SERMON - Lent 4 - Mothering Sunday

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Mothering Sunday
The Forth Sunday in Lent

Today is one of the truly great occasions in the
Church calendar (after some of the other important
ones like Christmas and Easter of course).  Today is a
day when the Church is speaking the same language as
the community.  We are here to remember the importance
of Motherhood and how Mothers have had an impact on
all our lives – it is unavoidable.

And happy is the young ordinand who is assessed
preaching on Mothering Sunday.  For those who panic in
the pulpit (and we have all been there at some point)
the sermon material for today is usually along the
lines of the classic three-point sermon.

The three-point sermon revolves around the THREE
MOTHERS; Blessed Mary, Mother of our Lord; Mother
Church, and our own mothers.  Links and analogies are
drawn, and the sermon is preached.  All leave church,
remembering the message, and can wait to hear it
again, next year.

In a fit of madness, I have chosen to ignore the
age-old tradition of preaching the “THREE MOTHERS” on
MOTHERING SUNDAY, and have taken the potentially
disastrous course of preaching on what I think the
readings for today are telling us about MOTHERHOOD.

Today, I am going to concentrate on the task of being
‘MOTHER’, and how the task brings us closer to God, by
serving others.  A task so important, that the health
of any community, or even nation, depends on MOTHERS,
and the task they perform.

The task of being a MOTHER is hugely important to
understand - and the more I have thought about it, I
have come to the opinion that I am sure that the
accolade of MOTHER should be bestowed on those who
accept the lifelong task to selflessly care for others
regardless of the cost.  The task comes with its’ own
rewards, and it’s own pain.  The rewards that will be
great, and pain that will ‘pierce your own soul too’,
as the Gospel says.

I believe that the readings are building up a picture
of MOTHERING for us to consider.  Someone who is
clothed with love, holy and beloved, kind, meek,
patient, thankful, and finally forgiving – without
tiring of it.

So who are Mothers?  They are the people who are
binding together the family or community with love –
in perfect harmony.  And because of this, they are
close to God.  BUT more than that, they are sharing
the grace of God with others.  Wouldn’t it be great if
ALL mothers were like that ALL of the time!  But the
fact is that the above job description is almost
impossible.

There is no BADGE for being a MOTHER, it is a role, or
a task.  You are identified, not by your outward
appearance, but by your love for those who trust you
to care for them.  And the ability to perform
unnatural tasks – loving those who frustrate you, and
forgiving them again and again for the terrible things
they do!  In that sense, it is the best and worst job
in the world.

A fortnight ago, we had the image in the gospel of
Christ being a Mother hen, this image was of us
running around aimlessly under the watchful eye of
Christ.  The collect that accompanies this part of the
Gospel starts JESUS OUR MOTHER, and that is the whole
point of the readings today.

Taken to it’s conclusion, this means that in one
sense, to be a MOTHER is to be LIKE CHRIST to SOMEONE.
To give endless compassion, forgiveness, kindness and
patience; and to KEEP giving without promise of reward
– but even more than that.  To keep giving with the
certainty of pain and personal sorrow.

So MOTHER is not only a NOUN it is also a VERB.  It is
a doing word.  In this context the meaning is not
constrained to describe WOMEN who have CHILDREN, it
could be anyone who shows the love of God to others.

This is not to say that I am trying to hijack
‘motherhood’ for men and those who do not have
children of their own – I am merely stating that I
believe when we live out our faith, to the best of our
abilities, we care for others as a mother does her
child – and as God cares for us.

In the temple we find the presentation of the baby
Jesus. SIMEON is blessing the holy family.  There is a
brave, but bemused young woman, and a good, honest
carpenter.  What would Mary and Joseph have been
thinking when SIMEON said what he did?

This child is destined for the falling and the rising
of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be
opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be
revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too

At the foot of the cross, was Mary thinking how all
this had come true, did she think back to that day,
thirty-odd years before?

Mary was of course the same as many other mothers,
forgiving, loving, kind and patient.  And at the end
she suffered for her love, but even when told
heartache would follow, she continued.  As many
Mothers do, endlessly caring for others, as God cares
for us.

We have built a picture of MOTHERHOOD wider than the
usual definition.  It is something that is more about
ACTIONS than merely BEING.  It is something to be
proud of, because it is IMPORTANT.  No family,
community or nation can survive without people acting
being MOTHERS.

Loving when it is difficult.  Forgiving when it is the
umpteenth time.  Being patient when common sense
demands answers.  And being thankful for the smallest
things.

So, I suppose, that is it!  I haven’t talked about the
THREE MOTHERS – I resisted the temptation to preach
the classic sermon, because I thought that it was more
important to talk about the message behind the
readings for today.

Whatever happens today, remember that we go forward in
our faith to accept the challenge of Christ.  To share
the grace of God with those we are called to love.  To
serve tirelessly – sure in the knowledge that before
we claim our reward, we may feel heartache and pain.

Go into the world and be as a MOTHER to those you
meet.  Expect no reward, other than the comfort of the
FACT that you have shared the Grace of God with
others.  You have brought some GRACE to a world that
is crying out for it.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do it in the name of
Christ, giving thanks to God.

SERMON - The Third Sunday of Lent

In the Gospel today (Luke 13:1-9) we hear Jesus saying, ‘unless you repent, you will all perish…’

The word REPENT has some rather scary connotations – it is associated strongly with some of the non-conformist preachers of the past, and the image of them banging their fists on the pulpit, with a terrified congregation below. But actually repentance doesn’t need to be like that at all. What repentance is, is a turning away from the things we have done wrong, the things that have hurt God or hurt other people, or things that we have failed to do which we should have done, and saying sorry.

It is a commitment on our part to accept our failures, and try and improve our lives. In fact therefore, repentance is actually a great gift from God. It is the chance to say sorry and begin afresh. It is a chance for us all to get closer to God.

So what is REPENTENCE? Is it to recognise the areas where we are failing or have failed. And it is to receive God’s free forgiveness.

We are always suspicious of anything that is free – but this forgiveness really is free. Sometimes we may not be able to forgive ourselves – but God can forgive us.

Being sorry – really sorry about something is the hard part. God forgives us, and that might make it worse. We know that to be really sorry we need to change the way we are, how we see others, and sometimes being sorry means changing a lot. God makes no unreasonable demands about repentance and forgiveness – we do that to ourselves, and others do it to us.

It all seems very easy, but I’m sure we’ve all tried saying sorry at some time and found it very difficult. There are a whole host of reasons why – there may be the feeling that actually we did the right thing, maybe in the wrong way – the person we shouted at got what was coming to them, the insurance company we ripped off have taken plenty of our money in the past, the person we gossiped about gossips about us, and so on. But, as Christians we can find no such justification – Jesus offers us a gospel which talks of accepting that people will hurt us but still loving those people.

Another reason why we may find it hard to say sorry is that we may have gone too far down a particular road. The mistake has got bigger and bigger and we are too proud to say we have been wrong all along. Again, it’s no excuse. Carrying on with something just because you’ve always done it is sheer stupidity if you now know that thing too be wrong. Again, it is important to stress that God is not interested in our pasts, whatever they contain, as long as we are looking to do better in the future, and commit our lives to him. We cannot allow pride or anything else to get in the way.

So, it is important to recognise the areas that are damaging our lives and our relationship with God – too much time worrying about the past ruins the future.

The American philosopher, Mortimer Adler – before he was eventually converted to Christianity he was asked why there had been such reluctance in the past. He replied that he had been close to accepting Christianity on a number of occasions but didn’t do it. He went on to say, ‘if one is born a Christian, one can be light hearted about living up to Christianity, but if one converts by a clear conscious act of will, one had better be prepared to live a truly Christian life. So you ask yourself, “are you prepared to give up all your vices and weaknesses of the flesh.”’

This is a bit daft – although I understand what he means. There is no difference really. The reality is that the standards Jesus calls for are very different from those so often seen in the world today, and as Christians we must follow and proclaim Christ’s standards whatever the cost to ourselves. As we go through Lent we reflect closely on the journey Christ took for us – it is quite sobering when we think of how little we are asked to do for him – we don’t do a lot to wear the badge of the Christian – do we?

What do we do then….

We come to church – that lets us show that we are the gathered church – the people of God together. Whatever particular tradition, whatever language we use, wherever we are – it is what we are called to do

The Bible tells us that we should pray at all times – Again it isn’t something God needs from us to make him feel better, it is a gift to us – a way of getting closer to him, a way of asking for help and guidance, a way of giving thanks or confessing, and it’s a way of listening to God – it is also a way of joining our prayers with others – to make a real difference.

Community is essential as a Christian also essential – John Wesley once said that the New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion. We are not intended to worship alone. Yes, there will be times for private prayer and Bible study, but we are also called to support and care for one another. And in the booklets you all have, there are many ways of helping that community grow into something we can all be proud of.

By walking in through the Church door this morning we have associated ourselves with Christianity – when people look at what we do in our lives they will be making a judgement on Christianity – I’m sure we have all herd the comment, “He’s done that and he says he’s a Christian !’

If Christianity is to be taken seriously then we must start living out the gospel in our everyday lives... And if Christ is to be judged by our actions then let us pray that those actions glorify God in every way