The Church is Your Mother

In 1528 Martin Luther gave Ten Sermons on the Catechism that would be the heart and soul of The Small Catechism for parents to teach their children the faith, and The Large Catechism to teach pastors.  I am fascinated by Luther's catechisms and have been studying them in greater detail for the past couple of years.  Recently I came across this quote from Luther that intrigues me. . . "The Christian Church is your mother, who gives birth to you and bears you through the Word.  And this is done by the Holy Spirit who bears witness concerning Christ." (LW, Vol. 51, 166)

I have a wonderful mother, I hope you do too.  One thing that I always know about my mother is that she loves me no matter what and that she will always, always be there for me.  She's demonstrated that over and over for 42 years!  She has always thought I could do anything I put my mind to and she has helped me do quite a few things over the years which I could not have done without her!  I also have a wonderful mother-in-law so I am doubly blessed.  These two women are probably my biggest cheerleaders (next to my husband of course.)  My mother literally gave me birth just as yours did and I thank God that she was so diligent about instilling the faith in me so that Mother Church could do her work in my life.  Where would I be without that grounding that she insisted on?

Mother Church has kept my spiritual journey alive and well.  The Holy Spirit which preaches the word to each of us happens in the midst of Christian community.  As the Spirit deepens our walk with Christ we become more and more supportive of others within the communion of faith.  As a pastor I see this happening amongst the people I serve.  (That is one of the joys of a long pastorate- you have years to look back upon!)  I see people being formed into disciples-- those that love Jesus with all their hearts and only want to serve and obey him and who are concerned with loving their neighbor.  I see people when the faith light bulb turns on and they are captured by the Spirit's power in their lives.  If they miss worship one week they are starving for Jesus the next Sunday!  They are hungry for the sacrament and they cannot get enough of the Lord.  What a joy to see, to be a part of; it helps to inspire me and others!!

The Christian Church is your Mother!  She nurtures you, she blesses you, she is your biggest fan!  She is a place to go where you can be yourself, where people love you because Christ has first loved them!  It is a community of believers who are on a mission to share Christ's love and mercy with the surrounding neighborhood and world.  This Mother will pick you up when you are down, dust you off when you get dirty, hold you when you are hurting, pray for you like a biological mother does because when you hurt she hurts!  The outpouring of love and support from this Mother is incredible!  You are one of her own because you belong to Christ!  She sees you like no one else sees you and she supports you when you attempt to grow and learn and do things you never thought you could do!  All the while she feeds you the most wonderful bread and wine which is nothing less than the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you mom for bring me and keeping me in the holy church; thank you Mother Church for continuing to nurture me and all of my friends so that we might grow deeper in the divine life.  Amen.