May 13 2007
John 14:23-29
Rev. Laraine Waughtal
John 14:23-29
“Jesus said to him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” Such incredible words of comfort. If we believe in God and Jesus and keep their Word and love them and love others (which is a part of keeping God’s Word and commandments) then God will make a home with us. A home filled with love. A home filled with grace.
Today we come to celebrate Mother’s Day and to celebrate the Christian home and God’s presence in our lives. One of the strongest women we can look at in recent history is Susannah Wesley to see what it means to live in a Christian home of love. Susannah was the Mother of Charles and John Welsey. John, of course, was the founder of the Methodist Church. Charles was also a preacher but is more widely known for his great hymns that we sing. Susannah was also the mother of eighteen children – ten of which survived the difficult times of the early 1700’s. Their Father Samuel was a minister with the Church of England and pastored at the Epworth Church.
To manage such a large household and properly educate her children Susanna established a definite routine for her household and family, aiming to help each child learn, mature and develop Christian character. Susannah, herself, gave daily Christian teachings to the children. She also gave each child individual attention by purposely setting aside a regular time for each of them each week. Later John wrote about his mother fondly remembering his special time with her. Time is one of the greatest gifts you can give each of your children. By giving them your time you are giving them your love and they will feel whole and secure in this world. Through the gift of time Susannah gave her children love, teachings, respect and comfort.
Susannah took her teachings one step further. In 1711 Samuel was gone for an extended time on church business and Susanna’s attempts to meet the spiritual needs of her family caused a family difficulty. Samuel was attending a long church conference leaving his pulpit in charge of another minister, a Mr. Inman. However, the man proved a poor choice since his almost constant sermon topic was paying one’s debts.
Since there were no afternoon church services, Susanna began an evening family gathering where they sang psalms, prayed and Susanna read a short sermon from her husband’s library. It began with the family and the servants but soon word spread and others neighbors appeared, and soon there were too many for the parsonage. Susanna had written her husband of what she was doing. But, then Mr. Inman in his own letter when he perhaps saw the services as competition, complained to Samuel about what his wife was doing. His claim to Samuel was that such irregular services could cause criticism or even scandal for the church. Samuel suggested to Susanna that she have someone else read the sermons, but still Mr. Inman complained and finally Samuel told Susanna to discontinue the meetings. However, she declined as she described how the meetings were a genuine and effective ministry to those who attended and that Mr. Inman was about the only one who’d objected. The services continued.
Anytime we do God’s work in love and good for the Lord good results will happen. And, Susannah, being a good mother was determined that her children would receive their Christian teachings at all times. Susannah relied on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide her and trusting that the Holy Spirit will teach her what when she needed at the time we needed it. Susannah had not had a seminary education but she had a strong Christian background that she could raise her children right, spend time with and lead services until her husbands return. Susannah had a huge impact on all of her children, not just John and Charles who both wrote about her, on how to live the Christian life and to put our faith into action. She is a wonderful example for us on the gift of Motherhood and raising our children in a Christian home.
Our passage today is such a beautiful lesson on bringing God’s love into our home and relying on God and the Holy Spirit to help us raise our families in the best way possible. The Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us in all that we do. Jesus tells His disciples once again that He will be leaving them but the Holy Spirit is coming to be with them to comfort them, love them, teach us and lead us. He wanted them to know that all of this would take place so that when it actually did happen they would remember that Jesus had taught them these sayings and that it all is true.
All good Christian teaching needs to begin at home and to be re-emphasized at home as both the children and the parents grow in their faith. We can begin with the most basic of lessons like teaching our children to pray – “Now I lay me down to sleep…” You can pray simple prayers before each meal and ask each person to share what they are thankful for that day and what their prayer needs are in their life. This early teaching was so critical in my life because I did not get to go to church very often. When I was born I had a very poor immune system. Every time Mom and Dad would take me out, especially to like an enclosed place like the nursery or Sunday School room I would catch any cold or virus that any other child had. The Doctor finally told them I needed to stay at home until I was about four. I could go to some things but not a lot. So, Mom and Dad would trade off staying at home with me while the other one took my siblings to church. Meanwhile, they continued to instill in me Christian teachings. I remember when I finally got to go back to church on a regular basis. I was so excited. I remember thinking that instead of God coming to my house all the time I would now get to go to God’s house and I was so excited. That is what emphasizing Christian teaching to your children can do for them. Both parents are responsible for this wonderful task. Often times as parents we are fearful that we are really going to mess something up and not raise our children well. Two things can be said to this. Fear can be helpful when it does not control but instead directs to teach us so that we can continue to grow and learn what parenting is all about. We don’t want to get too comfortable in our own knowledge and think we know it all.
The second is this, Scripture says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” God does not want us to live lives that are filled with fear so that we cannot live and function properly in this world. God promises to fill us with a peace that can help sustain us in our hearts and minds even when things around us are chaos. We are to rely on the Holy Spirit to receive that peace from God in our lives.
This gift of having a Christian home also extends to all the children who enter your home. You may be the only voice in their lives that helps to teach them about God and the blessings of God’s love. All who enter your home should be able to know and experience the presence of God’s love in our lives. We do this through our love, through our lives and through constantly teaching about God’s grace. And, one of the greatest ways to begin to reach their parents, if they are not Christians is through their children. Invite the children to church with the parents permission and then continue to extend that outreach to them also. We are called to be always reaching out in the name of love, in the name of God to everyone. But first we must begin in our own homes. So, today we celebrate our mother’s and the Christian home and the blessing that they are to us. And, even if you did not have a Christian home growing up it is now the greatest gift you can now give to your children. Thanks be to God. Amen.