Mother's Day!

2 Fears associated with Mother's Day Messages

1. Mother's are afraid
-- I Won't measure up

2. Everyone else is afraid
-- I don't do enough for my mother
-- This will be irrelevant since I'm not a mother

2 Reliefs

1. We'll take a realistic look
2. We'll take a relevant look

How will it be relevant?
1. There is more than 1 kind of mother
a. Biological
b. Spiritual (Galatians 4:19)
c. Heavenly (Galatians 4:26)

Our Subject: The most famous mother of all time

A. Clearing up the Debris

Bible doesn't tell us about Mary, but that hasn't stopped us from filling in the gaps
1. She was NOT immaculately conceived
2. She was NOT sinless
3. She was NOT a perpetually virgin
4. She did NOT ascend to heaven bodily
5. SHe is NOT our great intercessor or co-redeemer

Quotes from Popes
"no man goeth to Christ but by His mother" (Pope Leo 13)
"Mary, his associate in redemption, transcending all others" (Pope Pious 12)
"To her Jesus entrusts His church & all humanity" (Pope Jean Paul 2)

This distracts us from the Biblical picture of Mary, which we can learn much from

B. What can we learn from Mary?

1. She valued presence (Christmas, Jerusalem, Cross)
-- We live in a world more interested in STUFF than PEOPLE
-- Will we make time for our children, parents, Jesus

2. She was in a process (contemplative, cana, crazy)
-- We live in a world more focused on NOW than NEXT
-- Will we walk with Jesus this week, this year, this life?

3. She passed on the baton (Acts, Christmas source, praying for us)
-- We live in a world most obsessed with SELF not OTHERS
-- Will we invest in others, share the story of Jesus, see the big picture?

C. How can we best honor our mothers?

The best way to honor our biological, spiritual & heavenly mothers is to get into the presence of Jesus, stay in a process with Jesus & pass on to eternity with Jesus.