A woman who had been married to her husband for 21 years approached him one day and said, “I want you to take another woman out to dinner and a movie.  I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”  The “other woman” happened to be his mother, who had been a widow for 19 years.  But with the demands of his work and his three children, he had only visited her occasionally.

That night he called her to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.  “What’s wrong?  Are you well?” she asked.  She suspected that this late night call and invitation might be a sign of bad news.  “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” he said, “just the two of us.”  She responded, “I would like that very much.”

That Friday after work, he drove to her house to pick her up, nervous, almost as if on a first date.  She was waiting in the door with her coat on.  She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary.  She smiled radiantly.  “I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,” she said as she got into the car, “and they can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”

They went to a nice restaurant, and she took his arm as if she were the First Lady.  After they sat down, he had to read the menu, because she could only read large print.  Half-way through the entrées, he looked up and saw his mother staring at him with a nostalgic smile on her lips.  “It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,” she said.  “Then it’s time you relaxed and let me return the favour,” he responded.  During the dinner, they had a nice conversation, catching up on life.  They talked so much that they missed the movie.  As he was dropping her off at her home, she said, “I’ll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.”  He agreed.  “How was your dinner date?” his wife asked when he got home.  “Very nice.  Much more so than I could have imagined,” he answered.

A few days later, his mother died of a massive heart attack.  It happened so suddenly that he didn’t have a chance to do anything for her.  Sometime later, he received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place he had taken his mother to dinner.  An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance.  I wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates – one for you and the other for your wife.  You will never know what that night meant for me.  I love you, son.”

At that moment, he understood the importance of saying “I love you,” and giving our loved ones the time they deserve.  Family is important.  Your mother is a gift from God.  Give her the time she deserves, because these things cannot be put off until some other time!

The second Sunday of May is Mother’s Day.  Since its origin in 1908, the day has grown into a bonanza for greeting card companies, florists, gift sellers, and restaurants looking to make a few bucks on people’s holiday zeal.  Or guilt.  But despite what commercialism has made of this day, if you and your mom are somehow estranged, you have no day like today to start getting in touch with her.  Give her the time she deserves, because these things can’t be put off.

But there is another “mother” we want to honour today.  Another “mother” who often gets neglected and deserves more time from us.  Most of us have been raised by her.  All of us have been fed by her.  Clothed by her.  Washed by her. Protected, loved, and encouraged by her. And every Sunday, this room is full of her kids who should be sorry about their neglect of her, that day, that week, that month, or even that year before.  Yeah, that mother!  The mother whose birth we are celebrating today on Pentecost.  The Bride of Christ.  The woman of Revelation 12 whose offspring are born in her womb and birthed in her baptismal font.

Mother Church.  Whose beginnings we celebrate on this Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit equipped the Apostles for the work of starting Christ’s Church on earth.  Mother Church.  The invisible Church.  The sum total of all believers in Jesus, her Bridegroom.  Mother Church – the Bride of Christ who is looking forward to the marriage celebration and union with Jesus in heaven.  Mother Church is the group of all believers.  It’s us.  The body of Christ.  She is precious to us and we ought to Give Her the Time She Deserves.

Mom doesn’t want the kids to just visit on Christmas, Easter, and maybe Mother’s Day.  She’d like to have every one of us around all the time!  All the good things our Father brings home – reconciliation, forgiveness, protection, and guidance – she readily shares with her family, as they gather in twos and threes or larger groups and receive strength through the Word and sacraments.  She sets the table with the wonderful meal provided by her Firstborn Son and invites the rest of us to eat and drink.  She misses the kids when they’re too busy with other stuff to even drop by for a couple hours each week.

Like any good parent, Mother wants us to grow up.  Unlike most parents, she doesn’t want us to move out.  Instead, she wants us to bring up our own families within the family that she has been raising with our Father.  Another mouth to feed?  No problem!  She exists to nourish our souls with the life-giving Word!  Huge loads of laundry?  Bring ‘em on, she says!  She has a way to make them all clean!  Like Father, like Mother:  She insists you behave yourself, yet she’s always ready to forgive when you don’t!

So how are you and Mom getting along?  Even if it’s been a while, she’s always glad to see you.  Just don’t try to fool yourself into thinking that as long as you and your Father are on good terms, you can forget about her.  Oh, you are a Christian, and you know Jesus has forgiven you, but you don’t need to always go to church, right?  Wrong.  The Father and our mother go together.  Disrespect and neglect of Mother is disrespect and neglect of Father.  He has made it very clear that He wants us to honour Him by gathering together to worship and be in his Word!

Our Mother’s place is our Father’s house, and He warns us not to “give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,” but rather to cherish and seek out every opportunity to join the rest of the family, and “let us encourage one another,” and “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”  Read Hebrews 10:24-25. 

Unlike our secular holiday of Mother’s Day, the Lord’s Day comes around every week – and each new Lord’s Day also brings a fresh Mother’s Day.  With it comes a fresh opportunity to join with our “Mother” – which actually includes all our brothers and sisters in Christ – to celebrate our family.  To have our dirty “clothes” replaced with the clean robes of righteousness when we hear the message of forgiveness through our brother Jesus.  To have our spiritual hunger nourished through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.  And to have our need for communion and community and fellowship and encouragement met.  The same thing that our earthly mothers do for us on a physical level, our spiritual mother, the Church, the Bride of Christ, does for us on a spiritual level.

When you were little, did you ever ask your dad: “If you get Father’s Day and Mom gets Mother’s Day, why isn’t there a Kids’ Day?”  I can guess his answer.  He said, “Every day is Children’s Day!” didn’t he?  Well, for the Christian, this is especially true.  Every day we live in our Father’s grace through Jesus is a blessed day for us!  And our days are extra special when we spend them with our Heavenly Father, our Holy “Mother,” and the rest of the family!

So this Mother’s Day – and every Sunday – don’t forget Mother.  Don’t forget Church.  Give Her the Time She Deserves.  Because she can’t be put off until another time.  Bring a gift if you want.  But it’s not required.  Like your own mother probably is, She’s happy if you just bring yourself.  Come back home and rediscover how much she and the Father love you.  Spending time with her, spending time here, will remind you of God’s amazing love to us through Jesus!  You are forgiven for your past.  You are given a new life!  Honour your Father and mother with it!   Amen.