Mothering Sunday
Over the coming weeks, we won’t be gathering together physically in the same place to worship, to hear God’s Word, to break bread together at the Eucharist and share in fellowship face to face. Instead, we will be making space and time in our own homes to pray and to reflect on the readings for this Sunday.
This change is signifiant and no doubt we will be experiencing a range of feelings: it’s a disruption which might cause anxiety or a sense of loss; we might feel lonely or bored; we might experience this season an opportunity to rest and find new ways of strengthening community.
Along with the booklet of prayers for use at home, we will be sharing the prayers and readings for each Sunday, along with a devotional reflection; and questions to ponder.
Above all, the thing which we can hold to is that nothing separates us from the love of God. We who have been shaped by our habits of life together - over weeks or decades - are bound together, even when we are alone. This is a journey for all of us; together we will be learning how to pray for, support, encourage and care for each other.
As we read, alone or in company, we might want to use an ancient practice called ‘lectio divina’ or divine reading. First, read the text slowly - aloud or silently - and notice what word or phrase holds your attention. Then, sit with that word or phrase in silence. Read the text again and then reflect on what the Spirit might be prompting you to think about or do.
We begin with today’s prayer for the day - which ‘collects’ together the themes at the heart of this Mothering Sunday.
The Collect
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;
though Jesus Christ you Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
You might want to read all three texts before reflecting; or focus on one, perhaps coming back to others over the day or week ahead.
Exodus 2:1-10
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. 3 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. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
5 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. 6 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. 7 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?’ 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 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. 10 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.’
Colossians 3:12-17
12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 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. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 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. 17 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.
John 19:25b-27
25b Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27 Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Reflections
As individuals, and as a society, a complex relationship to mothers and motherhood. Our own experience of motherhood and mothers means that today we bring thanks, sadness, worries, guilt, confusion and grief. Today, knowing that we might not be able to see or hug the ones we love, is particularly painful. It is precisely because we love our mothers - and those we who’ve supported us or shown us care - that today we have to ‘let go’ of some of our ways of relating to each other.
The biblical narrative paints an honest and complex picture – not just of being a mum, but of the joy and cost of love, and of the purpose and potential of our own lives. It reflects the gift of new life and the challenge of letting go. We learn about love that is committed and passionate. It's a love that calls us into unexpected relationships, that is resilient and altruistic, that faces risk and uncertainty, that is consistent in bearing joys and pain.
The opening chapters of Exodus introduces us to realistic and resourceful women. The bonds between mother and child, child and sister, lead to bold and imaginative action. In light of Pharaoh’s decreed, Moses mother lets go in order to preserve his life. It is Pharoah’s daughter who takes pity on a helpless baby. It’s Moses' sister who watches and waits so that she can negotiate a place for ongoing motherly love and nurture. Moses flourishes because of determined women - let go and found; separated yet nourished. He grows up to be a leader and liberator of his people. How might God work through us - our vulnerabilities, gifts and relationships?
God's love is made manifest to us in the risky and compassionate action of others as they reach out to us. We all share in this generative activity of 'mothering': praying and consoling in heart break; delighting in and nurturing others; bringing passion and resourcefulness, imagination and commitment to our relationships. Such mothering transcends bonds of kinship and extends the tapestry of God's Kingdom.
Today honours those who have nurtured and supported us - mothers perhaps, but not exclusively so; perhaps we now care for them in frailty and age. When we can’t celebrate in the usual ways, we are reminded that mothering is a verb: it’s part of the character of God which we can reflect in our love of others, regardless of age/gender. This is in a sense what Paul is doing when he writes to the Colossians.
His letters resonate even more - as we rely on writing emails or letters, rather than face to face communication. We too are chosen, holy and beloved. We are to bear with one another in this unfamiliar territory of physical distancing and the protection of isolation; are social interactions are being rewritten. Yet there is continuity: be compassionate, kind and humble; show patience and forgiveness. We are still members of one body - we are still bound together in love. As we share food at home, what are we grateful for today? Who might we want to reach out to this week?
This week I have drawn a lot on Romans 8 and the conviction that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. John draws us into that love in today’s Gospel. In powerlessness, Jesus reveals the truth of love.
Jesus speaks to Mary and the beloved disciple: Behold your mother; behold your Son. Mary is there with the beloved disciple, who takes her into his home; into his heart. This brief exchange in the midst of agony and death could be seen as an act of practical kindness; a son securing his mother's future.
It is far more radical.
On the cross, Jesus draws humanity to himself; that is the work that glorifies his Father; now it is nearing completion. This final gesture, brings Mary and John together as one with each and one with God: there is a new bond or covenant of love between them. This bond is life giving and reciprocal; it is the unity of love and communion that we share in too.
We have broken bread together and received new life in the Eucharist; but now we are called to live out that life in a dispersed way. Yet we still break bread, in our our homes; remembering our wider family; remembering we are one; and that we are loved.
One the coming weeks, we pray for the deepening of our kinship - our family life - in Christ. Day by day, what is God calling us to do in his name?
We who are God’s beloved children are united in Christ; in adversity, uncertainty and change, may the Spirit strengthen our corporate mothering in love, wisdom, encouragement and care.
Finally, a prayer that can be used with the blessing of or giving of flowers:
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.
Amen.
© Julie Gittoes 2020
