Basket
0 Items
Sunday 15 March 2026 Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday; Church as Comforter
Exodus 2:1–10, 2 Corinthians 1:3–7, Luke 2:33–35
Context: A Eucharistic service in a small-town parish in Cornwall with a congregation mixed in tradition and age
Aim: To consider that God is the source of comfort which is embodied in the Church, and in which we all play a part in expressing
THE CONFUSION OF MOTHERING SUNDAY
You have, no doubt, encountered the trickiness of this day: an important Anglican festival that falls partway through Lent, and celebrates the nurturing home of the Church that provides the metaphorical soil in which we grow and develop. In centuries gone by, servants would be given the day off from service, and
return to their home church where they were christened, to visit and to spend time with their family, sometimes taking a Simnel Cake as a gift. This celebration of the church that nurtures us has been conflated with the secular festival of Mothers’ Day. We end up trying to celebrate mums, with all the complexities of absent mothers, those that could not be mothers, and those that were hurt by their mothers, whilst trying to call the church, mother. It’s important
to say that Mothering Sunday is not the same as Mother’s Day. Mothering Sunday is a celebration of the Church as the place that nurtures us, and enables us to become disciples of Christ.
NURTURE AND MOTHERING
In today’s readings, we hear of the sacrifice and unconditional love of motherhood at its best. The story of Moses is one of huge pain as his mother is forced to give up her son, but also one of adoption and watching over, of love shown in different ways in a complex situation. Moses’ mother could not call herself his mother.
In the Gospel we hear of Jesus being presented at the temple as a tiny baby; where Simeon says that a sword will pierce Mary’s heart; her love for her son will become the source of great pain when he suffers. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians reminds us that God comforts us in all our suffering, so that we can comfort others who need it. There is a sense of God as a source of comfort, and the community of faith, in turn, being resourced to bring comfort to those who will inevitably need it.
WITH LOVE COMES PAIN
The Old Testament and the Gospel reading make real the suffering that can come with loving. Most of the suffering (perhaps all?) that we experience in life is in some way caused or magnified by the love we have for others. Ask most people with a terminal diagnosis, and they will say that their deepest fear is not for themselves, but for those they leave behind. Moses’ story shows so much of the suffering we see in the world today; oppressed people, exile and refugees, a mother unable to mother her own child, adoption/fostering (which are beautiful, but somewhere will have stories of pain). It is all complex, and although there is joy and love and beautiful opportunity, both in the start of a baby’s life with his parents, as we see with Jesus, and in the resolution of Moses’ rescue, where his mother can become his wet nurse, there is also a shadow of pain.
THE COMFORT OF COMMUNITY
As the Church, we stand in the unique position of being able to hold in tension both pain and comfort. The source of our comfort is God, and we are sustained and held in God. Practically, this works out through our shared life and liturgy. Ask anyone who has conducted an occasional office how they manage the emotion, and they are likely to say that the liturgy does it all; somehow God and the weight of our human experience are channeled so that those present can receive peace and comfort. Ask anyone who has received one-to-one pastoral care, or given it, and they will say that the awareness of God breathed presence, both human and divine, somehow allows pain to be held beyond our insufficient bodies, and comfort to flow in. The Church is a vessel that both contains and channels God’s comfort. And the Church is us. The liturgy and our presence are silent unless we join and embody it. As we celebrate this Mothering Sunday, we celebrate what has brought us to this point, but we also celebrate the privilege of being part of something that offers God to its own community, and those beyond.
Welcome to The College of Preachers
To explore the website fully, please sign in or subscribe.
Non-subscribers can read up to three articles a month for free. (You will need to register.)
This is the last of your 1 free articles this month.
Subscribe today for the full range of resources from The College of Preachers, including Lectionary sermons for every Sunday, book reviews and more.
