Mothering Sunday, 14th March, Hugh Keatinge
Julian of Norwich said
"As truly as God is our Father
So truly is God our Mother"
Julian of Norwich, was a female recluse who lived in that City. Born in about 1342, she lived until 1413 and is described as an English Mystic. She lived at a time when a resurgent Christianity was filtering across Europe and was reflected in our land among a small body of people who practised a life of dedicated interior devotion - a life which is usually the speciality of a few, but which resulted in Works of classical spirituality by hermits and mystics - Monks and nuns. "Perhaps no Age " wrote Vivian Green, the author of a New History of Christianity, " Perhaps no Age had such an abiding sense of God's love " Julian of Norwich's contribution was her 'Revelations of Divine Love' a writing describing her many Visions and there is the first clue about what we think about today Mothering Sunday and Love go very much together. But what is Mothering Sunday? Why did I walk through Salisbury the other day and see all sorts of notices talking about Mother's Day? Why did I even hear this day described on BBC Radio 4 as Mother's Day?
Well it's all because people have lost the plot and forgotten their history! The Fourth Sunday in Lent is called Mothering Sunday it is the one day of unbounded joy and rejoicing in the otherwise austere and rather gloomy season of Lent; a day when flowers abound in Church; a day which has had a variety of names mid Lent Sunday, which speaks for itself, or Refreshment Sunday, with Simnel cake, which we will have later, or even the Latin name of Laetare Sunday, which comes from the Latin word Laetare meaning to Rejoice and so Rejoicing Sunday and there is the second clue to today Rejoicing to go with Love.
It was indeed a day of rejoicing when young people working away from home as apprentices perhaps, or as housemaids in the big houses, would get a holiday, perhaps their only one in the year, to visit their home villages and they would often take a present for their mother. They would not have much to give her and so they would pick wild flowers as they walked along, and make up a posy for her. \small it might have been, but it was a gift made with the youngsters own hands, and so we find the third clue Giving
The other thing about Mothering Sunday was that it was the day when people were strongly encouraged to go back to the Church where they had been baptised back to worship in their Mother Church. Or People who lived and went to Church in a Parish such as ours' might well take the opportunity to visit and worship in the Great Mother Church of the Diocese the Cathedral in Salisbury and if this all seems a little far fetched, let us not forget that in the Middle Ages, all those years ago, families stayed close together they did not spread out all over the world, or at least all over the Country as they do now. Most people would probably live all their lives within walking distance of their Mother Church and of their Family Home and the Cathedral is only six miles away. So it was not impossibly difficult to honour the duty to both Mother Church and Earthly Mother, and from this we can deduce the fourth word for today Duty.
Having been a little offensive about the expression "Mother's Day" earlier, I should explain that this is a more modern occasion than Mothering Sunday. It was started in America in 1907 by someone called Anna Jarvis in recognition of all that Mothers do after her Mother had died. The Second Sunday in May was made an official holiday by the American Government in 1914 and called Mothers day, but it does not have the same roots in the Church as does Mothering Sunday.
So we have four words which we can consider today when we think of our Mothers Love our Love for them and their Love for us. Then Rejoicing we rejoice in our Mothers and all that they have done for us and by the same token we rejoice in our Mother the Church. and Giving Life is not much if we spend all of it taking the simplest posy of wild flowers is a joy to the person receiving it when it is given wholeheartedly and even better when it is home made. and, finally, Duty we all have a duty to the mother who nurtured us, physically or spiritually we have a duty to respect her, acknowledge her and thank her for all that she has done for us whether it be our earthly mother or our mother Church.
Mothers don't have it easy not even Jesus' Mother mary. When she presented him in the Temple, you will recall that Simeon said to Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel - the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul; too ..." how difficult for Mary. And you will remember too that 12 years later, when the family went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, the 12 year old Jesus got left behind when they set out for home. When they eventually found him, 3 days later, sitting in the Temple, he was unrepentant "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business" he said. Despite having been really worried, Mary "treasured all these things in her heart" How many times have we upset our Mothers like that?
And then the wedding at Cana. When Mary told Jesus that the wine had run out, he replied rather gruffly, "Woman, what has that to do with us? But Mary had enough faith and patience just to say to the Servants "Just do what he tells you" What faith indeed.
However sharp Jesus may have seemed to have been at times however clearly we may see in Mary the sacrifices of Parenthood, we must never forget that prominent among Jesus' last words on the Cross were those for his Mother. "Woman, here is your Son" and then to the Disciple whom he loved he said "Here is your Mother" making sure that Mary, his Mother, would be loved and cared for.
Being a Mother is sometimes very hard, and we can all do our best to make things easier through Love, by Giving, by Rejoicing with her and by remembering our Duty towards her, whether we are talking of our earthly Mother or our Mother Church.
Let us all do that.
Hugh Keatinge