Collect for Mothering Sunday:
God of compassion,
whose Sun Jesus Christ, the child of Mary
shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:
Strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence
to bind together and to heal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Collect for Today:
Lord God
whose blessed Son our Saviour
gave his back to the smiters
and did not hide his face from shame:
Give us grace to endure the sufferings of this present time
with sure confidence in the glory that shall be revealed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
If you have been outside working, and you get all hot and thirsty, what do you do when you come inside? Perhaps reach for a nice glass of something cold to drink. Oh, sorry, with all the hail and sleet we have been having lately here in Ireland, perhaps I should say, if you are outside and get caught in the wind and the wintry mix, what do you do when you come inside? Perhaps reach for a nice hot cup of tea, or something else steaming.
And then when you take that first sip, or gulp, what is your automatic, involuntary response? I know what mine is. It’s a nice long “Aaah…” It just tastes so good, and feels so good. The drink is so refreshing.
This Sunday is called Refreshment Sunday. It is the Fourth Sunday in Lent, and by this point in the season, after three and a half weeks of slogging through self-examination and repentance (or that’s what we’re supposed to be doing), we need a little break. So this Sunday is a break from Lent. (Actually, all the Sundays in Lent are meant to be a break, but this one even more so.)
Here in Ireland, we also know this day as Mother’s Day. Mothering Sunday is always on the Fourth Sunday in Lent, because in years gone by, it was a day when people were given a break. Servants were allowed to go home to see their mothers. People could go home to their mother church, bringing offerings. The practice spread to include honouring our earthly mothers.
So to all the mothers out there, I wish you a Happy Mothers’ Day. It is not a year that someone can take you out for a nice Sunday dinner, as I know often happens, because all the restaurants are closed. And I know it has been a tough year for mothers, and fathers too. Parents have had to juggle working, caring for their home and their children, being at-home teachers of schoolwork, and paying extra attention to finances. So may all you kids out there, of all ages, find a way to give honor to your mothers this day. If you are able, give her some refreshment — perhaps a phone call, perhaps a meal, perhaps a chance to put her feet up and relax.
We all need refreshment, and not just of the physical variety. We need more than just a drink when we’re thirsty or cold, and more than the chance to put our feet up and relax when we’re tired. We need refreshment for our spirits. That’s why we have Refreshment Sunday in the middle of Lent, because it is hard to spend weeks on end in self-examination and penance. Having a nice cup of hot tea and putting our feet up can make us say, “Aaah…,” and remind us that there is more to life than hard work (yes, that’s really true). Just so, having a break from self-examination and penance can help our spirits say, “Aaah…,” and relax also, as we are reminded that God is not a hard taskmaster but offers us love and forgiveness and care.
What we might forget, in the midst of everyday life, especially in the Covid era, is that God really does offer us a chance to relax, spiritually speaking, not just on this one day in Lent, but every day. In Christ, God offers us a chance to let go of everything that comes between us and God so that we can put up our feet and relax, spiritually speaking. Are we consumed with anger or grief or some other emotion? Let it go. Are we weighed down by some past event? Move on. Are we worried about the future? Take a deep breath, pray for courage, and then trust in God and keep putting one foot in front of the other. Let God lift you up above all these concerns.
Several of our readings talk of people being “lifted up.” It means being able to say, “Aaah…” through faith in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians, says that even when we were spiritually dead, God raised us up with Christ “so that … he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.”
And the Gospel reading, from John’s Gospel, talks of Jesus being lifted up and then has the often-quoted line, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” We are given life, both in eternity and also right now, through trusting in Christ. We are offered refreshment for our spirits, the chance to let go and say, “Aaah…” And refreshment for body and spirit actually go together. One can lead to the other.
It is easy to forget all this in the midst of the worries and strange circumstances of today. With the weather we have been having, it is easy to think that the wind and the wintry mix will never end. What I have been noticing this past week is that the sky will be lovely — sun shining brightly, a gentle breeze blowing. And then five minutes later the sky darkens and the wintry mix comes barreling through, covering the drive with hailstones. But then 20 or 30 minutes later, the wintry mix is gone and the sun comes back.
Which will we focus on — the sun or the wintry mix? We experience them both.
In the same way the present day gives us many trials. It also offers us opportunities to see God’s presence and God’s grace, and to bring grace and gratitude and kindness to others. Which will we focus on? Which, in the end, brings refreshment and nourishment to us, body and soul? Which makes us relax and say, “Aaah…” Focus on that one. It is the more real, in the end. It is the more true. It is the more life-giving.
I close with the Collect for Mothering Sunday:
God of compassion,
whose Sun Jesus Christ, the child of Mary
shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:
Strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence
to bind together and to heal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.