A church service on Mother's Day is tricky. If it only honors mothers on that day, I start to wonder if the church's message is that a woman's highest achievement is marriage and family. Where does that leave other women, who are childless?
Bottom line: mentioning Mother's Day in worship is just tricky. There's no formula. So perhaps it would be more practical to celebrate that most families are messy. Perhaps we simply admit that it's a difficult day for many. Or we acknowledge that God is keenly aware of all that we hold in our hearts.
I think an interesting idea to incorporate into a Mother's Day service would be to not only honor mothers, but to profile other women from different backgrounds and walks of life—artists, poets, women in government, female mentors, women who work in their career or community, women who care for an aging parent, or women who work with young adults. There could even be a special place in the service where someone who's struggled with infertility or who has lost a child, can read a poem they wrote that speaks to their circumstances and what this day means to them. It would sobering, for sure, but it would offer a more realistic and balanced view of what womanhood truly is, and would convey the real joys, passions, ambitions, and pains of many women on Mother's Day.
I have been writing Deacon Erick sermons who serves at Divine Mercy in Las Vegas. As I reviewed my past sermons on Mother’s Day, I shared the following blessing for all “nurturing women” in his parish. I have used this blessing for many years when I served as pastor at Holy Family in North Java.
There is a story about a woman whose mother taught her many prayers and this was one of my favorites. She was about six years old at the time and was sitting outside on a block of concrete, and she was crying. She didn’t even know why. She was just crying and crying. Her Mother came along and said, “What’s the matter?” She said, “Nothing, leave me alone!” Her mom did - and then she really started crying!
About 15 minutes later her mom came back and sat beside her. “You know,” she said, “I have to tell you something. There are going to be a lot of times in your life when you are going to cry, and you won’t know why. You won’t understand and neither will anyone else.
Then, she said she was going
to teach her a prayer for the times when she was crying and didn’t know why.
She made her get off the cement block and stand up. She said, “Now, put your
arms around yourself. “She did but it wasn’t good enough.
“You’re just folding your arms” she said. “Put them all the way around yourself. Cuddle your body. Hold yourself the way you would hold baby in your arms.
“Now, after you have a real good hold of yourself, close your eyes and begin to
rock yourself. Rock yourself real good, the way you would a baby, and just keep
doing it. When you grow up, no matter how old you are, and you are crying and
you don’t know why, I want you to rock yourself just like this. As you do it,
remember that you are God’s little child, and that God understands why you are
crying even if no one else does. And, remember, too, that God holds you close just
the way you are holding yourself because God loves you very much. Then just
keep rocking yourself and be comforted.”
Now isn’t that a good prayer? This woman still says it today when she feels bad.
With all the “nurturing women
in the front of the church rocking themselves I recommended it for each woman. Just stand wherever you are - in the kitchen,
in the bathroom or outside in the barn - and wrap your arms around yourself,
tight as you can and rock yourself.
