From Caroline - [email protected], 01285 712467
Readings for Sunday: Exodus 2.1-10; Colossians 3.12-17; John 19.25b-27
This Sunday of course is Mothering Sunday, when traditionally people working away from their parents would have leave to return home and have a break from the austerity of Lent. It’s an opportunity to consciously recognise and give voice to our gratitude to those who have loved and cared for us, which can often fall into the background of busy lives.
It’s not an uncomplicated day of course. Whenever we turn our mind to questions about families we are aware that not all families are happy ones. Some of us have been blessed with wonderful family relationships. Some of us, however, have not. Jesus himself had his own complexities with his family, memorably declaring that the people who loved and followed God were his mother and brothers and sisters, rather than those who might claim those relationships through blood. But for all that, Jesus cared for his earthly family as well. Our reading from John’s gospel this Sunday gives us a wonderful glimpse of that love as he makes sure, even while going through the agonies of the cross, that his mother Mary will be taken care of when he is gone.
On this Sunday we can’t overlook the difficult relations that we might have with our mothers or parents, or even a complete absence of relationship. But certainly what we can do is give thanks for those who have given us that motherly care and guidance in our lives. They need not be our biological mothers – so many people might have stepped up to offer unconditional love and support through the years. Now is our chance to name them and offer our gratitude out loud. Love given and received is the highest calling, and our God who is love sees and celebrates it with us.
Rev’d Caroline
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