[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter 5A- “The Origin of Mothers’ Day” or “Enough Is Enough!”

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 5/13/17  5:48 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Easter 5A- “The Origin of Mothers’ Day” or “Enough Is Enough!” 


Dear
Friends,



This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “The Origin of Mothers’ Day” or “Enough Is Enough!”
and deals with various Bible selections. 
Here it is: 



Happy Mothers’
Day!  Did you hear Jesus say that he is
the way, the truth, and the life?  It’s
that last promise, fullness of life that I’d like us to think about this
morning.  Do you have fullness of life
right now?  Are you accessing all that
life has to offer, or are you sidetracked? 
If we’re old hands at walking with Christ, or if we’re newcomers, or if
perhaps we haven’t really started yet, let’s invest some time this morning
examining our lives to see if there are any possibilities we’re missing.



The best example I could
think of to illustrate accessing Jesus’ Way, Truth, and Life is an old nursery
rhyme. Do you remember the strange song we chanted as children- “Ring Around
the Roses?  ”Yes- you did hear me right-
Ring Around the Roses.”  I used it as an
example a couple of years ago, but I’m going to refresh your memory about where
it comes from.  Either I never knew or I
had forgotten.  It comes from the 1600’s
when a terrible disease, the Black Death, was sweeping through Europe.  The reason it was called the Black Death was
that huge black splotches covered the bodies of the sick.  Apparently this disease started in England
with just a few deaths, but within a few years it was killing huge numbers of
people.  Doctors were convinced it was
caused by bad air, so when someone got sick, the sick person would join hands
with other sick people and circle around and around a bed of roses or other
flowers with beautiful scents.  If
someone was too sick to walk, the doctor would stuff rose petals into his or
her pocket, bring the petals into the sickroom, and then place the flowers
under the patient’s nose so the smell from the flowers would purify the bad air
that the sick person had in his or her lungs. 
If someone was on their deathbed, the doctor would burn some rose petals
and then place the ashes under the nose of the dying person, hoping that the
patient would sneeze, thus forcing all the bad air out of their lungs.  On top of that, every day someone was hired
to push the body cart through the streets collecting all the dead bodies from
people who had succumbed to the illness the previous night.  As he pushed, he sang, “Ring around the
roses.  A pocket full of posies.  Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!”  Unfortunately, hardly anyone got better from
this treatment.  Do you know why?  Because they had the wrong cause- the Black
Death wasn’t caused by bad air.  It was
caused by germs that were on the fleas that were on the rats that were all over
the place.  You can’t cure a disease
caused by germs if you have people breathe nice-smelling air.



Now the people in that
century can be excused for making that mistake. 
They didn’t know anything about germs, didn’t have microscopes, and were
doing the best they could.  Regardless of
how well-meaning they were, however, people died.  Do you know we make the same mistake?  How many people make the wrong diagnoses
about how to make decisions that are life-empowering?  They rely on everything and everybody for
decision-making except for God- in spite of the fact that Jesus promised; “I am
LIFE.”  They live by their own
preconceived ideas of truth instead of living the TRUTH as Jesus proclaimed it
to be.  Just because we sit in a pew
every Sunday doesn’t make us immune from being brainwashed by our culture to
follow its set of so-called truths.  



Let me tell you about
one of the biggest, most incorrect diagnoses, successful brainwashing our
culture has accomplished- the meaning of Mothers’ Day.  Do you know how Mothers’ Day started?  Happy Mothers’ Day!  Do you know how Mothers’ Day started?  Listen to how amazingly their long-ago
situation matches ours today!  The first known
suggestion that the USA should observe a Mothers’ Day came in 1872.  It was proposed by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe in
response to the human destruction of the Civil War.  Her purpose for suggesting Mothers’ Day was
to stop wars; as women- protect our husbands and families and children from
war.  She and her husband wrote an
anti-slavery newspaper and she wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic (“Mine
eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling out the
vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful
lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on. (Chorus) Glory,
glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His
truth is marching on.”)  Dr. Martin
Luther King often quoted from this hymn. 
He ended his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech with part of it:
“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead.
But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop…Mine
eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”  

So you see- the real
meaning of Mothers’ Day wasn’t about beautiful cards (although I love them),
taking Mom out to dinner at a wonderful restaurant (although it sounds good to
me), or buying a lovely gift to show her how much you care (although I’m surely
not one to turn down presents).  Ladies-
it was about sticking together to find a way to protect our husbands and
families and children from war.  Has it
occurred to you- we’re living in multiple war zones now!  Families fight!  Neighbors squabble!  Gangs kill! 
Our beloved country is engaged in war after war after war.  Today’s sermon is really not about war, but
about the opposite of war- peace and love. 

Let’s find a way and
start.  Jesus said- “I am the way, the
truth, and the LIFE.”  All those killings
in Flint, a shooting Friday in Saginaw- that’s not the life Jesus has for us.
Let’s use these Bible teachings and INSIST our families live by them while they
are under our roofs, eating our food, and wearing the clothes we buy for them.  Here are some Bible directives: 

“But if
we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. How can we love God
(whom we can’t see), if we don't love our neighbors (whom we can see)?”
(1st John 4: 20)  “Dear friends,
don’t try to get even. Let God take revenge.” (Rome 12: 19a) Someone talked
to me the other day.  She was suffering unbelievable
with grief, because her son had been murdered a few months ago.  She is a serious Christian lady, and she was
not going to get revenge- although she had the opportunity.  What she figured- why would she give the
murderer the easy way out?  God’s revenge
is a whole lot more effective than ours. 
It’s worth waiting on God, “The
anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20)“Stop all
your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what
you say.  Stop being bitter and angry and
mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude.  Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive
others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:
selections from 23-32)   And what about our own behavior and example?  












 Do
     you swear at your children or loved ones? 
     Never again!
 Are
     you argumentative?  Don’t try to
     win.  If anyone wins, everyone
     loses.  Solve and resolve the
     problem.
 Do
     you say things like “I brought you into this world- I can take you out of
     this world!




Final question: Are you passing on your family values to your beloved
children?  Do you have a process to do
that?  Here are some thoughts:


 Bring
     dinner around the dining room table back- NO TV, CELL PHONES, EAR BUDS.
 Pray
     with your children before bedtime and in the morning before they go out of
     the door.
 Don’t
     stick up for your children when they are wrong, just because an outside
     adult is criticizing them.
 Talk
     and listen! Talk and listen!  Talk
     and listen!




Happy Mothers’ Day.  May we
ladies enjoy the goodies, but may all of us remember it’s Jesus roots.  May God bless us all.





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