Love
can break your heart
That
might seem to be the message of today's gospel.
You
have both options printed on your sheet – but whichever passage you choose to reflect on, there's not a whiff of hallmark sentimentality about
today.
“A
sword shall pierce your soul” predicted Simeon – and as
Passiontide approaches we begin to remember once again how hard it
was to be the Mother of God...to watch your precious son court
disaster by his lifestyle, his choice of friends, his choice of
words...even before you find yourself standing at the foot of the
cross as he dies in agony.
That
kind of desperate anxiety about another is part of the business of
loving too, I think – part of investing so much of ourselves IN
the other that when they hurt, we hurt too.
A
situation that's so very familiar to mothers – but equally to
fathers, brothers, sisters, friends...
Because,
you see, mothering,and all that it entails, has never been
exclusive to those women who have given birth.
At
its best, motherhood can be a wonderful reflection of God's nurturing
love
At
its worst it can be neglectful, manipulative, possessive and a whole host of
other things besides – and I know that many people struggle with
today, and some regulars will stay away from church because their own
experience as either parent or child has left them bruised and broken.
Then
there are those who have longed to be parents – but it just hasn't
happened, whose empty arms make today almost intolerable..another group who feel that this Sunday is not for them...
Having
had a miscarriage on the eve of Mothering Sunday myself I can
empathise with their feelings.
And
of course, there are those who will spend today missing their mothers
– or their children. Holding onto the love but knowing the pain of absence as
well.
Love
can break your heart and Mothers' day as it is celebrated by secular
society can be extraordinarily hard for many many people...
So
– why keep on celebrating it at all – when there is so much
potential for causing distress for which not all the daffodils in the
world will ever begin to compensate?
Why not just write it off as a secular celebration and focus on the readings set for Lent 4, without even thinking of Mothering Sunday.
Why?
Because, of course, Mothering Sunday – unlike the secular
celebration of “Mothers' Day” has never been all about
mothers...
On
Mothering Sunday we celebrate all those who have mothered us, those loving souls whose care and encouragement have made all the difference to us –
women and men and children too...
Yes,
of course we give thanks for those who laboured that we might have
life, who physically brought us into this world – whatever their
impact on us afterwards.
But
we remember, too, that we are called into community – the family of
the church that was created as Jesus gave his mother into the care of
his friend, at that moment of terrible pain which looked like the end
of all hope,everywhere.
And
we remember that we have inherited that calling to mother, to nurture one
another, to provide loving arms to hold and to hug at the hard
times...to show others the kind of care that might, at its best, be at least a
partial reflection of the amazing love that God offers us all –
even when we break HIS heart with our failure to love in return.
And
we come to our mother church – the place that has nurtured us in
our faith, that feeds us week by week with God's Word and his very
life, offered to us in Bread and Wine.
And
maybe we remember that though Love can break your heart- beyond the
pain and heartbreak that Mary experienced at the foot of the cross,
the dawn of Resurrection is already shining – and so we try to live
as signs of that new hope, and the world in which God's mothering
love is known and shared by all....
Thank you.
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