Mothering Sunday Mothering Sunday Is a Tradition Dating from the Middle Ages and Was Originally

Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday is a tradition dating from the Middle Ages and was originally a time to focus on the ‘mother church’. Today many churches celebrate Mothering Sunday by thanking God for mothers and children are encouraged to appreciate their mothers on this day. Although in the secular world Mothering Sunday has become an industry itself and the pressure to spend a lot of money is well advertised, for people of faith it is a time of prayer and reflection. We reflect on mothers and mothering but we also acknowledge that it can be a very painful time for those whose mothers have died, for those who have difficult relationships with their mothers and for those who long to be mothers but have not had that opportunity. In all these situations there is a cost of relationship and a responsibility to be pastorally sensitive.

So here are some ideas, reflections and prayers using Bible mothers to help you create your own Mothering Sunday Services.

Mothers and mothering in the Bible
The word "mother" or "mothers" appears in the Bible almost 300 times, and the word "mother-in-law" appears 11 times, always in reference to Naomi, mother-in-law of Ruth. Here are some famous mothers in the Bible but do read up on some of the less well-known mothers too.

Old Testament

Eve – mother of Cain, Abel and Seth
Jochebed - mother of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam
Rebekah – mother of twin sons Jacob and Esau
Sarah – mother of Isaac

Hannah – mother of Samuel
Rachel - mother of Joseph and Benjamin

Bathsheba – mother of Solomon

New Testament
Mary – mother of Jesus
Elisabeth – mother of John the Baptist
Salome - mother of the disciples James and John
Lois - mother of Timothy
Eunice – grandmother of Timothy

Mrs Noah and the Prodigal Son’s mother play very important roles in the Bible but are unnamed and unacknowledged.

Some Bible quotes referring to mothers and mothering:

Gen 3:20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
Exo 20:12 "Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Isa 66:13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."
Luke 1:43 But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
John 19:26-27 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Prayers and reflections for Mothering Sunday

What Jesus Saw - Mark 12:41-44

Picture this:

Gold, purple, red – rich Temple colours

hold the eye – male power and status

dominate.

Controllers of the Treasury,

Leaders of the law parade,

give a show of prayers

for the sake of appearance.

Then make what they teach

line their own pockets;

become rich

on the backs of the poor.

Into this tableau

her head held high

comes a childless widow – the poorest

of the poor –most marginalised.

Her face is lined with suffering

but her eyes are aglow with hope

and resolution.

Powerful men stare

but cannot patronise

for here is pride and grace

in one movement –

the instant of dropping a coin

into a box and knowing herself wholly.

The woman has treasure

beyond measure.

She is able and willing

to give; to see beyond her self

to a greater whole;

to know her value as a human being.

And watching in the shadows

of imagination

is one who looks into the heart

of all things;

who sees contrasts; makes connections;

knows about compassion and mutuality;

gives his full and loving attention

to a simple act of sharing

that has the potential to transform a woman

and a community.

Joy Mead

The Prodigal Son’s Mother

She sits at a window
waiting in the space between
the going and the coming
remembering the runaway youth
whose whispered messages
always ended
‘Don’t tell Dad’;
keeping vigil
for this her own wild son -
and all turbulent children
who must run to survive.

When the fatted calf is killed
for the party, she sits apart,
and wonders
who will call the tune
when the dancing begins.

Unseen, unnamed, outside the story
she acts out her own vision
offering, amid the showy feasting,
the simple bread
of belonging and trust
-a bridge between
being and doing. Joy Mead

Both taken from the wonderful book -
A Telling Place – Reflections on stories of women in the Bible by Joy Mead
Wild Goose Publications.

Gentle, Patient God

Today we thank God for the gift of mothers and mothering across the world.

Isaiah wrote that God is a mother to us, comforting and carrying us in her arms.
As one whom a mother comforts, so I will comfort you – Isaiah 66:13.
Gentle, patient God – thank you for your tender care.

Isaiah also wrote that God will never forget us and that he knows each one of us just as a mother knows her own children.

Can a woman forget her baby at her breast, feel no pity for the child she has borne? Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you. Isaiah 49:15
Gentle, patient God – thank you for your tender care.

David wrote that in God’s presence, he was quiet and at peace, trusting his God like a child safe in its mother’s arms.
No I hold myself in quiet and silence, like a child in its mothers’ arms. Psalm 131:2
Gentle, patient God – thank you for your tender care.

Jesus spoke of himself as a mother, longing to wrap his arms around us like a mother-hen gathering her chicks under her wings.
How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings… Matthew 23:37
Gentle, patient God – thank you for your tender care.

A litany for Mothers

Eve our first mother – thank you for stepping out and being the first to understand the complexities of life.

Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth – thank you for your patience and courage in waiting for a miracle. May all people longing for children be strengthened by your stories and comforted in their pain.

Hagar – thank you for your resolve in the face of exile. May all mothers who are forced to flee or are forgotten be given hope in you.

Rebecca – thank you for your flexibility. Let us remember all mothers who have to raise their children in a different country or far from their relatives and who feel isolated.

Rachel – you carried the burden of grief and wept for your children. Hold the hands of all those mothers who weep for their children - children who have gone missing, who have died or are lost to them in other ways.

Jochebed – you used wisdom and insight to protect your children. Give to all mothers this wisdom and insight in the bringing up of their children, especially in vulnerable times.

Naomi and Ruth – you showed that love can conquer all trials. Help all mothers to love constantly when life seems impossible and despair weighs hard upon their souls.

Mary – the new Eve whose ‘yes’ to God changed our world forever.

Thank you for sheltering the Holy One all those years ago,

for your faithful love and tender care of God’s most precious Son.

May we never forget that in your giving is our greatest receiving -

of the gift of life wrapped in a manger and in a tomb.

May we know the true cost of relationship

by holding our faith in Christ deep within our hearts

as you once held him deep within your womb.

Amen

Thanksgiving Prayer

We thank God for giving us others to share in our lives:

For parents, and the love which brought us to birth:

We praise you, O Lord;