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As we move toward Pentecost I am moved to remembering how the church came together. In our life & times the church is very often ill thought of and spoken about by those who have no real commitment to it. Lots of people have connection. Fewer and fewer have commitment. Some see the church as having less relevance because they expect that God should intervene and end evil unilaterally to give everyone perfect lives. Others view the hypocrisies and injustices of humanity and see that as a reflection of who & what God is. And still more believe that because the idea of theology is metaphysical that God has to be mythological. Some think there are many gods. Others think they are gods. And then there is the proposition that only the natural is our lineage and so the earth is our god & mother. But as for me I truly believe that God is God. And though the very idea of God is too big for me to fully fathom or explain, my limitations don't preclude any reality of God. The Bible, this revelation of God, declares that God instituted redemption through motherhood and all that it entails. This does not mean that women must have children to be redeemable, but that redemption would come to humanity through the seed of a woman. The first instruction for motherhood was to be a keeper at home. The qualities of leadership, partnership, and fellowship are inextricably connected to being a keeper - to being one who is committed enough to maintain connections, even after hardship, brokenness, and personal pain. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was well acquainted with all of these.
Mary was pregnant before her marital consummation, reviled by not fitting societal norms. She stuck by her truth. We see her with her children without a husband. She watched the execution of her firstborn. And she continued to be a leader, a partner, and be in fellowship with the righteous. From what the Bible says, Mary had a lot in common with minority women today who are looked down on while they watch civil authorities abuse & even execute their children and come out of it doing good for all! Don't overlook what it takes to be a mother! It is much more than biology and giving birth. It's being a leader, a partner, and in fellowship. And let me say to anyone who says that women can't lead has at best only selectively looked at the scriptures. At worst you have subscribed to ungodly dogmas of superiority, patriarchy, and misogyny for in the kingdom there is neither male nor female. Motherhood is being a keeper like God is a keeper. And in the upper room, with the 11, with other disciples, with the other women, and with her children we find Mary exemplifying things that we sometimes overlook as essential aspects of motherhood.
1. Keep Everyone In Place
They had fled & scattered. Now they were on one accord and all together. In the room was where they needed to be. They were in place. A good mother knows how to help people IN place, and to also help keep people in THEIR place. Mothers should never author confusion. Encourage good choices. Mothers can help people find and keep themselves in the right spaces and places!
2. Keep Everyone Praying
- Trials come. Temptations continue. Troubles crush. But I'm so glad for mothers who know the worth of prayer. Mary prayed before there was a church. Somebody praying for us before we were in the church. Anybody thankful for a praying mother? Believing mothers can pray and keep others praying. There's power when you pray with others!
3. Keep Everyone Positive
- The text says prayers and supplications. Prayer is communication with God. Supplication is a plea. They were asking for something. A supplication is made when a person bends & bows the head, grasps the ankles of the one with provision, humbles self, needing mercy, trusting that there is mercy, expecting the petition to be granted. To expect a positive result, it's best to have a positive outlook. Believe that you shall receive. A mother's attitude has to be so positive that she keeps those around her positive. The Bible does not say what it was that they asked God to do. I suspect that it may have been, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done..." Be so positive that that even if you don't get what you ask for, you know that it's gonna be alright! If you humble yourself and God says no, believe that God has something better! So keep everyone - family, friends, foes, the fickle and the fake - keep them positive by you being positive. Head up! Shoulders back! Tell them that God is! Tell them that God can! Tell them God will!