Today is the second Sunday in May. More importantly, it is the Fourth Sunday of Easter. This year there is some crossover between the two.
The second Sunday in May in Canada is Mothers’ Day (or Mother’s Day if you prefer). This is a tricky Sunday. One of the trickiest parts of it is how many people reject the reality of the trickiness. I have heard, too often, things like, “It’s Mother’s Day, who doesn’t like Mother’s Day” or “No one really minds making a big thing about mothers one day a year.”
I’ll tell you who might not like Mothers’ Day: those who have lost their mother, those with a toxic relationship with their mother, those who don’t know their mother, those who want to be mothers but can’t, those who are mothers but don’t want to be, . . . . I could go on but why.
My preference is Mothering Sunday. I first encountered this via folks from the United Kingdom. It is also a thing in many Anglican churches in Canada. And, it is a much better celebration if you ask me. It includes mothers but it also includes fathers who are doing the work of both parents to say nothing of all those mothering presences many of us have in our lives.
The sermons today spend a bit of time on how Mothering Sunday would be better than what we have but is mostly about what mothering is, who does it, and how a loving God fits in. Let me know what you think.
Blessings,
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