Mother’s Day and Idol Worship

Mother’s Day Sermon 2011

Mother’s Day, 2010
Last year, Drew was born in March and I was on maternity leave for the following two months.  (By the way, my husband once referred to maternity leave as my “little vacation.”  Once.  I think I corrected him with a heavy dose of postpartum screaming.  Those were an intense couple of months and I’m amazed that Jim and I both survived!)  My first Sunday back at church was Mother’s Day, and I was asked to preach.  This was a little intimidating, considering most of the topics I had been meditating on for the last many weeks had to do with a) poop b) breastfeeding or c) poop.  Our church was in a year-long series through the Bible called Bible 360, and my sermon landed right in the middle of the Wisdom Literature, in the book of Proverbs.  My sermon was addressed to Drew, so I called it: “Proverbs for My Son.”  Somehow I came out of the sleep-deprived, poop-saturated-brain-haze, because lots of people said kind things about the sermon.  Many people even cried a little, and that’s the gold standard of preaching.  If you can make ’em cry, you’ve won.  They teach us that in seminary.

If you’d like, you can WATCH the video through our church’s website here or LISTEN here.  Or you can WATCH or LISTENthrough iTunes by selecting the May 8, 2010 sermon.

I will say that being back in the pulpit after so many months was a huge high for me.  We didn’t even attend church in those two months after Drew was born.  This was the longest I’d been away from Sunday morning church since, um, my first year of college.  OK. My first three years of college.  I was starved for community and adult conversation, and standing up to speak in front of our congregation after my long  hiatus from church was incredibly meaningful for me.  Being able to put motherhood and pastorhood together in one message felt like the culmination of a long dream.  I get a little trippy anytime I can be both a pastor and a mom at the same time.  These are my two lifetime dreams, and to have both of them come true at once is pretty breathtaking.  It was an incredible Sunday for me.  I can’t say the same for my iHusband, Jim, who had to leave after the first sentence of the message with a screaming newborn who didn’t understand that he was supposed to sit through the message and listen.  Darn Preachers’ Kids.

Mother’s Day 2011
You know what they say about being asked to do the dishes?  If you don’t want to be asked to do them again, just drop a dish.  Evidently I didn’t drop anything in 2010 because I was asked to preach Mother’s Day yet again this year.  I had a couple of discussions with my fellow-pastors (They’re all fellows, by the way. All 8 of them) about why they would prefer not to preach on Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day is treacherous waters where preachers are concerned.  You have to strike just the right balance of proclaiming the Gospel, worshipping God, and worshipping the moms among you.  Say too little about mothers in your message and you’ll get some pretty dirty looks. Fail to mention them altogether and you’re going to hear about it before you get out the door!  It may not be a religious holiday by most calendars, but in the church it is a high and holy day.  Mess with Pentecost. Ignore Lent.  But don’t touch Mother’s Day.

A couple of preachers I know even call Mother’s Day and the Sunday closest to the Fourth of July: “Throwaway Worship.”  As in: “Well, we’re not really worshipping God this Sunday, but we’ll get back to that next week.”  I was told again and again by different people that my sermon needed to be “all about mothers” or an angry mob of moms would follow me home with pitchforks.

I completely disagree.  Anything we worship in place of God becomes an idol for us, and the Old Testament is clear on what God thinks of idols and what He does with them.  I had no desire to preach a sentimental sermon about the sweetness of motherhood, or how “God couldn’t be everywhere, so He created mothers.” (In my top 5 most hated church signs of all time. And that’s sayin something. I really hate cheesy church signs.)  So I chose a text about idolatry.  From a book of the Bible that never mentions a woman.  I told my own mom what I had chosen and she looked a little scared of what I might say.  But as riled up as I get while preparing for a sermon, thinking I might go all “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” on people, I always soften things up a little before stepping into the pulpit.

And once again the response was good.  No broken dishes on the floor, more than a few tears in the congregation, so I guess I’ll be struggling with the same questions again this time next year.

I’d love your feedback if you’d like to WATCH or LISTEN through our church website. Or you can WATCH or LISTEN via iTunes by choosing “Icons and Idols” on May 8, 2011.

What do you think is the place of cultural holidays and national holidays in Christian worship?  Who was being worshipped on Mother’s Day at your church?

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42 Comments

Marye

Great story, Jessica! I will watch your sermons soon. The most stressful holiday for me when the fils were growing up was Easter. As a young mom, I felt like the girls should be dressed in their Easter hatband there was usually a fight at the Nickens’ house about the ridiculous amount of money spent to have everyone in acceptable Easter attire on that day! One day Jay said, “let’s go to the beach instead”, and we did! From that Easter forward, I never bought another Easter dress. It was liberating to not participate in the expectations that I felt the church imposed on
me as a mom on Easter. My friend,Mary Brown and I were on the same page about this. She suggested that I could always feel free to ignore the self imposed pressure to conform to the ways of the world, even in church. I have done this for quite some time now and it it liberating!

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Jessica

Marye,
What a sweet story about the freedom to raise your girls in faith but without the pressure of “church culture.” I’m not surprised at all that Mary Brown was a mentor for you in that area. I miss her so much.

You have no idea what an inspiration you’ve been to me as a mom. You and Jay have raised some amazing young women. Congrats on the upcoming wedding!
~Jessica

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Brittany Hamilton

Upcoming wedding??? Marye, I don’t know if you remember me, but I grew up at Pasadena FUMC MYF and I knew your oldest well. Is she getting married?

By the way Jessica…I’m VERY impressed with your blogging 🙂 I enjoy it…even though I don’t relate to any of it yet but it’s nice to have this for the future!

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Brittany Hamilton

Oh and Marye…my maiden name was Brittany Hampton…no, it didn’t change much 🙂

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Becky Hamrick

I have always known that 1. You have a beautiful voice!!!! 2. You know stuff..you have a deepens that goes far beyond your age.(does tat make sense?) 3. What a delight!!! This side of you that is so real!!
Great fun!!! I love your blog…..

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Kimberly Constant

Congratulations on your new blog! I am sure it will be excellent :). Looking forward to reading about the insights God gives you!

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Bryce

Jessica,

My mother called me to tell me that your sermon was fantastic. She said, “You’ve got to hear it.” My mom is quite the sermon critic so of course I had to check it out. (not only as my daughterly duty but because I wanted to hear my friend:) So, I uploaded it to my iPod and listened on my way to work. WOW! I loved it. Great job! Probably the thing that hit me the most, as I struggle with the fatigue of motherhood that my husband doesn’t understand, is that there is a sweetness to being the quite “someone” behind the scenes. It is a sweet fulfillment that is difficult to describe. However, your imagery using Icons captured it! Thank you so much for a desperately needed reminder. Miss you!

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Jessica

Doing things without recognition for them is just one of the tiny things God uses to teach us about Himself, don’t you think? There’s so many more – I’m still learning. Miss you too!
~Jessica

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Laura

Reverend, mother, your alert was the best thing in my in-box this morning. Mothers were praised from the first sentence of the sermon at my house of worship, so much so that I found myself mentally arguing with the preacher. Your sermon was a bold move and will leave a deeper impression, I think # partly because we don’t talk about idolatry nearly enough, and partly because … Well, if I say that, it’ll be a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t watched or listened to the sermon but plans to.
Blog: we have liftoff. It’s good to read your voice again.

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Jessica

Ugh. I’ve been to way too many of those sermons that seems to take a Mother’s Day Card as its text instead of a Scripture.

Thanks for visiting here, Laura. It’s not nearly as great as having you here in person, but it’ll do as a way to connect for now.
~Jessica

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Joy

Hi Jessica: That was a great sermon. It was so timely. We started a women’s Bible study in my neighborhood this spring and did an 8 week Bible Study called No Other Gods ~ Confronting our modern-day idols by Kelly Minter. We had just finished the week before and then I heard your sermon. I was thinking God must be thinking I need to hear some more on this subject….
♥ Joy

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Joy

Oh and another thing about your question. I’m reading more about pagan roots of our church holidays and I’m really starting to wonder about the things we do as Christians. Are they as innocent as we believe they are and what does God think of it.
♥ Joy

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Jessica

Interesting comment on the pagan roots of holidays. There’s a Methodist Church in Houston that doesn’t celebrate Christmas at all… Wonder if Ed Robb would let us consider that? 😉
~Jessica

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Jenn

“You know what they say about being asked to do the dishes? If you don’t want to be asked to do them again, just drop a dish.” I tried that. Once. And I had to do the dishes even MORE often afterward. Talk about backfiring! 🙂

What a beautiful sermon, what a beautiful message. Add me to your happy new followers. 🙂

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Jessica

If you drop enough dishes you don’t have to wash them anymore because… no more dishes! 😉
~Jessica

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Annette

I’m so excited about this venture – you have many things to say to many people. It’s a treat to be in your congregation and to hear you speak. I only wish it could be more often – after all, you will be Bishop LaGrone some day! With regard to secular holidays, I remember my father would always acknowledge them from the pulpit but typically not make them the focus of the sermon or service. He served 13 years in a rural town west of St. Louis, comprised largely of German ancestry. Since a lot of the congregation and community were farmers and industrial workers, acknowledging occasions like Labor Day and the armed services holidays was important. When it came to Mother’s Day, he would intertwine the topic with scripture, giving women of the congregation and the Bible quite a bit of importance. I think he got it right – it was a good balance, and I have to say that with regard to women, he was progressive for that generation. Dear Reverend, Mother, Pastor, Friend, Future Bishop and Fellow Baby-lover: I’ll be praying for God to use your blog to reach even more people for His kingdom. Thanks for letting me weigh-in.

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Jessica

I wish I had known your dad. I think I really would’ve liked him. Sounds like he struck the balance well. There are always expectations to deal with, and then there’s faithfulness to the Gospel. When we can do both it’s a win-win.

Thanks for your kind words, Annette!
~Jessica

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Mindy

Absolutely loved your sermon! Thanks for creating this blog so we all can benefit! I can’t wait for more!

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Elizabeth

Jessica!
It’s great to read your stories and hear your voice in my head. I’ll be following, for sure.

As for Mother’s Day, every church I have worked in or worshiped in has made it a huge deal, which I find sort of amazing. One church even gave flowers to all the women, because those of us who weren’t mothers would be someday.

This Mother’s Day was particularly meaningful for me because I was able to worship with my husband and my two amazing kiddos. However, I was a bit underwhelmed at the sermon, which was all about how great mothers are. I wanted to be in church with my family to worship, not to hear about how great I was. Give me a good, from-the-heart, spirit-filled sermon ANY day (yes, even on Christmas and Easter).

I look forward to reading more!

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Jessica

Great to hear from you! I totally agree with your sentiment here about “give me a good, from-the-heart, spirit filled sermon any day” – why else would we come to church? Not to be honored ourselves. Maybe this is a generational thing? I wouldn’t mind the church not mentioning some of the secular holidays at all.
Come visit again soon!
~Jessica

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Kerri

I love reading (and hearing) your insightful words. Can’t wait for more!

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Jenny

I will listen to your sermon in the morning!! The last service of our church on Mother’s Day ended up having to be Senior Sunday. Haha. Because of conflicting schedules and many other Senior (grads not citizens…) events this was the only possibly day. I emailed all of my grad’s moms to get permission and was overwhelmed with a unanimous vote to share the day. I had two 18-year old ladies split the sermon time and they did an amazing job of not only celebrating their moms but also the love of Christ. It was a surpisingly worshipful Mother’s day!! Love ya Jess

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Marla Rice

I haven’t yet had a chance to listen to your sermon, but I would love to soon! The Mother’s Day sermon at our church was not at all focused on motherhood. We did recognize mothers at the beginning of the service, and we also had a baby dedication. I thought it was appropriate to acknowledge Mother’s Day, but not make the service all about it.

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Jessica

Sounds like it was a great service! Thanks for visiting here, Marla. I love seeing pictures of your sweet girls. I know you’re a fantastic mom.
~Jessica

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Kelsey

This Mother’s Day, our son Henry was baptized at Westbury UMC. The worship revolved around being the beloved of God. There was an appropriate tie-in to recognizing moms but it was broader than that# the message spoke to the entire family of God and our mutual responsibility in teaching children about faith and the story that connects us all.

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Jessica

Kelsey,
Thanks for your comment here. Sounds like it was an amazing Mother’s Day – to have your little boy baptized. Your pastor is a good friend of mine, by the way. Small world!
~Jessica

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Jennifer N

Our church did it well, I think, this year. They had a video near the beginning thanking moms- biological, spiritual, relational- whatever capacty a woman serves to uplift, guide, counsel, love others. I thought it was fitting because even when a church chooses to highlight moms there’s always that tension of thanking moms without hurting those who have lost their moms or those who can’t have children, etc.

Then the sermon was all about Jesus.

I think they reached a good balance of highlighting moms without that being the central focus of worship.

As for other holidays, one that tends to bother me is churches that do Easter egg hunts at church on Easter…

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Jessica

Sounds like you’ve found a great church! That’s a hard balance to strike – when you want to honor moms but not stir up pain in others. It’s one we struggle with every Mother’s and Father’s Day.
Easter Eggs, on the other hand, don’t come up much as a struggle. We do a huge one on Saturday – but thankfully focus on the Resurrection on Easter.
Thanks for your comments, Jennifer!
~Jessica

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Kay

Having heard both of your Mothers’ Day sermons as a member of the congregation, let me assure you that God was worshipped in both. You effectively balanced the focus on God and the focus on the responsibility of parents in the rearing of children. I am one of your most devout fans and am always thrilled when you preach! You are gifted in your interpretation of scripture as well as your communicating of the Word to those listening. Great new blog! Thanks for the opportunity to follow your thoughts and respond!

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Kathryn Crawford

Jessica,
We are members of “your” church and were out of town for Mother’s Day. I heard from friends that your sermon was incredible, so I made a point of watching it. WOW! Each time you preach, I keep thinking that God has allowed you to hit your peak. However, you never fail to amaze me with your wisdom and message. I am so thankful that God has blessed our church with a preacher and woman of your faith, love and wisdom. I loved both of your Mother’s Day sermons and last year forwarded that sermon to friends of different faith backgrounds and across the country. I also sent the 2011 one to someone with whom I’d just been discussing the importance of our roles as moms and grandmas. Your photos of your little guy are precious and I am so pleased that God chose to place him with you and Jim!
I love your blog and will visit it again.
Thanks again for all you do for the women of our church and for touching others through this format, as well.

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Jessica

Thanks Kathryn! What awesome compliments. I’m so thankful we’re part of an amazing church together.
~Jessica

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Kendon Wheeler

Jessica, love your blog and listened to your Mother’s Day sermon…awesome!

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Jessica

Thanks Kendon! How cool to have a friend all the way in Guatemala reading this! I look forward to seeing you again soon.
~Jessica

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Melodie England

Beautiful, inspiring sermon. Each time I hear the story of Daniel I’ll remember this particular sermon!

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Sean Gladding

jessica,

love this post – and no doubt will love the sermon itself! for my first mother’s day sermon (at mercy street) i chose the story of Ya’el hammering the tent peg into Sisera’s skull. after the scripture was read, i stood up and declared “happy mother’s day”. but that’s another story… 😉

keep writing – and keep preaching!

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Erin Oliver

Jessica,

I haven’t watched your sermons, as we are getting ready to move and craziness abounds! But, as an infertile woman and a pastor, I can tell you that I look forward to Mother’s Day like I look forward to major surgery with no anesthesia! It seems that on that day we revert to the idea that a woman’s sole purpose in this world is to bear and raise children…and if you can’t, to bad for you! I have refused to preach anything but Christ on that day and tried hard to educate my churches on why. Certainly we pray for mother’s as well as all those who struggle on that day and I encourage them to celebrate. But, for one hour I wanted to create a safe place, a place where the hurting could come and rest. Not only infertile women/couples, but those who had lost a child, those who have lost mothers or who never had one. There are so many we just shove aside on that day. And yes, it does make me angry. I’m normally not angry about this, I can handle it, but for the many out there that avoid church on that day to avoid pain…I stand up for them.
All that to say…thanks for preaching the Gospel!

Erin

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Blossom Matthews

I didn’t learn about these unwritten rules early in ministry, so my first Mother’s Day sermon was on the rape of the concubine in the book of Judges. After all, I figured it was a women’s issues sermon! I still contend that it was a theologically rich sermon with important implications, but would never preach such a heavy sermon on Mother’s Day again. Our poor little church (which Nick was student pastoring at the time) didn’t say a word about it! Though I’ve mellowed (considerably), I still don’t buy the unwritten rule that one must preach on motherhood. I agree wholeheartedly that this becomes idolatry (and a painful idolatry for women who have lost a child or been unable to have a child).

I have preached on Mom-related topics at times, but refuse to do so just because I *have* to. Hope that’s more a sign of devotion to God than rebellion against imposed rules! But seriously, I’ve found that if you get your sentimental stuff over with earlier in the sermon, you are more free to preach the Gospel during the sermon time. And then we can get on the important work of preparing to actually observe Pentecost and preach on the work of the Holy Spirit!

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Sarah Turner

Love your new blog! Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to read more and “watch” Drew grow up. And you grow up as a mom! So far (9.5 yrs) it has been fun, rewarding, hard, tearful, joyful, painful, wow-I’m-a-terrible-mom, wow-did-Ijust-give-that-amazing-advice?, and so many other things for me and I know you will be great at it. Looking forward to more!!

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