May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
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; 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. Amen.
Confession
As his children, let us come to our heavenly Father in penitence and trust, to confess our sins and ask his forgiveness.
As parents are tender to their children, so is God tender to those who trust in him. Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
God will not always rebuke us, neither does his displeasure last for ever. Christ, have mercy:
Christ, have mercy.
In calm and tranquillity let us find relief and shelter in his love. Lord, have mercy:
Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God, who sent his Son into the world, born of Mary, to save us from sin, bring us his pardon and peace, that we may rest secure in him. Amen.
God’s Word - Colossians, chapter 3, verses 12 to 17 :-
Put on the garments that suit God’s chosen and beloved people: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. Be tolerant with one another and forgiving, if any of you has cause for complaint: you must forgive as the Lord forgave you. Finally, to bind everything together and complete the whole, there must be love. Let Christ’s peace be arbiter in your decisions, the peace to which you were called as members of a single body. Always be thankful. Let the gospel of Christ dwell among you in all its richness; teach and instruct one another with all the wisdom it gives you. With psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing from the heart in gratitude to God. Let every word and action, everything you do, be in the name of the Lord Jesus, and give thanks through him to God the Father.
John, chapter 19, verses 25 to 27 :-
Near the cross on which Jesus hung, his mother was standing with her sister, Mary wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother, with the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, Jesus said to her, ‘Mother, there is your son’; and to the disciple, ‘There is your mother’; and from that moment the disciple took her into his home.
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection
Our second reading today, from St John’s Gospel, is very short, just three verses - in fact the lectionary requires only two and a half - and yet there is a great deal in those verses. A certain amount of confusion, to begin with. It’s not entirely clear how many women were there, for example; the list of names in the original Greek could imply anything between two and four.
Many commentators interpret John’s words as referring to four women, however: Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, some of whose story we know, Mary the wife of Clopas, of whom we know nothing, and - un-named - Mary’s sister. It’s suggested that this is the mother of James and John, Salome, whose presence at the cross is noted by Mark and Matthew - which would make James and his brother John cousins of Jesus. His mother’s presence at the cross would also explain how John (“the beloved disciple”) came to be there, since he and all the other disciples had initially fled.
It’s impressive and deeply moving that Jesus, staring death in the face and in the most tremendous agony, has his mother’s future care in mind. Not her physical care, as we know she had other children who would provide for her - but we also know that those other children did not as yet understand what Jesus was doing, and certainly couldn’t understand how it was, and why it was, he came to die.
Jesus commits his mother to John’s keeping, and John to hers, so that they could provide for each other the spiritual support and comfort they would need in the coming days. Here we have the eldest son, at the moment of greatest pain and darkness, not forgetting his duty of care as a son for his mother; here we have too God’s anointed, the man for others, even at this hour of crisis thinking more of the sorrows of others than of his own.
But study any part of John’s Gospel, and you will find there are often layers of meaning: you may well find there’s something more behind the immediate and obvious meaning of the words - and that could well be true here.
Some scholars think so, anyway: so Mary represents the Jewish faith and tradition from which God’s new work of salvation springs, while the beloved disciple stands for the new church as it grows and develops. And if we see the words of Jesus in that light, there’s a message here both to the historic faith and the new Church, that neither is complete without the other; they belong together. The message to John, and therefore to the Church, is: “Never forget where you came from.”
And that’s a good message to hear on this day which is not just Mother’s Day but also Mothering Sunday. It’s a time to celebrate not only our own mothers but also our mothers in the faith and our spiritual origins; to mark and celebrate and reflect on too, all the ways in which we belong together. That’s why one tradition on this day used to be people going back to the original mother church of an area, or perhaps to the cathedral.
And that takes me to our first reading, and Paul’s instructions to the church at Colossae, a city in Asia Minor, now within modern Turkey. Effectively, he’s writing to them about how to live together as family, and about how their behaviour toward one another should reflect and convey the grace, forgiveness and renewing love they have received from God.
Human beings can be a quarrelsome lot - and even families, sadly, are not immune from this. I frequently fall out with my brothers; but here’s the point - we always fall back in again. Tolerance, forgiveness and a readiness to sort things out rather than turn disagreements into permanent rifts - that should be the mark of the Christian fellowship as family. There’s a word for that, and it’s mothering.
Mothers may well tell their children off, may well discipline them, certainly won’t always be doing or providing whatever their children want, however hard they may pester. But at the same time a good mother will always want the best for her child, and want her child to find his or her own way in life and do well - and she never stops loving. As Paul says, “To bind everything together there must be love.”
And that, more than anything, is what we celebrate today: love that bind, love that cares, love too that sets free, that forgives, that supports and applauds. The love which forms us, and the love that inspires love within us.
Statement of faith -
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer Pointers - Pray for the Church everywhere as a place of welcome, forgiveness and mutual care; and that the mark of our mission may be a love that reflects and conveys the saving love of our Lord. Pray for the churches of Chile and for the Anglican Province of Chile. Pray for our own Diocese, for Richard our Bishop, and today for all who visit our churches, as pilgrims, as tourists or to trace family history.
Give thanks for mothers, for family life and for all who care for those who are in any way vulnerable. In the week of St Patrick’s Day, pray for the churches and people of Ireland. Young Carers’ Day falls this week - pray for all who in early life are caring for others. Pray for peace in the world, and for those in places of leadership and authority, that they may govern wisely and well.
Pray for all who are ill or in any kind of anxiety or pain - for their care, treatment and recovery, and for the safety and protection of hospital, health and care home staff. Pray for all that gives support for family life, especially at times of illness, difficulty or loss. Pray for all who are on the front line in the battle against the Covid virus, and for staff in vaccination centres.
Pray for our families and friends, and for the life of our churches and communities. Pray for our own families and the families around us, and also for our local schools and nurseries. Pray for all to play their part in continuing to act safely and with thoughts for others: may we continue to look out for each other, and keep safe ourselves.
Ever-loving God, your care for us is greater even than a mother’s love for her child; teach us to value a mother’s love and see it as an expression of your grace, that we may ever feel more deeply your love for us in Christ Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing -
May the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and our homes, and may his love be our example and guide; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore. Amen.
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