The Sixth Sunday of Easter

The Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 2, 2010

Moses' Mother Made a Choice
Exodus 2:1-3

Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

Last Sunday we talked about the kind of love that makes sacrifices for the ones that they love. This kind of love makes choices that seeks the best interests of the one who is loved. This is the kind of love that Moses' mother had for Moses.

Moses' mother was named Jochebed. And she found herself in a tight spot. She had a baby. Giving birth to a child is tough enough, but she was a Hebrew mother living in Egypt. The problem was that the king of Egypt had ordered that all Hebrew boy babies were to be killed.

The reason for this horrible law was that the king of Egypt was afraid of the Hebrews. He was scared that they might get tired of being his slaves and try to kill him. So he made it a law that whenever someone had a baby boy, they had to throw that little baby into the Nile river so that he would drown.

Moses' mother, Jochebed, loved God and she loved her baby boy. So she broke Pharaoh's law. She did not kill her son. She chose to hide him for three months and then she put him in a water-tight basket that she placed in the Nile river. She risked her life to save her son.

Mothers make important choices for their children. Mothers work very hard to provide every last toy and piece of tech for their kids. But sadly, many of these same mothers make the choice to keep their kids away from Baptism and Jesus.

This is sad because while those children will never know a trace of hunger—maybe for five minutes before dinner—and while they always have the best shoes, they won't know their friend, Jesus.

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have Him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:15-17)

Bless you, dear mothers, for bringing your children to Jesus. During the time you feed them milk, baby food, peanut butter sandwiches, and hamburgers, you are also feeding them with the Bread of Life.

Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)

There is nothing as important as bringing your children to Jesus. If your children have Him, they will have the one thing that they need. Those who trust in Jesus as the only Savior from sin have nothing to be afraid of. This doesn't mean that your children's lives will be easy or pain-free. It means that when they face tough situations, they will know that Jesus is with them, even in a situation that involves death!

Just look at Moses' mother. When Jochebed put Moses into the Nile, she could have been caught. The Egyptians hired Hebrews to spy on the other Hebrews. Then she had her daughter, Miriam, watch the basket. This was risky, but Jochebed trust in her Lord to protect her whole family. And He answered her prayer. The basket went down the river and was found by, of all people, the daughter of Pharaoh!

Then Miriam goes up to the daughter of the king who wanted her brother dead and asked her if she wanted a Hebrew woman to take care of Moses. We look at Miriam and we think that she must have had some nerve. Maybe, but consider who her mom was. Miriam learned about her Lord from her mother, just like her brother Moses would, because Pharaoh's daughter said yes. Jochebed brought her children to Jesus.

Blessed mothers, you choose to bring your children to Jesus. And you do much more than teach them the important difference between right and wrong. You teach them about sin and how everyone is born sinful. This sin makes everyone a natural enemy of Jesus. But you explain to them that when they were baptized as babies a few days or a few weeks after their birth, Jesus made them His friend by forgiving their sinfulness.

When children grow up, they often forget the Jesus that they sang about at Christmastime. Dear mothers, don't let them forget. As they grow up, remind them of the importance of gathering around the Gospel every week. Sports, recreation, and hobbies that consistently take place on Sunday are not healthy for them or you.

You show them how important Sunday is by your joyful body language on a Sunday morning. When the one-year old decides to throw oatmeal on her older brother, Sunday morning can be frantic. But more often than not, they're going to see a mom who rejoices when she goes to the house of the Lord (cf. Psalm 122:1).

They also see a congregation that supports the calling of mothers. We do this by not staring at a mother struggling with a noisy child. We support mothers by letting their children see us treating Sunday as a special day by dressing up, each according to our means. We support mothers when we show their children that Sunday School doesn't stop when you turn 15.

Jesus isn't just for kids. Dear mothers, they do see you studying your Bible at home. They hear you singing good hymns that preach the Gospel with specific details about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. When they ask you questions about Jesus and you answer their questions with enthusiasm and joy, boy, that says more than you can know.

Thank you, mothers. Your vocation is one of the highest callings there is. Whether you have no children, lots of them, or they've all left the nest, Jesus is serving people through you. Like Moses' mother, you make some many choices everyday that serve others. Your faithful choices honor Jesus and we thank Him for giving you to us.

Amen.