Reflection for Sunday 30th March 2025

Mothering Sunday

Exodus 2.1-10, Colossians 3.12-17, and John 19.25-27

Mothering Sunday invites us to celebrate the gift of maternal love as revealed in Scripture, where God’s tender care meets human sacrifice and mercy. Today’s readings weave a tapestry of divine providence, compassionate service, and the enduring bond between mother and child—both biological and spiritual.

In Exodus (2:1‑10), a mother’s courage shines through Jochebed’s willingness to place her infant son in a basket on the Nile. Her desperate act of love trusts God to protect what she cannot hold. Pharaoh’s daughter becomes an unexpected instrument of God’s plan when she rescues Moses, adopting him as her own. Here we see that motherhood extends beyond blood ties: it is an expression of sacrificial love that entrusts life to God’s hands and welcomes the stranger with compassion.

St. Paul’s words to the Colossians (3:12‑17) give practical form to that love. Believers are clothed with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience,” forgiving as Christ forgave, and allowing peace to guide their hearts. Mothers instinctively live these virtues—but Paul reminds every Christian that these qualities are Christ’s call for the entire community. When the Word of Christ dwells richly among us, gratitude overflows, hymns of praise rise, and families become domestic churches reflecting God’s own nurturing presence.

In John’s Gospel (19:25‑27), at the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts His mother Mary to the beloved disciple and, by extension, to all of us. Mary stands as Mother of the Church—an enduring symbol of steadfast love, strength in suffering, and faithful obedience to God’s will. Her maternal care does not end at biological motherhood but continues in spiritual motherhood, offering comfort and guidance to everyone who seeks her son.

Together these readings remind us that motherhood is a vocation of welcome and sacrifice, rooted in God’s tender care. Whether through biological birth, adoption, mentorship, or simple acts of kindness, each of us shares in Mary’s motherhood when we nurture life, forgive injuries, and bring peace to broken relationships.

This Mothering Sunday, let us honour the women who have nurtured us and imitate Mary’s open heart by embodying compassion, patience, and generosity in our daily lives. May we reach out to those who long for belonging, extend forgiveness where there has been hurt, and allow Christ’s peace to guide our words and actions so that God’s loving presence may be made visible in every home and community.

Blessings and prayers,

Emma