There is an ancient legend about two warring tribes in the Andes in South America, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains ...The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day and, as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped the baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them up into the mountains.
The lowlanders didn't know how to climb the mountains. They didn't know any of the trails the mountain people used. Consequently, they were unable to track the mountain people in steep terrain.
Nevertheless, they sent out their best party of fighting men to try to climb the mountain and rescue the baby. The party of lowlanders tried one trail, and then another. They tried one method of climbing, and then another.
After several days of futile efforts, and without success and feeling helpless and hopeless. The men decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their villages below. As they were packing their stuff for the descent, they saw the baby's mother walking toward them. They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they themselves were unable to climb. And then they saw that she had her baby strapped to her back. How could that be?
One man greeted her and said, "We couldn't climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, could not?" She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It wasn't your baby!" This is Mother’s Love, the most powerful instinct in women. Faith of our Mothers.
A mother's love is so unconditional and exceptional that it is in a category by itself. Some give it it's own name. They call it " Motherlove." It is a degree of love that is only fully expressed by the love of a mother. It is the kind of love that persists no matter what wrong is done to it. Even among wild animals, a mother will give her life to save her offspring. So people respond to that degree of love with an equally fierce loyalty.
Jesus was about to die. He knew that. He knew Judas would betray him and the he would be crucified the next day. He had one last opportunity to teach them. What would he say? Would he tell them once again of his resurrection ? Would he tell them a parable that reinforced their faith in God’s ultimate sovereignty? Would he reveal some hidden secrets of God’s plan for the end of time?
Of all the things he could have said he said, "Love one another." Of all the hidden knowledge he could have revealed to them, of all the spiritual depths he could have sounded, he chose to remind them to love one another, as he had loved them.
That’s pretty basic! And maybe we need to get back to basics. To strip away all the complexities and additions to life and remind ourselves what is most important. And what is more fundamentals (basic) to the Christian’s faith and life than love? That is what it all boiled down to: "Love one another."
Sometimes the church needs to get back to the basics. We have so many ministries and programs. Everywhere you turn there's a committee or commission doing this or that. And as the church grows it becomes more complex. Even our prayer and worship can become complex.
Perhaps we need to stop and remind ourselves what it all boils down to. It is all about loving God and our neighbour. When all the committees and programs and rituals are stripped away.
What underlies them all is love. When we can return to our ministries and rituals remembering what is most basic. After all these ministries and rituals all play important roles in helping us live out that love. But they all can become meaningless if we forget the basics: Love one another.
This is the kind of thing that happened to Mother’s Day. The history of Mother's day is a lesson in getting back to the fundamentals (basics). The story of the modern celebration of Mother’s day goes back to Ann Marie Jarvis.
Ann Marie Jarvis was a woman who not only gave birth to 12 children, eight of whom died in childhood, but she founded a group called "Mother’s Day Work Clubs" that offered humanitarian aid to soldiers on both sides during the Civil War as well as attempts to improve sanitary conditions.
After the Civil War she organized a "Mother's Friendship Day" to bring people from both sides of the war together and heal the wounds of the war. In other words she took the ideal of a mother’s love and applied it to loving her neighbour - even when that neighbour was an enemy.
Ann Marie Jarvis died in 1905. After her death one of her daughters, Anna Jarvis, organized a memorial service for all mothers at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church. The idea caught on and by 1914 "Mother’s Day" was a national holiday.
Mother's day was truly popular. It was so popular that some decided to cash in on its popularity.
By 1923 Anna Jarvis found herself suing to stop a Mother’s Day festival. Later she was arrested for disturbing the peace at a Mother’s Day convention. She was angry that the white carnations, which she had designated as the official Mother’s Day flower, were being sold. She said, "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit." Mother’s Day began to honour women who lived the ideal of a mother’s love. But it became a means of commercial profit.
Somewhere along the line the real meaning of the holiday was lost in the trappings. And so its founder Anna Jarvis had to fight to get people back to the basics of Mother’s Day. Getting back to basics is important for mothers. Caring for children is getting more and more complicated. There are so many things that can injure our children. So many dangers to protect them from: buckle them up, beware the airbags, screen the daycare workers, and monitor their TV watching and Internet use. Being a parent is complex and difficult.
With all the details a mother has to look after, it's easy to lose sight of the real meaning. Mothers, and fathers as well, need to get back to the basics. And the basics of parenthood is love. If we can remember that then all the other things will fall into place and in their proper perspective.
In churches all over, preachers are giving advice to Mothers this morning. I will not apologize for not getting into more detail than this: "Love your children." I know that’s what comes naturally but too often that basic is lost in the complexity of being a parent. If we can keep in mind that love is the most basic thing our children need from us, then all the other things will fall into place.
We all need to learn this lesson. We all need to get back to the fundamentals …basics. When I was with Youth with a mission, we used to sing a song that went like this: "We are one in the Spirit we are one in the Lord. We are one in the Spirit we are one in the Lord. And we pray that our unity will one day be restored and they'll know we are Christians by our love by our love. Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love."
Of all the details of the Christians faith, love is the most important and basic. Love should be our defining quality of God. People should know we are Christians by our love. So let’s get back to the fundamentals basics and love one another! Amen.
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
May 9, 2004