God: our Mother

A few weeks ago we celebrated the Feast of Candlemas. Our Gospel reading this morning reminded us that it was when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple forty days after his birth to offer a sacrifice, in their case two doves or pigeons, which was the minimum sacrifice, the sacrifice of the poor. And as we celebrated Candlemas I was reminded of a ceremony – now I think more or less defunct in the Church – that of thanksgiving for the safe delivery of a child. Some of you will have known it by its old name, ‘Churching', in the Book of Common Prayer . There is a modern service in Common Worship with some of the same themes, but the emphasis is different: it is designed for parents who do not want an infant baptism but still want to thank God for their new child. I think it is a shame that more people do not take advantage of this simple service: children are a gift and child birth is still one of the most dangerous things a woman goes through.

In fact one of our earliest associations with Sherborne Abbey was to ask the then curate Darrell Weyman, (some of you may remember him; he is now the Vicar of Marnhull) to visit our home to conduct such a service. Our daughter, Anna, had been long awaited and Stuart and I wanted to give thanks for her safe arrival, and I guess that as an ‘old' first time mum – what do they call it? Prima gravada – I was grateful that all had gone smoothly. It was a lovely moment for all of us, but protective mothers come in all shapes and sizes and after the short service Darrell bent over to kiss our daughter in her carry cot only to be attacked on his back side by our dog Gemma who was not going to let this strange man hurt her new family member!

For most of us, our mothers were and are significant people in our lives; nurturing, teaching, comforting, allowing us to grow and explore our world, in small ways at first and then finally letting us go. For some of you there may have been another significant woman in your lives: a grandmother, a teacher or a friend. Perhaps we could just take a moment to bring to mind that person, if it is not painful for you, and remember something about them: the sound of their voice, the smell of their perfume, how they taught you to be, and give thanks to God for their place in your life.

When we look at the life of Jesus, he too had significant women in his life: women who made a difference to how he was and how we are able to be.

Mary, his mother was an obvious influence. At important moments she was there: his presentation in the Temple, his Bar Mitzvah – and afterwards we see the anxious mother so concerned for her son as she searches for him among her fellow travellers. She encourages her son to help her friends out at the Wedding at Cana, and of course at the end she is there at the foot of the cross to watch her beloved son die.

And then of course there is Mary Magdalene. Here was a woman who loved Jesus in a more demonstrative way – taking ointment and using her hair to clean his feet. As someone who hates feet I can't think of anything worse, but for her this act of love was the least she could do for this man who had made such a difference to her life. She is there at the foot of the cross and of course it is to Mary, continuing to show her love by wanting to anoint Jesus' body after death, that the risen Christ first appears on Easter Day. Mary is entrusted with the greatest news – news she must take to the disciples hiding in Jerusalem: Christ is risen!

The accounts of women in the gospels are out of character with the traditional view of women at that time. It would seem that for Jesus women were as much a part of his entourage as men. And if we look at the development of the early church, women like Phoebe, Lydia and Priscilla were to play important roles in its growth, acting as deacons and missionaries.

The later part of the 20 th century saw the development of what we call feminist theology. Of course this was not new. Medieval mystics such as Julian of Norwich had long been comfortable calling God ‘Mother'. Feminist theologians look at the Genesis 1 creation story, particularly verse 26 which describes the creation of mankind, both male and female, in the image of God. To consider God as Mother has much to commend it and in one of our Eucharistic prayers – prayer G - there is the lovely phrase

As a mother tenderly gathers her children,

You embraced a people as your own.

What does this all mean for us on a Sunday where traditionally servants were allowed home to see their families and the tradition of picking flowers on the way gave way to posies being given to women in church services; where pubs and restaurants are booked up weeks in advance to give Mum a break from cooking the roast, and where the price of flowers in shops rockets?

Our Old Testament reading this morning reminded us of the moving story of Hannah and her wish for a child. In gratitude she was prepared to give that child to God's service. Despite her love for Samuel she would give him to God, showing a love which didn't think of herself but rather what she could give to God. We see this same love in God's gift of his Son for us. We are reminded that we were all made in the image of God, that we were created to love and to be loved, because God is love. It reminds us that we shouldn't take each other for granted; that each of us is a child of God and as such we are all brothers and sisters and that in the family of the church – who can be called Mother – we have a home. And it reminds us that we are all different just like any family, with different talents and gifts – and just as in families there may be disagreements, eventually the love we have for one another will bring us to wholeness again. It is this love which is at the centre of every Christian family, the love that holds our Church together.