Sunday, May 10, 2020 – “Mother’s Day”
Scripture: Psalm 31:14-16
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love. NRSV
“My times are in your hand…” for Mothers Day, 2020
What to say about Mothers Day this year, in the midst of a pandemic, when we are all socially and physically distanced from our loved ones?
Perhaps we are all beginning to notice how we long to be together. Perhaps we are missing the daily routine, so taken for granted, of the care we give one another. Some of us are crossing the line of public health dictates to show and to give care to our most vulnerable members – our elderly, our disabled. Some of us are listening to that inner voice that says we cannot abandon our sick, our aged, our mentally or physically challenged relatives or friends.
This care, this nourishment, this need to provide for one another – this is mothering, or fathering, or loving, or being a good friend or neighbour – this is really what we are celebrating and honouring on Mothers Day.
Don’t know about you, but I feel “mothered” when the clerk at the grocery store sanitizes the credit card machine before she hands it to me with gloved hands. I know you care when you step aside to respect the six feet of social distance between us. When my daughter-in-law arranges a Zoom call for us this weekend, I feel loved and remembered.
In these scary times, it is good for us to remember and to honour God’s Law of Love. As we contemplate the working conditions of those who care for our elderly and those with disabilities, I hope we finally look to rectify our treatment of these so essential workers. I find it most appropriate that on this Mothers Day weekend our governments are finally stepping in to increase their wages. These people work so hard for so little pay – to take care of those we love. Such important work needs to be professionalized (more education, more recognition, more respect) and paid appropriately, and with the benefits that should be there for them. Why in this world should anyone have to work three or more part time jobs at minimum wage with no benefits, to put profit into the hands of private owners?
Our times are indeed in the hands of our Creator. We have lots of time right now to think about how we live, and how we might live better – with justice and respect for all. We know what needs to be done. Let’s listen to that inner voice that prompts us to do what is right. We have within us the power to speak our truth to those in power. Please let your voice be heard.
And let’s take time this Sunday to reach out and to honour all those whose mothering care has been important in our lives: mothers, fathers, friends, health care workers, grocery store clerks, restaurants doing take out, first responders, fire fighters, RCMP, and more. Let’s look deeply into our relationships and acknowledge the daily care we give one another.
And finally, let’s not forget to honour and celebrate the BIG MOTHER – the Earth. This planet nourishes and sustains us all the days of our lives – a gift of being from the Source of all Being. Our times are indeed in the hand of our God.
My prayer: Help us, Holy One, to learn to live with respect in Creation.
Scripture: Psalm 31:14-16
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love. NRSV
“My times are in your hand…” for Mothers Day, 2020
What to say about Mothers Day this year, in the midst of a pandemic, when we are all socially and physically distanced from our loved ones?
Perhaps we are all beginning to notice how we long to be together. Perhaps we are missing the daily routine, so taken for granted, of the care we give one another. Some of us are crossing the line of public health dictates to show and to give care to our most vulnerable members – our elderly, our disabled. Some of us are listening to that inner voice that says we cannot abandon our sick, our aged, our mentally or physically challenged relatives or friends.
This care, this nourishment, this need to provide for one another – this is mothering, or fathering, or loving, or being a good friend or neighbour – this is really what we are celebrating and honouring on Mothers Day.
Don’t know about you, but I feel “mothered” when the clerk at the grocery store sanitizes the credit card machine before she hands it to me with gloved hands. I know you care when you step aside to respect the six feet of social distance between us. When my daughter-in-law arranges a Zoom call for us this weekend, I feel loved and remembered.
In these scary times, it is good for us to remember and to honour God’s Law of Love. As we contemplate the working conditions of those who care for our elderly and those with disabilities, I hope we finally look to rectify our treatment of these so essential workers. I find it most appropriate that on this Mothers Day weekend our governments are finally stepping in to increase their wages. These people work so hard for so little pay – to take care of those we love. Such important work needs to be professionalized (more education, more recognition, more respect) and paid appropriately, and with the benefits that should be there for them. Why in this world should anyone have to work three or more part time jobs at minimum wage with no benefits, to put profit into the hands of private owners?
Our times are indeed in the hands of our Creator. We have lots of time right now to think about how we live, and how we might live better – with justice and respect for all. We know what needs to be done. Let’s listen to that inner voice that prompts us to do what is right. We have within us the power to speak our truth to those in power. Please let your voice be heard.
And let’s take time this Sunday to reach out and to honour all those whose mothering care has been important in our lives: mothers, fathers, friends, health care workers, grocery store clerks, restaurants doing take out, first responders, fire fighters, RCMP, and more. Let’s look deeply into our relationships and acknowledge the daily care we give one another.
And finally, let’s not forget to honour and celebrate the BIG MOTHER – the Earth. This planet nourishes and sustains us all the days of our lives – a gift of being from the Source of all Being. Our times are indeed in the hand of our God.
My prayer: Help us, Holy One, to learn to live with respect in Creation.
