Mothering Sunday

Opening Verse of Scripture Isaiah 66.13

As a mother comforts a child so will I comfort you, says the Lord.

Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray

God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

God of love, passionate and strong, tender and careful: watch over us and hold us all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

First Bible Reading Exodus 2:1-10

A man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’

Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’ NRSV

Second Reading 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation. NRSV

or Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. NRSV

Gospel Reading  Luke 2:33-35

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about Jesus. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

or John 19:25-27

Standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

Post Communion Prayer

Loving God, as a mother feeds her children at the breast you feed us in this sacrament with the food and drink of eternal life: help us who have tasted your goodness to grow in grace within the household of faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Commentary - Today is Mothering Sunday

This is a day of celebration, a pause in the austerity of Lent for the traditional celebration of mothers. Its complicated though isn't it

• Not all mothers are great
• Some folks have mother’s who have died and this is a sad time
• Some families have two dads and they provide all of the nurturing in the home
• Some women are not mother’s but they have been brilliant mothers to lots of children

So at the end of this service take flowers, we are not going to be gender specific, God bless anybody who helps parent a child. They have been struggling with this in Ireland this week they have been voting on article 41.2, which reads: “The state recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the state a support without which the common good cannot be achieved...The state shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.” The government has argued the language is outdated and a woman’s place is wherever she wants it to be, whether that is in the workforce, in education, or in the home.

Whether we like it or not there is loads of controversy around at the moment and our society is shifting in terms of what it understands by gender and gender roles. For example I am starting to get lots of communications now in which people will sign off He/Him or She/her or they/them, indicating the pronouns which they want to be used when addressing them. Inevitably this means that there are implications for the church.

The Daily Mail on 7 Feb ran a headline

Our non-gendered parent who art in heaven: Priests could stop using male pronouns 'He' and 'Him' when referring to God in prayers and drop phrase 'our Father' from the Lord's Prayer'  It said that God could be referred to in 'non-gendered' terms in Church of England services.

 Its difficult for the church isn't it if it wants to communicate to our society. The Daily Mail has no love for the Church of England and it mischievously suggests we could say ‘Our parent, who art in heaven.’  Language like that might be helpful for those who have suffered abuse by fathers or other males. But those who have known good kind dads like calling God ‘Father, ’ they like God as He/Him not They/Them?

I am using Duo Lingo to learn Spanish at the moment. I have accepted that I will never be very conversational but the hope is that I can sound a little more understandable when I order a round of drink or book into a hotel. The thing about languages like Spanish is that you have to call things differently depending on whether they are masculine and feminine.

For example

• A motor car is male so we say El carro, the car (Masculine)
• A house is female so we say La casa the house (Female).

It makes it so much more difficult and somewhat ridiculous because you have to remember whether everything from a cat to a school is male of female! This is however just language and we must never think that the cat is male and the school, is female! I don’ think that it will come as a shock to folks at St Mark’s that just because we use male pronouns for God does not mean that God is a man. Sadly it is because we have used male pronouns for God that many abuses have occurred throughout church history, including patriarchy and the subjugation of women.

If we just think of God as a man then that is just as bad as those ridiculous paintings of Jesus as a white man with blonde hair. So let us affirm the unquestionable truth that God cannot be defined by Gender, especially not as just a man. To do so limits God because all of the characteristics which have been traditionally ascribed to males and females are derived from God’s character. None of this is new and we were reminded as far back as the 14th century by Julian of Norwich “God is our Mother as truly as he is our Father,”

I hope that we can avoid calling God by they/them pronouns but I have no problem with thinking of God as mother. Interestingly Moses once asked God who are you. Perhaps God knew that all of this nonsense was going to be a problem. In Exodus 3 Moses says to God,

‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’  God said to Moses ‘I am who I am. You shall say to the Israelites, I am has sent me to you. This is my name for ever, and this my title for all generations.

Mothering Sunday is a wonderful day in which we celebrate the nurture of parents and of course especially our mothers. We also remember the traditional role of the Mother Church which is celebrated on Mothering Sunday. For Christians, the Church should always be a safe and secure community where we are nurtured and enabled to grow in our pilgrimage of faith. The Church should always seek to be a place of love and welcome, never controlling and always affirming and enabling all of God’s children to discover where God might be leading them. I was particularly pleased that last week St Mark’s was welcomed as a member of Inclusive Church which seeks to do that.

Today is a day in which we celebrate Mothers, one of the features of mother’s is that they love their children. They love them so much that they continue to love them even when they are naughty or they make sill mistakes. A good mother will repeatedly forgive children their mistakes, because they realise that mistakes are a part of growing up and a part of the learning process. It seems to me that just as a truly loving parent is unconditional in the love which they show to their child. So God is unconditional in showing a love to each one of us which cannot be merited or earned. It is the responsibility of the church to extend that unconditional love to all of God’s children.   

The church is often referred to as a sanctuary, it is a place of refuge, a place of asylum. A place where those who need a home and have none may find it. Now in law there is no such thing as a vicar of a church being able to stand there and prevent the officers of the law taking away a fugitive. But there is something enduring in the notion that all who come will find in the church a place of safety and refuge. I like the concept of the church being a safe place for all. Sanctuary is a word which shows the church as a place of open doors and open hearts. To be the kinds of people who show that forgiving nature which we see in the very best of mothers. We are all children of God and the Mother Church must always seek to embrace all God’s children and welcome them with a love which demonstrates the best qualities of our God.    Charles Royden

Meditation

The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. - Victor Hugo

Hymns

Now thank we all our God

Give thanks with a grateful heart

At the name of Jesus

Father we love you

Amazing Grace

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Together we will now offer to our loving God our prayers and petitions for the needs of the world and ourselves.

• Jesus said that those who remain faithful to him will bear much fruit. We pray for communities of Christians gathered throughout the world today, for church leaders and for those of us who follow, for all women, men and children who seek to know God’s will and to do it. Let us make your churches safe and nurturing places where everyone can find their true home, where the lonely, the marginalized and the rejected may be welcomed and where everyone can experience your unconditional love.
• Loving God, as we see the brokenness of the world we pray for healing among the nations, for food where there is hunger, for freedom where there is oppression; for joy where there is pain, for peace among all your children. Just as a mother watches her children, you see the damage we do in your world and you forgive our selfishness, greed and stupidity. May your love strengthen us so we can work to change ourselves and the world.
• This morning we pray especially for mothers and for stepmothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and all those women who have loved and laughed, wept and worked to care for others. Let us be a source of encouragement, support and friendship for them as they courageously accept this inspiring responsibility. Bless all parents and all carers and strengthen those families living under stress. We know that Mother’s day is not a celebration but a time of heartache for many - may they have the comfort of knowing that your love for them is constant, your understanding is perfect, your compassion is never-ending
• Loving God, we pray for the very old, for those living with serious illness and for those who love them and struggle as they witness their loved ones’ diminishing health and daily challenges. We pray for those who mourn. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, as we remember all those who have died we light a candle to remind us of his love and sacrifice. Almighty God is our eternal mother and father, we entrust to God every mother’s child who has died and we pray that all those departed will rest in peace and rise in glory. Delia Shephard

Additional Material

Commentary

We have some remarkable women in our story from Exodus today

• The midwives Shiphrah, and Puah
• The remarkable mother of Moses, who kept her child hidden for as long as she could until she brought herself to let him go in one last attempt to spare his life
• Miriam the sister of Moses who follows her brother downstream
• The amazing daughter of Pharoah who takes in a Hebrew child knowing what Pharoah has commanded their deaths

The Bible is full of amazing women, women who led God’s people in the Old and in the New Testament.

• There were women like Mary and Martha who supported Jesus
• Women who had the courage to stand by Jesus at the foot of the cross as we read in the passage today from John’s Gospel
• Women who shared in leadership in the early Church like Phoebe, Priscilla

On Mothering Sunday there are those who would wish to see women celebrated but only in roles which deny them the opportunities to express the full range of gifts which God gives to his people. Traditionally Mothering Sunday has exalted motherhood in a manner which places women in roles which confine their abilities, perhaps in the way in which they are expected to be about their chores like Martha, rather than learning at the feet of Jesus like Mary.

Of course this is true across the world where women are denied access to the same educational opportunities as men. In our own country it was not until the 1920’s that women at Oxford were even entitled to claim the degrees which they had earned. Mothering Sunday is an opportunity to remember the rights which women are still denied. The way in which so many societies are set up to still discriminate against women.

Patriarchal society is damaging to women, but of course it is also damaging towards men. Men are deprived of the balance which is so important for a proper functioning society. God created men and women and he created them with the gifts needed for things to work. Equal opportunities for women is fundamental to the proper functioning of our life and benefits all, including men.  The biggest killer of men under 50 is themselves. In more gender-equal societies men are

• Half as likely to be depressed
• Less likely to commit suicide
• Iceland is a case in point, because Icelandic men have the highest life expectancy in Europe. Its not just eating herring Iceland, Iceland has a smaller economic and social gender gap than any other country.

Men need women in order to live life in all its fullness as God intended. Mothering Sunday is a day to rejoice in all of the gifts of all women and to recognise these gifts in women in God’s church who show us what God is like.

Sadly it is the case that the church across the world still denies women the opportunity to use the gifts which God has given them and sees maleness as the qualification to lead. To be female is to be required to minister in different ways to men, typically ways with less authority, commensurate with the patriarchal society. Theologically this goes back to Eve, the eponymous representative of all the reasons why women are not made by God to have access top roles reserved for men. And so of course we think of God as a man and as we do so we feel more comfortable with many of the doctrines which men have produced to explain everything from the fall of humankind to salvation itself. In so doing we deny God in all of her fullness.

It was in the 14th century that Julian of Norwich said

“As truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother”

It is for this that Julian is best known in feminist circles, and justly so. However in many other ways Julian of Norwich is a woman for our times and worth reminding ourselves about whewn we have all suffered from lockdown in the pandemic. We know very little about Julian - that may not even have been her name. However we do know that at an unknown point in her life, she became an anchoress attached to the Church of St Julian in Norwich, and she may have been identified by the name of the church rather than her own. On 8 May in the year 1373, when she was thirty years old and suffering from what was expected to be a terminal illness, she experienced a series of sixteen visions, which revealed aspects of the love of God, and particularly the suffering of Christ on the cross.

Following her recovery, she spent the next twenty years of her life writing down the things she had seen and pondering their meaning. These writings became the first book written by a woman in English, The Revelations of Divine Love. She clearly became known for her wisdom, and for giving what we might now call spiritual direction to people who came to the church to seek her advice. She died around the year 1417.

Julian is particularly poignant for us because she lived, literally, in lockdown. Anchorites were walled into their cell next to the church they served; from the day of their vows, they would never leave the single small room in which they lived. But because of her experience of God’s love, Julian was able to see things differently. Even in her solitude she found in God hope, and perhaps her most famous words were

“And all shall be well”, “all manner of things shall be well”:

In the last decades the Church of England has tried to repent of the past and ministry has thankfully changed, but if only we had been more open to the gifts of women in the church. Who knows what we have denied ourselves? Even today the majority of the Christian Church is still not open to the gifts of women and so we are impoverished as a worldwide church. God’s people are reduced in their vision and experience of God. How many ministers of the Christian faith Priscillas and Lydias and Phoebes have we lost by our prejudice? On this Mothering Sunday may we see it as an opportunity to give gifts of flowers and chocolates, but also an opportunity to consider how much better the world might be, the church might be, if women were able to show us more of God.    Charles Royden

Meditation

Parents always think of their children as being rather special. We speak of our God as “loving Father” and address him every week as “our Father”. Why then do we persist in thinking that God looks at us only to shake his head and criticize us? What if God looks at us with the same delight and joy that we look at our own beloved ones? What if, when God contemplates our lives, he doesn’t feel carping and depressed? What if God thinks we are wonderful, marvellously made in his image? We know that when God made the world he looked at it and saw that it was very good. We also know that in Jesus God became fully human and knows our weaknesses and failings. What if he loves us with the perfect tolerance and forgiveness that we would wish to show as parents? If we don’t believe in a God who is far better and more loving than the best human being, than our estimation of His grace and love is limited indeed.

A Fault in the Design?

When God was creating mothers, he was deep in his sixth day of overtime. An angel appeared and said, ‘You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.’ And God answered, ‘Look at the requirement on this order and you’ll understand why. She has to be completely washable but not plastic. Have 180 movable parts, each one replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And have six pairs of hands.’

The angel shook her head, ‘Six pairs of hands? That’s not possible even for you, O God.’ ‘It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,’ replied the L ORD. ‘It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers are supposed to have.’ ‘Are the three pairs of eyes supposed to be on the standard model?’ asked the angel. The Lord nodded gravely. ‘One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, “What are you kids doing in there?” - even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head that sees what she’s not supposed to see but what she has to know about. And of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he does something really silly and reflect, “I understand and I love you.” even thought she doesn’t utter a word.’

‘Lord,’ said the angel gently, ‘get some rest. Tomorrow….try again.’ ‘I can’t,’ said the Lord. ‘I’m so close to creating something so similar to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick, can feed a family of six on three hundred grams of mince, and get a nine year old to stay under a shower for an incredible two minutes.

The angel circled the model of the mother very slowly and sighed, ‘It’s much too soft dear God.’ ‘Soft, yes, but tough too,’ said the Lord excitedly. ‘You cannot imagine what the mother can do or endure.’ ‘Can it think?’ asked the angel. ‘Not only think,’ said the Creator, ‘ it can also reason and compromise.’ Finally the angel bent over and ran her fingers across the cheek. ‘There’s a leak,’ she said suddenly. ‘I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model. You can’t ignore the stress factor.’

The Lord moved in for a closer look and gently lifted the drop of moisture to his finger where it glistened and sparkled in the light. ‘It’s not a leak,’ God said. ‘It’s a tear.’ The angel looked puzzled, ‘A tear? What’s that for?’ ‘It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, compassion, pain, loneliness, and pride.’ ‘You are a genius,’ said the angel rapturously. The Lord looked somber and said, ‘I didn’t put it there.’

From the book ‘Gatherings’ by Bronwen Wild. The reading “And God created Mothers” by Erma Bombeck

Prayers

Lord Jesus, you know well the blessing an earthly home can bring: receive our thanks for all the love we have received in our homes, especially from those who have nurtured us from our earliest years. Hear our prayers for mothers everywhere, that they may never lose heart nor ever be taken for granted, but receive from their children the honour and love you showed to your mother, Mary, even as you were suffering on the Cross. Bless and keep them all, for your love's sake. Amen (Anglican Church in Ireland)

Remember, O Lord, all those in need: people with no good food or proper clothes, no home of their own, or no work to do; those who have neither family nor friends and no knowledge of the your love. Supply their needs. Bless those who try to help them and bring us all to trust in you. We ask this is Jesus' name. Amen.

God our Father, we ask you to bless all who live alone, those who have lost their partner in marriage, those who have never married, those whose families are grown up and away from home and those who have outlived other members of their families and many of their friends: Be with them to assure them of your love and of their value to you every moment of their lives, and enable them to rejoice in the fellowship of your Church on earth and in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Creator God, from whom every person and creature on earth gets life and breath, we pray for those who also create beauty, bring forth life and transform our understanding. Amen

Jewish Prayer

The following is a Prayer for Peace that is traditionally included in the Shabbat (Saturday) service. It is chanted together and alike most prayers in Judaism it is drawn from Biblical sources.

May we see the day when war and bloodshed cease when a great peace will embrace the whole world Then nation shall not threaten nation and humankind will not again know war. For all who live on earth shall realize we have not come into being to hate or destroy We have come into being to praise, to labour and to love. Compassionate God, bless all the leaders of all nations with the power of compassion. Fulfill the promise conveyed in Scripture: "I will bring peace to the land, and you shall lie down and no one shall terrify you. I will rid the land of vicious beasts and it shall not be ravaged by war." Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream. Let peace fill the earth as the waters fill the sea. And let us say: Amen

Christian Prayer

The following verse is taken from the from the Holy Bible and expresses our conviction that God is in control and will restore this world to himself. (Isaiah I 2:4).

He shall judge between nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Loving God, thank you for mums and children and for all the joy of family life. Be with those who are grieving because they have no mother;

Be close to those who are struggling because they have no children; Be near to those who are sad because they are far apart from those they love. Let your love be present in every home, and help your church to have eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of all who come.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thank you God for the love of our mothers: thank you God for their care and concern; thank you God for the joys they have shared with us;

thank you God for the pains they have borne for us; thank you God for all that they give us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you; you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.

Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness; through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.

Your warmth gives life to the dead, your touch makes sinners righteous.

Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us; in your love and tenderness remake us.

In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness, for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us

Anselm (1109)