Mother's Day

Soon afterward [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Luke 7:11-17

So how was your Mother’s Day? If you are on Facebook the week preceeding this one, took on a Mother’s Day flavor as people posted photos of their mother as their profile photo. I pray that your Mother’s Day was a joyful celebration of God’s gift of motherhood.

But there is a tough reality… what about all those people for whom Mother's Day is a difficult day? How about the mothers whose children have died- through miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, as a child, or as an adult? How about those women who long to be mothers yet their wombs and arms are empty? How about those who don’t feel like they are doing such a great job mothering, or who feel taken for granted by their families. How about those people whose relationship with their mothers is broken, or non-existent?

Mother’s Day, actually holidays in general, can be very difficult for people suffering from disappointment, hurt, loss and brokenness.

Our scripture passage for the day has a broken hearted mother encountering Christ. Look at the words “… the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.” Do you notice Christ’s emotion – Compassion! Christ had compassion on this mother. He has compassion on all mothers, all women.

The people responded to Jesus’ healing miracle. They recognized who Christ is - a prophet and God. Report about him spread – our modern technology has nothing on word of mouth (I got to experience that firsthand during a mission trip to Haiti this spring). What was the report that spread? That he healed someone, and more… the report of his compassion and God visiting his people.

God has visited his people. Christ is Immanuel – God with us… His last words to his disciples are “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Christ is with us and he has compassion on us.

Heavenly Father, we know that tragedy and brokenness knows no bounds, striking people of every nation, age and station in life. Thank you God, for your great compassion in sending Jesus as the Savior for all people. Your Gospel shows He has conquered every foe for us, holidays that are difficult to bear, earthly sorrows, even death and the grave. In Christ’s name, Amen.