Unity Church of Castro Valley
Sunday Message for May 13, 2007
Mother's Day Tribute
Happy Mother's Day! Let's talk about mothers - for without them, none of us would be here. So let's give thanks to Eve, the first mother. It says in (Genesis 3:20) "The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living." The name Eve means life or living. Eve symbolized love, or feeling in the individual consciousness. And this is what motherhood is all about - love. The I AM (wisdom) puts feeling into what it thinks, and so "Eve" (feeling) becomes the "mother of all living." Feeling is Spirit, which quickens. Woman symbolizes the soul region of man and is the mother principle of God in expression.
HAGAR & SARAH
Another story about a mother that we find in the Bible, is the story of Hagar. Hagar was Sarai's handmaid, an Egyptian slave. Since Sarai was barren and it was the wife's duty to provide her husband with an heir, she offered Hagar to her husband Abraham as a surrogate for herself. The child born of such a liaison was legally Sarai's.
But when Hagar became pregnant she became really uppity with her mistress Sarai - I think it was a hormonal thing. It was also a very stupid thing for a slave to do.
Sarah began to treat Hagar so badly that she finally fled into the wilderness. There, by a spring, an angel appeared and urged her to return to her mistress, telling her that the child she was to bear would be named Ishmael (God has heard) and that he would "(Genesis 16:12) "be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; and he shall live at odds with all his kin." But God will (Genesis 17:20) "bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation."
Hagar returned and 14 years after Ishmael's birth, Sarah at last had a son, Isaac. Then the battle started, that even continues today. Sarah feared that Hagar's son would share her son's inheritance. She had Hagar and Ishmael sent out into the wilderness. Again, an angel appeared and saved them.
So Isaac grew to manhood and started the Israelite nation and the twelve Jewish tribes. Ishmael grew to manhood and started the Arab nation, most of whom are Muslims. And the battle for the inheritance of Abraham continues.
JOCHEBED
Another mother in the Bible that we need to honor is Jochebed. During the Israelites' 400-year stay in Egypt, the Pharaoh had ordered all male Hebrew children killed. He was afraid that there was too many of them and that they might rise up and defeat them.
Jochebed hid her son, Moses, until he was 3 months old, then devised a clever plan to save his life. She put him in a basket and placed it among the reeds at the river's edge, leaving her daughter, Miriam, to watch and find out what happened.
Fillmore tells us that Jochebed represents the religious soul of man exalting, honoring, and glorifying Jehovah, Christ, I AM, by expressing love and Truth of Spirit. Truly, she must have trusted God to be able to do this.
And, as we know, the Pharaoh's daughter discovered the baby. Then Miriam stepped up, offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse Moses, and Jochebed was paid to care for her own son until he was weaned. And then Moses was raised in the palace with the best schooling money could buy.
Jochebed was a mother that practiced exactly what Unity teaches. She only envisioned the best for her son, and it manifested - even in the worst of times.
HANNAH
Hannah was another barren woman, who, through her faith in God became the mother of six children. Like Abraham and Sarah, Hannah's husband loved her very much and constantly assured her that it was OK if she didn't have kids. But Hannah was a woman with a mission.
Hannah is the soul within us with high aspirations. It is consecrated to God and to prayer and therefore is based in divine grace and favor.
Hannah would pray for a son on the family's annual trip to the temple at Shiloh. She even made a vow to God that if she was granted a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord for life. She gave birth to a son, Samuel. And though he was the delight of her life, when he was weaned she honored her vow and took him to Shiloh for service to the Lord.
Each year she would visit Samuel, offer a sacrifice at the temple, and give her son a new robe to wear, that she had sewn for him. She later bore 3 other sons and 2 daughters. Hannah was definitely a woman of faith. Throughout her life, she was constantly turning it over to God.
MARY
And then there was Mary, mother of Jesus. She became pregnant at 14 while betrothed to Joseph. Try explaining THAT to your mother, your fiancé, and the village gossips. Mary had a very challenging life.
She traveled on a donkey during her last month of pregnancy, only to have her first child, alone and away from her family and friends. She raised a truly gifted child and knew from the beginning the wonders and miracles that he would do and the danger that would put him in.
Then she had to experience his death, on the cross like a common criminal. It's been said that God never hands us more than we can handle. I wonder if Mary wished that God hadn't trusted her so much.
We find in the Bible excellent examples of Mothers of faith, piety, patience, humility, industry, and loving-kindness, in the common events of life. We, as mothers, are no better nor worse than they were. We have all sacrificed for our children. We have all made mistakes in their upbringing. And we have loved them as well as we knew how.
MOTHER'S DAY CEREMONY
So I would now like to pay tribute to the women we know. I have the names of women that I would like to acknowledge. If you are present and would like to come up to pay tribute yourself, please do so.
And for me this flower is to honor my mother Helen Caldwell and my grandmother Edna Caldwell. Is there anyone else who would like to add a woman to this list?
As you look at this vase filled with multi-colored flowers, think of the women in your life who have influenced you, inspired you, strengthened you, and loved you. Women we loved and hated. Women we blame for all our faults and weaknesses, and thank for all our strengths and talents. Women who weren't perfect but did the best they knew how to do.
In your program you have a Mother's Day Responsive Reading - let's do that now.
MINISTER: "God shared His name of Father and the gift of fatherhood with man, but upon woman alone God conferred the name of Mother. To her God gave the privilege of motherhood, and upon her God bestowed the wondrous spirit of mother love."
ALL: "Thank You, Father-Mother-God, for this wondrous spirit of mother love."
MINISTER: "Like the love of the Divine Spirit, mother love knows no boundaries. With the almighty power of God love, in which it has its source, mother love can span a continent, rise to the highest mountaintop, or descend to the depths of the ocean. Time and distance are transcended."
ALL: "Thank You, Father-Mother-God, for mother love, which like your love is boundless."
MINISTER: "The word 'Mother' has a special meaning to every soul on earth. If there were none to fulfill the role of motherhood, there would be no human race. Motherhood is precious to the Divine Spirit, for God entrusted the birth of His beloved Son to a woman whom the world has come to know as Mary, the mother of Jesus."
ALL: "Thank you, Father-Mother-God, for the continuation of the human race through Motherhood."
MINISTER: "The mother idea is associated with life, that vitalizing renewing flow of energy, which awakens every atom in our bodies to a new and greater expression of its potential."
ALL: "God is blessing every mother now with renewed life that fulfills every need."
MINISTER: "The mother idea exemplifies faith, that ability to say "yes" to God and to good; that which renews us, strengthens us, quickens us, and inspires us to do our best. A mother has faith in her children. And this mother faith instills in children the idea that they can do whatever they set their minds and hearts to do."
ALL: "God is blessing every mother now with faith to meet every need."
MINISTER: "The mother idea is filled with understanding, a knowing that God as principle stands under all things; that within all things there is good. Through understanding, a mother knows how to accomplish that which needs to be done. A mother expresses an understanding in her children, which strengthens their faith in themselves."
ALL: "God is blessing every mother now with understanding to meet every need."
MINISTER: "The mother idea is filled with strength, the ability to be still, to practice patience, steadfastness, tolerance, and balance. A mother is loyal to her children and stands by with patience until they have the strength to stand on their own."
ALL: "Thank You, God, for mothers who are blessed with strength and who practice tolerance and patience."
MINISTER: "Now, let us thank God for the power and blessing of our united prayers as we declare for the mothers of the world: 'God is blessing you now with the love and joy, life and strength, understanding and faith that meet your every need.'"
ALL: "God is blessing you now with the love and joy, life and strength, understanding and faith that meet your every need."
MINISTER: "And, now let us affirm this blessing for the mothers who are dear to our own hearts. Take a moment to become aware of all of the mothers that are dear to your heart. Hold these beloved mothers in your mind's eye as we affirm: 'God is blessing you now with the love and joy, life and strength, understanding and faith that meet your every need!'"
ALL: "God is blessing you now with the love and joy, life and strength, understanding and faith that meet your every need!"
MINISTER: "Blessed are the mothers of yesterday. They nurture us with loving memories and inspire us to become all we are meant to be. Blessed are the mothers of today. They hold in their hands and in their hearts the keeping of tomorrow and the destiny of our children's future. Truly, God is blessing all mothers now. Amen."
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 3:20; Genesis 16:12; Genesis 17:20; 1 Kings 3:16-28
REFERENCE: Metaphysical Bible Dictionary Charles Fillmore
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Last updated
May 13, 2007
