Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!
So, if that saying is wrong, what ought we do about it? I know what you most certainly should not
do: do not call the Methodist church and tell them that your pastor said they
need to change their sign! What we
need to do is live in such a way that the truth of the matter is abundantly
clear; we need to live in a way that fulfills the prayer of Jesus. We need to be a clear sign for
others. You and I are to live our
lives in such a way that people who see us can’t help but say, “I know that God
is everywhere. I know because I’ve
seen him: I’ve seen him in them.
Not only have they been sent by Jesus, but Jesus lives in them.”
Seventh Sunday of Easter C
Have you ever noticed the church sign out in front of the
Methodist church on Main Street? I
was talking with some folks about it just the other day, and we were wondering
where they get all those clever sayings.
Some of them are quite funny, others are thought-provoking, and others downright
inspirational. Have you seen what
it says right now? “God couldn’t be everywhere so he created
mothers!” Isn’t that
sweet? And just in time for
Mothers Day! I looked that saying
up to see where it comes from, and a number of different sources were
suggested: some say it’s an old Jewish proverb, some say it was written by
Rudyard Kipling, and other say it’s from Erma Bombeck. Regardless of where it comes from, can
you guess my first thought on seeing the sign? “That’s wrong…”
Now, to be clear: I’m not trying to start an ecumenical fight here! But that saying is flawed on two
fronts.
This first is that it sells God short. One of the things that makes God, God,
is that he is everywhere.
God is all-knowing, almighty, and all-present. He told us so himself.
As we heard in our second reading, from the Book of Revelation, “I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the
end.” God is eternal, and he is
everywhere. The second thing wrong
with that saying is that it sells mothers short, too. It makes moms little more than a replacement, a substitute,
for someone who couldn’t be there.
Of course, if you’re going to be an understudy, being God’s understudy
isn’t so bad…but still: a mother’s role is clearly so much more than being a
second-string player.
In our first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear
a story about St. Stephen—not a mother, but the Church’s first martyr. We’re told that Stephen has a
vision of Jesus, seeing him off in heaven, seated at God’s right hand. Especially in these days following the
Lord’s ascension, that can give the impression that God isn’t actually
everywhere: he’s up in heaven while we’re here on our own down on earth. And then we’re told about Stephen’s
martyrdom. As he’s being stoned to
death, we hear him day two things: “Lord, forgive them this sin!” and, “Lord,
receive my spirit!” Those should
sound familiar: they’re things we
heard Jesus say from his Cross.
Again, we could get the impression that Stephen is an understudy: just
repeating the Lord’s lines.
But what’s happening here runs much deeper than Stephen’s words; he’s
doing exactly what Jesus did his whole life long: reaching out to others with
mercy, and reaching up to the Father with complete trust. We can recognize Jesus alive and active
in St. Stephen—not distant in heaven, but very close: suffering in him and with
him on earth. God is very present
in that moment and in that man dying for his faith.
What’s true of this martyr is also very true of mothers, who
also lay down their lives for others. Yet it’s not only true of mothers, but also of
fathers, and of children, and of single people, and of priests, and of religious—of
all the Christian faithful. God is
present everywhere, and one of the ways he chooses to make his presence known
is in you and me. We see
this in our gospel reading.
Jesus is still at table with the Apostles at the Last Supper, and he’s
praying: praying not only for them, but for you and me, too—for all who will
come to believe through them.
Jesus makes it clear that just as the Father is in him, so he will be in
us. His disciples recognized the
Father’s love and glory in Jesus; he prays that that same love and glory will
be apparent in us. Just as
the Father sent the Son, so the Son sends us into the world to make him known:
God living in Christ, and Christ living his followers. That’s so much more than being
second-string! God is, in fact,
everywhere, and that’s why he made mothers—and all the rest of us, too: to be
present with and in and through us.
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