I.  INTRODUCTION: 

            Mother’s Day makes me panic--I never know how to express what my mother means to me…a card never seems to do it, taking her out to dinner is always a fiasco, and trying to organize a party just never seems to work out.  But, woe to the son who overlooks Mother’s day!

            The panic intensifies now that I am a father, as I now have the responsibility to help my children appropriately observe Mother’s day.  If that was not enough, I am blessed to have my mother-in-law nearby, whom I’ve grown as close to and depend on as much as my own mother.  Mother’s Day makes me panic.

            Deep down, all of us really want to find the best way to express how feel about all the mothers in our lives. Recently, I discovered Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate, who is a brilliant poet with a subtle sense of humor.  I overheard him read a poem which I think captures the essence of what we sons and daughters go through on Mother’s day each year, especially when we were very young.  It’s entitled, “The Lanyard.”

"The Lanyard"
 
The other day as I was ricocheting slowly
off the pale blue walls of this room,
bouncing from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.
 
No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one more suddenly into the past --
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.
 
I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.
 
She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sickroom,
lifted teaspoons of medicine to my lips,
set cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light
 
and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.
 
Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift--not the archaic truth
 
that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hands,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

II.  SCRIPTURE:

Today’s scripture is a reflection of a side of God that we Christians often overlook.  We love to explore the stories of God, the Father-- the all powerful, all knowing God who lovingly created and cares for the heavens and earth, the bugs and the bears, the trees and the poison ivy; you and me.

Also, we focus on God’s son, Jesus, the central figure of our faith, who walked on this earth, taught us a better way to live, and loved people so much that he sacrificed his own perfect life so that we, the broken, may be restored to wholeness with God the Father through Jesus’ resurrection.

But we tend to gloss over the Holy Spirit.  Yes, we may acknowledge the spirit in the Apostle’s creed, but rarely do we acknowledge the spirit in our prayers.  Yes, we may know about the spirit of God, but we also readily admit that we do not fully understand the Holy Spirit.

Today’s scripture reveals to us a glimpse of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, which is not all that dissimilar from the role of our mother in our lives.  Jesus has just revealed to his disciples that he is going away, leaving the disciples confused and a little afraid.  Jesus comforts them by reminding them that, although he goes to be with the Father, he is sending them an Advocate…a Counselor…the Holy Spirit that will remain with them and in them forever.  Jesus says that this “Advocate … will teach you everything and will remind you of all that I have said to you.”  In other words, the Holy Spirit will be a constant presence guiding our lives, nurturing our growth, protecting us from pitfalls, providing for us a pathway to a better life, and always reminding us to whom we belong.  In short, the Holy Spirit can be understood as like a nurturing mother in our lives.

One warm summer evening when I was kid, some neighborhood friends gathered to play basketball at Jody’s house, which was about 10 houses down from mine.  Quite a distance.  We were really into the game, and laughing, and joking, like kids normally do.  Jody then turned to us and said, “Hey, what’s that noise?”

We all stopped and listened intently.  There it was…a faint, distant, yet crystal clear voice, “Bran-don…Cor-bin…,” of my mother. Of course, being ten-year-old boys, we tried to ignore it…and went on playing the game.  But even through the ruckus of the game, I could still hear the voice calling, “Bran-don…Cor-bin…”

Finally, I stopped, turned to face the direction of our house and yelled, “WHHAAATT?” We all stood motionless, waited patiently, and then the voice from the down the street would ring out again…”It’s time…to…come…home….”

And then an amazing thing would happen…my brother and I would engage with my mother in a hollering conversation that covered the span of the entire street….  We’d reply with “WHY?” and she would call out, “It’s time for Dinner!”  We’d ask to play for 10 more minutes, and then she’d say, “No! Now!”  We’d say we’d be right there, but didn’t really mean it. And then mom would call out again to come home, but in a slightly different tone…and we knew…it was time to come home.

You see, the Holy Spirit is also a gentle voice of love calling out to us, even if we do not hear it, or even if we try to ignore it.  The Holy Spirit does not force its way into our lives: it just asks to be recognized, to be noticed, to be listened to.  The Holy Spirit calls out to us, and will keep calling until we are ready to turn our lives toward our true home.  Like a good mother calling us home, the Holy Spirit will never give up on us.

Not only does the Holy Spirit wake us up to God’s love, but once we are in tune to it, the Spirit will constantly guide and nurture us to get the most out of life. 

            One day, my wife Katie got out an art project for the kids to work on.  It involved pouring different colors of sand onto a sticky board to create a picture of a landscape. As I tried to help, I found myself immediately frustrated…not just with the mess that was created, but also with how the children refused to listen to my instructions!  I found that I had little patience.

            But their mother has a patient way to guide them through the project so that the kids get maximum enjoyment with a sense of self-worth and self-satisfaction.  She patiently reminded them time after time the instructions on how to pour the sand slowly to keep the extra grains on the table.  Then before getting out the next bottle of sand, they should put the top back on the first bottle so that they don’t have an accident.  In everything they do, she is careful to teach them some basic rules, knowing that it will guide them well for the rest of their lives:

            Don’t get started on anything new, until you put away the old.

Sharing your toys is a great way to show that you love others.

            After you use the restroom, always wash your hands to show that you care about others.

            Don’t hit your brother, one day he will be bigger than you.

            Don’t hit your sister, one day you will need her.

            There is no dessert, until you eat your vegetables.

            When you come out of time-out, I will always remind you that “I love you.”

            Helping others and being polite is the best way to show that you love others.

            These and many other lessons that the kids learn on the art table and the dinner table, in the yard and in the bathtub, and in countless other places will be a constant voice in their subconscious throughout their lives, reminding them of the truth of how we are to live a life of love and service, and this way of life will always bring maximum joy.  No matter what the kids’ projects are, what they learn in preschool, or how they dug a hole in the yard, they love to come me and say, “Daddy, look what I did!”  But what I really see in my kids is the patient guidance and nurturing of what their Mommy did!

Just like a nurturing mother, the Holy Spirit is that part of God that constantly, and gently shapes us into the person God had in mind when he created us.   Just as a mother wants us to reach the fullness of our mature humanity, the Holy Spirit wants us to reach the fullness of our mature spirituality.   The Holy Spirit is what opens our eyes to the presence of God all around us--in the beauty of the earth, the people, and the love we have for one another.  The Holy Spirit is what awakens us to the deeper truths about God as we read the Bible.  The Holy Spirit is what nudges us toward confession when we have wronged God or wronged others.  The Holy Spirit is what wraps us in compassionate arms when we are suffering and are in need of tender loving care.  The Holy Spirit is what holds us accountable to our decisions, reminding us of our obligations, our commitments, and our vows in the name of faith.  And, it is the Holy Spirit that fills us with Joy as we find that serving others is the ultimate way to share the love of God.

What I have been talking about is simply, God’s grace—the love of God that we see in Jesus Christ, reflected everyday of our lives, especially through our mothers.  A grace of love that calls out our name in the cacophony of the world, a grace of love with wide open arms as we turn toward home, and a grace of love that nurtures us into the very image of God.

III.  CONCLUSION

There are many ways that the grace of love is expressed….God expressed it through creation, Jesus expressed it through his sacrifice, the Holy Spirit expresses it through its eternal guidance; and we long to respond to this grace with worship, service, commitment and discipleship.  A mother expresses her love no different:  through creation, through sacrifice, and through eternal guidance; and how should we respond?  Somehow…I don’t think we sons and daughters can fully express our appreciation and love of our mothers…with a lanyard….or can we?