Yesterday as I presented my Mother's Day sermon and as I looked over my notes for my class on gender roles in the church, my mind was drawn to think of all the ways mothers and preachers are alike.
Good mothers and good preachers have to look for the best in people. Just as a mother can find something positive in a midnight call from the local sheriff about some mischief a wayward son has found, so a good minister can find some redemptive quality in the midst of any member's crisis. Just as a mother has to listen to the hours and hours of recounted teenage drama, the life of a local preacher is full of stories of other people's grandchildren, their gardens, their confessions and their dreams. The best mothers and preachers don't mind this of course. They both realize that often it is better to listen long than to be quick with advice. They love the fact that their children and their parishioners trust them enough to share both their troubles and their triumphs.
Perhaps the quality that makes mothers and preachers most alike is this: they each believe that people can change. Many a mother has spent many a sleepless night praying for the prodigal. She can love her children to the point of pride while still recognizing their faults and wanting them to change. She looks for every opportunity to be an influence and a guide. She simply cares too much to stop believing. Even in the face of overwhelming facts, a mother refuses to give up hope. Her children will always be her children regardless of how they stray.
A good preacher is much the same. He too has sleepless nights whether spent in prayer or in counsel with the hurt, the broken, the grieving. He believes that the once-a-month member has potential to be a deacon. He hopes that the new family that came last week will come back (maybe even for Sunday School next week). He will plan his sermons so carefully to reach out to the heartsick, the hurting and even the hungover in the Sunday morning pews. He struggles sometimes against despair, doubt and burnout. He will wonder, like a mother does with her children, if anyone is really listening. He, like every mother, will make mistakes, get tired and even forget his point from time to time.
Both mothers and preachers have difficult jobs. Yesterday many of you thanked or remembered your mother. Let me encourage you to also remember the preachers/Sunday School teachers/youth ministers/elders in your life. Often these jobs expect much and pay little in earthly terms. Few would choose the vocation for the financial or social perks. Ministry, like motherhood, is a calling and a special responsibility. Mothers and preachers don't do what they do for a "thank you," but a genuine expression of gratitude will be appreciated and will encourage them to even better service in what God has led them to do.