Dear Friends,

I hope you are all keeping well. How quickly time seems to be flying at the moment!

We look forward to being able to open the church, and to be able to meet and praise God together again soon.

Sadly we will not be able to sing hymns, but we can have some music which is the next best thing.
In the meantime we must remain strong, continue to pray for our church community, and the wider world.

Jon

 

This week has been a time to celebrate women – we’ve just had International Women’s Day and today is Mothering Sunday. It is a day to celebrate all the people in our lives who have been like mothers to us - this could be carers, friends, neighbours, mothers, and other family members.

The fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter, is Mothering Sunday.

Mothering Sunday began as a religious event of the 16th Century, with no connection to mothers at all.   The word "mothering" referred to the "mother church", which is to say the main church or cathedral of the region. It became a tradition that, on the fourth Sunday of Lent, people would return to their mother church for a special service.

This pilgrimage was apparently known as "going a-mothering", and became a holiday event, with young domestic servants traditionally given the day off to visit their own families as well as their mother church.   They would often gather flowers for their mothers and perhaps give them a traditional Simnel cake. (My favourite!)

When our daughter was in Infants school, one of her class assemblies was about Mothering Sunday. The children sang this song and I’d like to share it with you:
 

Who’s stronger than a lion, gentle as a lamb,

Funnier than Chaplin, wise as Solomon?

Who flies around like lightening and never goes to bed?

It’s Supermum, the wonder-worker: Kills all known germs dead!
 

Supermum, you’re wonderful, but very underpaid.

Supermum, you’re cook and cleaner, handyman and maid.

If you put in a bill, for all the work you do, 

There’d be an awful lot of wages due.
 

She’s generous as Robin Hood and all his merry men.

She’s as kind as Florence Nightingale, and then as kind again.

Like Superman, she’s X-ray vision (she can see through me)!

With a voice to rival Tarzan’s when she calls us in for tea.
 

She’s more wonderful than Wonder-Woman, really quite a gal;

More honest and clean living than Batman and his pal.

Her bark is just like Lassie’s, far worse than any bite.

A sharp word from our mum would give Count Dracula a fright!
 

She produces far more lollipops than Kojak ever had;

​She’s handier with a power-tool than anybody’s dad.

She’s brainier than K9 and his Master Dr Who:

Do you get the message Supermum? There’s no one quite like you.
 

She could be made Prime Minister, she’d be superb at that;

She could be Queen of England, but she’d never wear a hat.

She should be made World President, she’s sensible and good;

She’d keep them superpowers in line if anybody could!

 

A great song, I’m sure you’ll agree with many of the words ringing true.

But now let’s take a moment to think about the most well-known Supermum of them all: Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Luke 2:19 says, ‘But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.’ This passage is in reference to hearing what the shepherds had been told by angels about her baby. A similar verse appears again in Luke 2:51, when Mary reflects on the events which occurred after finding teenage Jesus in the Temple.

It wasn’t just personal experiences that she remembered, either. Mary’s song in Luke 1:46 reveals that she was very familiar with the Word of God. It’s filled with Old Testament references that she can easily recall because she keeps them ever in her thoughts.

She says, ‘my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’, proving that He’s not just her hiding place in times of trouble, but He’s also the source of joy in her life. She demonstrates that time and again God proves that He is faithful and worthy to be the King of our hearts.

Whilst pregnant, it’s most likely that Mary was working away to help her relative Elizabeth prepare for the birth of her baby.  And there’s also the wedding at Cana; when she sees that the hosts have no wine, so she directs the servants to the one she knows will be able to provide a solution and that turned out be an unforgettable wedding!

And let’s not forget the fact that she probably raised at least seven children (Mark 6:3) in a time before washing machines and ready meals, which most certainly involved a good measure of selflessness.

Mary serves faithfully. Even though she knows that she’s playing a major role in God’s plan, she doesn’t resent the day-to-day drudgery. She stays true to her words to Gabriel, ‘I am a servant of the Lord’ (Luke 1:37). She draws on that wealth of promises treasured up in her heart. A faithful, behind-the-scenes woman, she doesn’t seek the spotlight, she knows that her job is to point towards Jesus and to magnify God.

So take heart if you are one of those superwomen quietly serving in the background. Mary shows us that God sees your work, even if nobody else does, and that He has prepared an amazing place in His Kingdom for you.

Mary proves that submission means strength, not helplessness. She follows where God leads, no matter what gets thrown her way.  Her response to the angel upon hearing that she was to give birth to the Saviour was to ask, “How?’ (Luke 1:34). Mary doesn’t challenge God’s thought process, her first response is to accept and try her best to fulfil the task required of her.

Further evidence of her strong character and fearlessness is seen at the cross. John 19:25-27 indicates that she was in the front row, witnessing her son brutally executed.

She didn’t choose to hide at home or hang about Pilate pleading for a change of sentence. She faced the situation, painful as it must have been, trusting that God would work it for good. That kind of strength takes real faith!

With her quiet reflection on God’s promises, her faithfulness and her submission, Mary was a model of godly womanhood, full of wisdom, joy and obedience. Mary’s effect on the people around her and on the very course of history makes her truly a Supermum.
 

A prayer for Mothers Day

Loving God, thank you for mothers and children and for all the joy of family life.      Be with those who are grieving because they have no mother; be close to those  who are struggling because they have no children.

Be near to those who are sad because they are far apart from those they love.

Let your love be present in every home, and help your church to have eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of all who come.
 

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord

 

Amen