Mother's Day Service 2026

Summary

In this week’s service, led by James Campana, the congregation celebrated Mother's Day by reflecting on the profound impact and sacrificial love of mothers and mother figures. The sermon highlighted that while motherhood is often demanding and unnoticed, every mother deserves undying affection, whether they identify as a "Martha"—the "busy bee" who is task-oriented and driven—or a "Mary"—who is more laid back and reflective. By examining the story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10, the message validated both personality types, reminding mothers that they are perfectly and unconditionally loved by God regardless of their perceived imperfections, messy homes, or parenting choices.

The message further encouraged believers to prioritize intimate time with Jesus over the "anxious doing" and hustle of a super-busy lifestyle. While Mary chose the "better part" by sitting at the Lord’s feet, the sermon also honored Martha’s deep, vocal faith and her hospitality in welcoming Jesus into her home. Ultimately, the service called on everyone to move beyond agitation and anxiety, emphasizing that the most important task of the day is to make a conscious effort to sit at Jesus' feet and find comfort in His presence.

Transcript

So, as a public expression of our love and admiration for mothers of our country, President Woodrow Wilson, by an act of Congress, proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. Today, 112 years later, we want to take a moment to celebrate the mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures who make such a meaningful difference in our lives. So, whether you're honoring someone special, spending time with family, or reflecting on cherished memories, I pray that this day brings you warmth and appreciation.

We have many reasons that we should honor our moms: for their sacrificial, unselfish love that they have given us, all the loving deeds that they have done for us throughout the years, for all the prayers that they have prayed for us, for all the sleepless nights they have spent with tears running down their cheeks. Mothers may not sit behind a big office desk with a view overlooking the city, but I believe that there is no job that is more important than that of a mother.

One Mother's Day, a four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their mom with a house plant. They used their own money to buy it, and mom was thrilled. But the older one said with a sad face, "There was a bouquet that we really wanted to get you at the flower shop. It was really big and very pretty, but it was too expensive." It had a big ribbon on it. It said, "Rest in Peace." We thought it would be the perfect gift for you, for you're always asking for a little peace so you can rest.

Then there was a day when the teacher asked the student this question in math class. Suppose your mother baked a pie and there were seven of you, your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you get? "I would get a sixth," replied the boy. "I'm afraid you don't know your fractions, young man," said the teacher. "Remember, there are seven of you." "Yes, teacher," said the boy, "but you don't know my mother." Mom would say, "She didn't want any pot."

So, let's face it, mom's job is demanding, tiresome, and probably just unrewarding and unnoticed. Today, as well as every day, moms deserve our undying love and affection whether they still are alive or have passed to greater glory. This morning, we heard and read from Luke chapter 10, verses 38 through 42, a story about sisters Martha and Mary. The Bible does not record Martha and Mary as mothers. Rather, they are described as sisters to Lazarus and good friends of Jesus. They are often depicted as independent women, with no mention of husband or children.

Now, on this one particular day, Jesus comes to Bethany. Lazarus is not mentioned in this specific passage, but in these very few short verses, we find a lot out about his sisters. These two sisters' personalities were about as polar opposite as you could get. I recall back in Psychology 101, psychologists would label their personalities as either a Type A or Type B personality. A Type A personality is often driven, time conscious, and prone to irritability and impatience. These types are high achievers who work fast and usually experience higher stress levels. On the other hand, Type B personalities are generally laid back, adaptable. They tend to manage stress better, are more reflective, and may take a more relaxed approach to tasks.

Martha is definitely a type A personality. She's a doer. She can't sit still. She's the Bible's busy bee. She's got company. Jesus is visiting her today. This is special. She's got to be doing something. She runs to the kitchen to get supper going. Everything needs to be perfect. It's Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She's just kind of coasting along. She's just happy to see Jesus. She's not concerned about what to fix for supper. She's not worried about the dust on the coffee table. She's just laid back and is content to just sit at Jesus' feet and listen.

Jesus addresses Martha, and he basically says, don't work yourself up. Don't be so worried. Don't get upset. Just spend some time with me. Now, Jesus never said don't do anything, but rather just find some time to spend with him and all the hustle and bustle. He wasn't fussing at Martha for what she was doing, but rather pointing out what was driving her to do it. What is truer than true is that these two completely different personalities love Jesus, but express themselves in different ways. Just as our moms may have expressed and acted differently as we grew up.

Which is right? Keeping score and choosing either of them over the other sounds absolutely silly, doesn't it? Why in the world would we choose sides with these women? Choosing one personality type over the other is almost like condemning the other. But we do that all the time in real life. We make up our minds about people pretty quickly, don't we? And the way we make up our minds has to do with how we think about something. If we're a Martha-type mom, we make up our minds about Mary-type moms pretty spontaneously. They're lazy. They waste their time doing nothing. They don't have any pride about themselves. They make everybody else's life twice as hard. Not only do I have to do my stuff, I have to do theirs.

And if we're a Mary-type mom, we make up our minds about Martha-type moms pretty quickly, too. They are so obsessive-compulsive, they drive everyone else crazy. They can't enjoy the life that they live. And like a vampire, they suck the life out of everybody else's lives around them. So, what's the right answer? Mary is typically seen as a model of quiet contemplation and humility. She is presented as the notable sister, the one who chooses what is better because she sat at the Lord's feet, while Martha rushed around trying to get things perfectly prepared.

We can get the wrong impression that Martha is without merit. We judge her. Somehow, she has almost become an example of what not to do. It's easy to look at everything Martha did in a negative light. We allow our perception of her from that one story in Luke's gospel to color our overall impression of her. It can seem as if she is completely task-oriented and has better things to do than spend time with the Lord. But make no mistake, Martha loved Jesus. Martha wanted everything to be perfect for Jesus. She thought he deserved nothing less than perfect, and that's what she was singularly focused on giving him.

But in Romans 8:1, we find the Bible telling us that if you are in Christ Jesus, you are not wrong. We all have different personalities and tendencies and fall somewhere on the spectrum between type A and type B. But when we are in Christ Jesus, neither personality type is wrong. Motherhood can be overwhelming and discouraging in many ways. We can be so consumed by our mistakes that we often lose sight of the things that we have done right or are doing right with our children. As parents, we are bombarded with choices from everything to our parenting philosophy, to our schooling decisions, to how we feed our baby.

None of us are perfect, but you don't need to be perfect. Jesus loves you in spite of your messy home, your personal sins, your miscarriages, by your lack of desire to have more kids, by your inability to cook, by being divorced, by your desire to be alone and away from your kids for some time, by your body, which may not be what it once was, by the frustration of having to scrape mac and cheese off the kitchen floor time and time again, by all the fears and tears which flirt with insanity and take you to the precipice of despair, by not being able to throw the party of the century for your kids, for not feeding your kids meals that could only be made after a trip to Whole Foods, by your need for a vacation, for not living up to the standards of your mother or your mother-in-law, and by the stares of those who have no kids, when your kids erupt into a volcanic scream in public places.

Moms, it doesn't matter. If you are in Christ, you are made in His image, and you are perfect in His eyes. It doesn't matter if you're a Martha or a Mary. You are loved. Yes, you are loved whether your house is clean or not. Jesus accepts you whether you can boil water or not. Jesus has great affection for you as you navigate the chaos of everyday living, just as he accepted Martha. Therefore, stop for a moment. Enjoy the love, affection, and acceptance of being a daughter perfectly and unconditionally loved by your Father in heaven.

In today's reality, let's face it, Martha is most of us as we engage with our super-busy lifestyles. She's as much as the everyday woman as each one of us who experience life's frustration and wrestle with finding time to sit and listen to Jesus. Yes, in Luke 10, verses 38 through 42, Mary did ultimately choose what was better in that situation. But we find out later in John's account that Martha displayed a more explicit, theological, and vocal faith than Mary did during the raising of Lazarus. While both sisters expressed deep belief, Martha engaged directly with Jesus, declaring him the Messiah and continuing to express faith, even when facing the practical hard reality of death.

So, let's not dismiss Martha as someone who can't teach us anything by her example. Jesus journeyed to many villages in the book of Luke, but this is the first instance he was received into a family. There was nothing more joyous and precious to Martha than receiving and welcoming Jesus into her home under her roof to have him as a house guest to grace and bless her home. My message this morning focuses and encourages you to prioritize intimate time with Jesus over anxious doing, emphasizing that true service stems from a centered heart, not busy work. It's advice for everyone, not just mothers.

A music teacher once asked her class, "What is the difference between listening and hearing?" At first, there was no response. Finally, a hand went up in the back of a class, and one of the young people offered this wise definition: "Listening is wanting to hear." Martha's way of receiving Jesus was far different from Mary's in our scriptural meeting this morning. Martha opened her house to Jesus, but in this instant Mary opens her heart to him. In her busyness, however, Martha momentarily forgot why she invited Jesus into her home in the first place.

This story is not about two sisters having an argument, but about Jesus empowering women and calling them to follow him, pointing out that agitation and anxiety will only get in the way. It's a message that still applies to all of us some 2,000 years later. So it really doesn't matter if your personality is type A, type B, or somewhere in between. Never forget why you invited Jesus into your life. Jesus is saying to you, don't work yourself up, don't be so worried. Don't get upset. Just spend some time with me. So the best thing that you can do, besides the dishes, is to make a conscious effort every day to sit at Jesus' feet and spend some quality time with him. Let being in Christ Jesus be your comfort today and still your heart momentarily from all of life's busyness. Amen.