was also being affirmed in my decision to move on. Although it was painful for my mother to see one of her sons move away it was also something she had to do. I had come into my own and it was time to make my life’s journey.

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone in the wise woman’s bag, admired it, and asked the wise woman to give it to him. The wise woman did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the jewel was worth enough to give him security for the rest of his life.

But a few days later he came back, searching for the wise woman. When he found her, he returned the stone and said, "I have been thinking. I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back to you in the hope that you can give me something much more precious. If you can, give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone." (from The Best of Bits & Pieces)

Jesus was wise enough to know that the disciples needed help after he was gone. On the day of ascension he gave them a great gift. He gave them hope to continue loving others the way he loved them. Jesus was leaving but he was also transferring power to the disciples. They would no longer be together in the physical way they had in the past. But, they would not be powerless, not unable to "make it on their own." Empowered by the love of Jesus, they could proceed with their lives and their mission.

In verse 4, the disciples are told "not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait." In other words, Jesus promised them that they would receive power, but not at that moment. They would have to be patient.

No one teaches us patience better than mothers. When it comes to patience, mothers rule. This shouldn’t surprise us. Before we even came into the world our mothers had to wait nine months for us to be born. For them, patience is a prerequisite to life.

When it comes to matters of faith, we want God to respond to our needs immediately. Since we live in a society where everything is available to us and getting what we need as quickly as possible is a given, we somehow think that God should do the same. One of the primary attributes of being a person of faith is to be patient. "Wait," Jesus said. I am reminded of what it says in Isaiah, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31)

The disciples must have been patient since they returned to Jerusalem and waited. Soon thereafter, the Day of Pentecost happened and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Notice that their waiting included three key variables. First, they prayed. Secondly, they were together, and third, the women were included. Prayer, togetherness and the inclusion of women in the community of faith were all essential dynamics in order for the church to survive.

Just as our mothers all gave birth to us, the church was born with the help of women. And one particular woman is named, Mary, Mother of Jesus. When I read this story it makes me proud that I am part of a denomination that ordains women. Not only do we include women in our church’s ministry, many are in positions of leadership in the United Church of Christ. And, I am proud to say, that for the first time in the history of St. Paul’s Church, one half of the members of Church Council are woman. It just so happens that all six of them are mothers.

One cold evening during the holiday season, a little boy about six or seven was standing out in front of a store window. The little child had no shoes and his clothes were mere rags. A young woman passing by saw the little boy and could read the longing in his pale blue eyes. She took the child by the hand and led him into the store. There she bought him some new shoes and a complete suit of warm clothing.

They came back outside into the street and the woman said to the child, "Now you can go home and have a very happy holiday." The little boy looked up at her and asked, "Are you God, Ma’am?" She smiled down at him and replied, "No son, I’m just one of God’s children." The little boy then said, "I knew you had to be some relation." (from Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul)

Women, especially mothers, have been at the heart and soul of the church from the very beginning. They gave us the gift of life and then nudged us out into the world. They taught us patience. They nurtured us and gave us the gift of love. Just as Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to keep us going, mothers too have given us their love to sustain us. Our ascension into life is made possible by one simple fact; mothers rule.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio