The Parish of Saint Helen’s Tarporley Saint John’s Cotebrook Saint Thomas’ Eaton Welcome to our Sunday Service at Home Sunday 14th March, Mothering Sunday Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all Prayer of Preparation Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayers of Penitence Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, firmly resolved to keep God's commandments and to live in love and peace with all. Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen. And hear again words of forgiveness: Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and keep us in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen The collect for the Fourth Sunday of Lent God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever, Amen The Liturgy of the Word Colossians 3:12-17 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Luke 2:33-35 The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." This is the word of the Lord...Thanks be to God SERMON, written by Reverend Richard Tuckwell Countless children this morning will be treating those who give them care. I am sure that we would have been asking children if we were able to worship together: ‘What have children done to celebrate mothers today?’ I am always fascinated at young children expressing themselves in a creative way, especially before adults have intervened or suggested how a task should be approached. Once, a young child started to paint a picture. It looked beautiful – bright colours, swooshing lines, thick paint. The adult in charge said, ‘What are you painting? ’The child replied, ‘A picture of God’. ‘Oh, no one knows what God looks like’, said the adult.‘Well, they will when I’ve finished, said the child.’ An oft-told story which I am sure you have heard before. What we understand of the nature of God, of our own personal picture of God, is central to our worship today. We celebrate mothers and, yes, it is good to have a time to stop, pause and give thanks for those responsible for nurturing the young. But away from the commercialism of today, the Church celebrates something which is much more wide-ranging. Mothering Sunday, mid-way through Lent is a time for refreshment, and we have the traditions of young people in the bygone days when they were servants returning to their mothers. It is also a time to remember the mothering aspect of the Church, of the Church family; perhaps traditions lost in our current age. Today we focus on the nurturing aspect of God, of mother God. In the fourteenth century Julian of Norwich, the first woman to write in modern English, experienced and understood the motherhood of God in her visions. She wrote: ‘As truly as God is Father, so just as truly God is our mother.’ Here is the idea that although we are distinguished by our gender, God is not. Instead God is both mother and father to us. In this age where the complexities of relationships are more transparent, we acknowledge that this celebration on our journeys through Lent can be the source of hurt and upset for many. For those who have painful memories of their early family relationships, for those whose relationships have been broken, for those who have longed for relationships and for children. In our Christian witness this day is for all who share in the nurture of young people. Sadly in this current pandemic the inability to meet has caused so much heartbreak. In what has been a long period of separation from each other there is that need to hug and greet family members. Today as a Christian people we have to celebrate and uphold the role of mothering in our culture and lives. The way Jesus lived his life shows us the nurturing and caring side in which human life can be lived in peace with one another, showing those lovely aspects of human nature captured in the words of the Epistle today. Paul spoke to the people of Colossi, highlighting those attributes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience – attributes for both male and female. Naturally this morning the Gospel focussed on the motherhood of Mary. In the presence of the elderly Anna and Simeon, full of wisdom borne from such love in their belief over many years, Mary listened to the power of the words of the Gospel this morning: ‘A sword will pierce your own heart too.’ Who would have thought that the wood of the manger would have been exchanged for the wood of the cross: had Mary realised where all this was heading, would she have followed, I wonder? Would you or I? Those words must have resonated deep in Mary’s heart as she stood at the foot of the cross. Mary, in time, no doubt knew in her heart that many people would try to follow in her son’s footsteps. The journey brought her to the cross, where Jesus told his best friend, John, that Mary would be like a mother to him too. And Jesus then told his mother that John would now be like a son to her. It is a moment of entrusting. Jesus asks those who follow him to look after each other as family. We are all responsible for one another, especially in this family we call ‘The Church.’ We are to mother each other, and to allow others to mother us too – a real family, not only on this Mothering Sunday, but every day. Today we are reminded that when we begin our Christian faith when we are baptised, the journey brings us to cross-like moments, painful moments, heartbreak, anger and pain. It’s moments like that when we need our faith in Jesus, to trust him to be with us, and to provide for our every need. He gives us to each other…behold your mother, behold, your son. We thank God for those who care for us and those who are given to us to care for. If mothering were only done by mothers, it would be very hard indeed to ensure that everyone received the nurturing, protection, love, sacrifice, guidance that we need to become the people we are meant to be. As a church community, we are called into a role of mothering that sometimes might need to be just as desperate, fierce, loyal, grieving as the mother in today’s readings and in the motherly experience of so many. The young child in the story that opened these words today drew God in his own way. Help each one of us to recognise and follow the mothering ways of God. May God give us the understanding to help each one of us to build relationships with those around us. Amen Prayers of Intercession (with thanks to Rev Richard Tuckwell) In faith, and gathered together in your name, let our minds and hearts be filled with stillness as we pray. Jesus, you know well the blessing an earthly home can bring: Receive our thanks for all the love we have received in our homes, especially from those who have nurtured us from our earliest years. Hear our prayers for those who care everywhere, they may never lose heart nor ever be taken for granted, but receive from their children the honour and love you showed to your mother, Mary, even as you were suffering on the Cross.