Gordon McPhee

                                                Matthew 22: 34-46

THE WAY A MOTHER CARES

Introduction:

If we were looking for wise insight into the characteristics of a truly caring mother, I’m not sure many of us would turn first to Saint Paul. As wise and profound as his letters are, most of us, I think, would consider him a little out of touch with a topic that delves so deeply into the realm of the ‘touchy-feely’. Beside the obvious, that he is a first-century male who didn’t marry or have children, he is attributed, justly or otherwise, with a less than fully positive attitude towards the institution of marriage. But whatever your opinion of Paul’s competence to comment on family matters he boldly uses the phrase “the way a mother cares for her children” in regard to his care and concern for the church at Thessalonica. Today, from our second scripture reading from 1 Thessalonians 2 we’re going to see what caring for the Thessalonians like “a mother cares for her children” looks like to Paul and how that might help us care for one another and our neighbours and the wider community around us.

Sermon:

There are thousands of notable quotations that surface to the light of day around Mother’s Day. In Rudyard Kipling’s 1906 fantasy “Puck of Pook’s Hill” we read, “God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” From the renowned Agatha Christie, we have, “A mother’s love for the child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” And even a 19th century Swiss Cardinal Gaspard Mermillod is often cited, “A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” The attributes of a mother caring for her child denoted in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians are not nearly so poetic, grand or sympathetic as these, however; I think we could say that what they lack in popular luster they make up for in substance and practical application.

Thessalonica was the largest city in Macedonia and a free city, which, unlike Philippi, a Roman colony, was like a vassal city-state under Roman control, and which presented special challenges to a new Christian church. There was already a well-established and thriving diversity of pagan worship prior to and in addition to the pantheon of Roman gods and concerns. Paul had visited Thessalonica on his second missionary journey as recorded in Acts 17 but only for a few weeks because of the violent reaction of part of the Jewish community there. That was enough though, for the Holy Spirit to establish a faithful and vibrant Christian church and it is to these, who were birthed and weaned under Paul’s brief ministry, that he is writing with such joy over their faithfulness.

So, when Paul characterizes his, and to be fair, his companions in this ministry whom he names in verse 1, Silas and Timothy’s “desire to give you our hearts (1 Thess. 2:8)” as like “a mother cares for her children (ibid, 2:7),” what does he mean? I noticed three groups of characteristics. First could be said are their credentials or qualifications, the things that make them and their message trustworthy. Second are the outcomes of them having these qualities; and how it influenced the way they communicated the message. And third, how these qualities bore on their relationship with those listening.

“God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. (ibid, 2:3)” I think we would all agree that, for whatever it’s worth, we like to see that ‘UL’ or ‘CSA’ certification stamp on products we buy. Paul, as he mentions in verses 1 and 2, is alluding to their faithful witness despite the rough treatment they received in Philippi prior to arriving in Thessalonica. They were qualified to be trusted because they’d already shown they weren’t after popular approval from the crowd. This evidence was God’s guarantee to the Thessalonians that they, the message bearers, and the Message, were free of error, free of mixed motives, and free of hidden agendas. In other words, their message was true. What you see is exactly what you’re getting.

And what were they getting? Well, I would sum up Paul’s words by saying, humble, genuine, care. They never tried to butter them up, which would mean they were truthful; never tried to take advantage of them or throw their weight around, they were humble; and never tried to come across as important, big shots; showing that they truly cared.

How did all this look and play out in their relationship and communication with the Thessalonians? They weren’t standoffish, detached, and impersonal. They took them just as they were, with all their faults and weaknesses; weren’t patronizing, humiliating them; and were never condescending, snobbish, and looking down on them.

Paul says all this shows that they loved the Thessalonians dearly. That they were giving them not just the Message, but themselves, their hearts. And Paul insists that they did exactly this.

I think we can concede that we’d expect a mother caring for her children is certainly someone who loves them dearly and doesn’t just fulfill the child’s basic needs but gives her heart, herself, to the child. She wouldn’t be standoffish with her child, patronizing or condescending but would accept them as they are folding them into her loving embrace. I don’t think we could imagine the caring mother who takes advantage of her child, butters them up for a fall, or simply uses their child to make themselves feel important, lording it over them and throwing their weight around.

So, Paul is pretty much right in characterizing how they came to the Thessalonians as “the way a mother cares for her children.” But what about certification? Does a mother need to be CSA-approved? Ok, don’t answer that question. But what Paul cites as qualifications are all what we anticipate in a caring mother. She doesn’t have a hidden agenda or mixed motives. The very best care of the child is her sole focus and concern. And that means that as much as is possible, there won’t be mistakes. Both the means of the care, what Paul calls the Message, and her application of it, are the best that can be provided. She’s not interested in making a good showing to impress other people but solely in the quality of care provided to her children. And I suppose if you’ve watched a mother with her children being sorely tested, in the aisles or a supermarket, the supervisor’s office at daycare or even in the rector's office at church, and she measures up to all these qualities that Paul has listed, then we could say she is, “God tested,” and, “qualified to be trusted. (ibid 2:3)” Certified if you will.

But Paul is not talking about how a mother should care for her child. He’s relating how he approached spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to a huge, sophisticated, hostile urban audience. Listeners who wanted nothing to do with this fledgling new Jewish sect that drew people away from the hinge-pins of corruption and secular paganism that made their prosperous society function. Sound familiar? When you think about the task before them, maybe buttering them up, coming across as important, and being a little more patronizing might have helped. Maybe softening the Message a bit, hiding the real agenda till more people were on side or showing some mixed motives so more people would come on side. However, that wasn’t Paul’s way, and I would suggest it shouldn’t be the way we make ourselves known in the community either.

Paul’s example and call to his first-century Thessalonian brothers and sisters was the kind of courage and commitment we honour when we speak today of a mother’s unwavering dedication to the care of her child; exactly as Paul did. There is the tenderness and patience we characterize in a mother’s compassion but also, as Paul points out, the humble, honest, and unswerving dedication to truth that only a mother can bring so caringly to the relationship with her child. And also, the courage to face anything the child may use against her or defend the child against anything the world may set against them. In just three short weeks, enduring threats, and public persecution so severe that his new converts had to whisk him secretly out of town, Paul was able to establish a new thriving church community. And this was accomplished because he loved them dearly, treating them the way a mother cares for her children.

I would set us the proposition that the world we live in today is not as different from first-century Thessalonica as we might suppose. Certainly, without the technology and the wealth or education we enjoy, but the attitudes and desires, the hopes and fears, however, are not far removed. If Paul, and I grant you it is not Paul but the Holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, can turn the hearts of a community in a secular city with many violently opposed to this Message of salvation, why are we so void of a message that can speak to our neighbour, or friend or coworker.

The answer obviously is that there is nothing wrong with our message. It is one of hope and peace and unconditional reconciliation with God for the whole world. No religion, philosophy, or politic has anything remotely as universal or hopeful as the message of life in Jesus Christ. That is why Paul is not reminding the Thessalonians of the Message he brought, which he knows will stand on its own merit, but of how he brought that message to them. He loved them dearly, he gave them his heart, the way a mother cares for her children.

When we think of those around us who do not know the life of faith and hope in the Lord Jesus, are we moved with the same motivations and compassion as a mother cares for her children? Are we humble, never vaunting ourselves, not standoffish as if we were better somehow; never patronizing or condescending accepting others just as they are? Do we try to butter them up or take advantage of them, throw our weight around or act important, as if we had something they don’t? Do we stand on God’s approval alone, that He guarantees the message is error-free and our daily lives bear witness that we have neither a hidden agendas nor mixed motives? Are we God-tested, qualified to be trusted, not seeking crowd approval? Can all the wonderful and honouring things that are spoken of about a mother’s love and care for her children be seen in how we care for our neighbours and friends? I would hope so, but as I consider Paul’s example, I fear I don’t see the evidence that this is so.

However, let me encourage you with Paul's words from the beginning of chapter two. “So, friends, it’s obvious that our visit to you was no waste of time…We were sure of ourselves in God and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting God’s Message to you, defiant of the opposition. (ibid, 2:1-2)” The characteristic that gives the greatest strength to a mother’s care for her child is that she never gives up.

Amen