Sermons

"Mothers Past and Present"

Delivered from the Pulpit of First Congregational Church

of Anchorage by The Reverend Mark E. Long

on Mother's Day 2009

Lections:  Judges 5.6-7

                  2 Sam. 20.16-19

                  Eph. 6.1-3

                  Mk. 10.17-19

"In the beginning" was God but he wasn't alone, says Genesis, and, according to the Wisdom Book of Proverbs, his company wasn't male.  Oh, and Jesus was not there regardless of what the Nicene Creed says.  Proverbs says, in an earlier Israelite tradition than the creation story of Genesis by about 500 years; in Chapters 8 and 9 that her name was hokhmah, which is Sophia to the Greeks, and Wisdom to English speaking folks.

Actually, Judaism  has a yin-yang kind of thing about God - the male aspect Shekinah alongside the feminine aspect hokhmah.  Clumsy as it may be to understand a mythical beginning before time in gender language; this is our received word painting of creation's mystery.  And it is not isolated to the Wisdom literature, it carries through into the New Testament as Sophia where John in his gospel pulls a coup for males and turns it into the masculine Word of God or logos.

Just as we popularly understand mortal men and women to have well-defined mutually supportive roles, our deity counterparts are said to share a similar balance.  The feminine aspect is identified as birthing, nurturing, guiding and above all - the Way of Wisdom.  I don't know - sounds like my mom.

Throughout the Bible whether by the name of the Wisdom of God, or Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit, or the Way of God, or even the Christ, the nurturing, mothering presence of God falls upon us as a feminine aspect of God.  Obviously, these symbols of God's protection, care, guidance, and wisdom are all over the Bible.  Yet the Jewish religion historically is undeniably patriarchal - male centered and controlled.  How can that be?

There is no denying a few women in the Bible, even in the Old Testament, have very important leadership roles in Jewish folklore, i.e. Deborah is said to have "judged" Israel.  The most powerful position during the Israelites' tribal period (before King David) was the role of "judge."  But notice in our passage from Judges this morning Israel prospers "because . . . Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel."  (Incidentally this "hymn" - the Song of Deborah - is believed to be one of the oldest traditions of the Old Testament, possibly dating from the 12^th c. b.c.e.)

'Mother' functions as a symbol of nurturing, guidance which brings prosperity to the people.  It is not used to value the intrinsic nature of "flesh and blood," mothers but rather as a trait identified with the feminine aspect of God.

In 2 Samuel as well, the symbol 'mother' us used again.  The basic story is David's army chases a rebel into the city of Abel, a northern settlement of Israel, an area not too happy with David.  David's commander is going to destroy the city but a woman of Abel asks him why he "seeks to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel; why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord" or take away the land the Lord gave us.  Here "mother" refers to the reputation of this city for wisdom.  So once again 'mother' operates as symbol to refer to a characteristic identified with the feminine aspect of God - wisdom - but not women much less "flesh and blood" mothers.

So at least as far as the Old Testament is concerned, the feminine side of God appears in Jewish stories through symbols referring to "mothering" traits and not to actual "flesh and blood" women.  Confining "mother" to symbolic expression allows the Jewish religion to bring the feminine aspect into its stories but leave women subordinate to men.  In other words, the "holy mother" is not necessarily identified with women.

I might add that the Jewish tradition is not only patriarchal but also stresses community.  Community is much more important than anything about an individual - man or woman.

This changes quite a lot in Jesus' ministry - shocking we see to the more religious among the people.  Jesus highly prizes the individual; he is often telling someone "faith" has saved him, or "he is not far from the Kingdom."  It is not always men either.  The point is that the individual and women become more important during, and in the centuries after, Jesus' ministry.  Jesus and those who follow in his name challenge the culture that has low regard for the individual and even less if they are women.  This all changes yet again once Jesus doesn't return so quickly and the institutional Church begins to shapes its authority around an exclusive community again.

At all times though - in the Old Testament, during Jesus' ministry and after there is a no excuses commandment which Paul says is the "first commandment with a promise":  "Honor your father and mother."  There is no symbolic form about this - it is plain, do it "so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."  Honor is very important in the Jewish tradition, and no one is to be given greater honor than a father and mother.

As time passed, the way to honor father and mother expanded beyond the Jewish tradition, beyond the children of respective parents to a general honoring of either, in a forum for recognition moved from the private religious to the public secular setting.

Matronalia was a public Roman celebration of motherhood.  Mothers were finally to get their due, at least 3^rd c. style.  Mothers received gifts from husbands and children and even had their husbands lift up a prayer or two to the goddess of the hour, Juno, goddess of childbirth.  I wonder what they were praying for - sons maybe?

This seems to have been the first public celebration of motherhood to get the ball rolling, and it has been rolling and picking up steam ever since.  The United Kingdom began to celebrate their mothers with Mothering Day in the 16^th century.

Interestingly, there are many countries celebrating motherhood around the world, and on many dates.  Norway kicks off the parade of nations with a celebration on the 2^nd Sunday of February and Iran has the last say of the year on June 23^rd.  In between, there is a country celebrating their mothers every few days.

Most of the world's observances are rather modern developments that came about after Anna Jarvis, in 1912, trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day."  Moving from the emphasis to this point on motherhood generally, or mothers as a group, Jarvis was very specific that the apostrophe for "mother's" indicate the singular possessive so on the day each family will honor its mother.  This spelling has been followed since including when President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill officially creating Mother's Day - American style.

From religious symbol of a feminine aspect of God that did not necessarily include them to days worldwide of singular recognition of how much and often "flesh and blood" mothers reflect the "mothering" aspect of God,  mothers "have come a long way baby" in gaining the recognition they deserve for the wisdom, nurture, protection, and guidance they bring their families.  So here's to mothers - or as Anna Jarvis would have it - each mother and what she has given of God to and for her family.  Happy Mother's Day!  And Mom wherever you are, if you can hear or feel me - thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Amen.