Many people find Mothering Sunday a difficult day to attend church for various reasons. The concept of motherhood—from its clichés to its realities—often presents challenges in celebrating this day. However, we cannot ignore the profound role that mothering plays in human life and across creation. Perhaps the best way to approach Mothering Sunday is through a perspective of “seeing differently.”
Jesus redefined relationships, including mothering, throughout his ministry beyond conventional family ties. In two weeks, we will reflect on Jesus’ words from the cross: “Woman, here is your son ” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother(John 19:26-27). At this moment, Jesus was not merely confirming a biological family bond but creating a new family that extends beyond blood relations. This echoes another profound moment in his ministry(Matthew 12:46-50) :
As Jesus spoke to the crowd, someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
This was not a rejection of his earthly mother but an invitation to understand relationships through action-based love rather than biological ties.
Jesus’ vision of motherhood could be to see motherhood in a different way, not with a conventional approach. He has widened the possibility of motherhood to another level. Motherhood is not just about birth but about nurturing, protecting, and sacrificing for others. We see this in figures like Mother Teresa, whose name is revered across cultures and religions for her boundless compassion. We also see it in Irena Sendler, the Polish social worker who risked her life to save2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. I once read somewhere, ‘A Cathedral is nothing but an extension of your mother’s womb.’ The church is the expanded form of a mother’s womb. This suggests that just as a mother’s womb is a place of protection, nourishment, and formation, the church serves as a spiritual refuge- nurturing faith, offering comfort, and preparing us to grow in love and service.
The essence of mothering, whether biological or through acts of love and sacrifice, can never be forgotten or diminished. Mothering is a call to express the love of God. May we embrace and celebrate this call this Mothering Sunday, seeing mothering in all its different forms. Amen
With love and blessings,
Paulson