Julian of Norwich was a 14th Century Christian anchoress and mystic who wrote a book called Revelations of Divine Love. What most characterized her theology was that she equated Divine love with Maternal love. One scholar (F. Beer, Women and Mystical Experience in the Middle Ages, Boydell Press, 1992) says Julian believed Christ is not like a mother, but is literally The Mother. He says she believed the primal bond between mother and child is the nearest we can come to understanding the kind of relationship a person can have with Christ. “Just as God is truly our Father, so God is truly our Mother,” Julian says.
Today is Mother’s Day, and it seems fitting to reflect on God as our Mother today. It’s good for us to at least occasionally challenge the exclusive use of male pronouns and images in referring to God, and even to Christ, and the Spirit. God, Spirit, even Christ, has no gender. Using gendered pronouns helps us RELATE to God, and Jesus models that relationship by calling God, Abba, daddy, beloved and loving Father. But that doesn’t mean Jesus saw God as a man! God is beyond all names. When we get stuck in limiting images that pigeonhole God we are engaging in a form of idolatry.
Mother’s Day falls somewhere in the Easter cycle every year. It is a secular holiday, and not a day the Church recognizes on its calendar, so we can’t expect the readings to mirror or promote the celebration of mothers or maternal concerns. Still, we can highlight examples of mothering instincts and behaviors in our Scriptures. The Easter season is filled with stories of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to his disciples. Before his final journey to Jerusalem he carefully prepares them for his upcoming death as we see in our Gospel today. Over and over he reminds them that he will always be with them—guiding, encouraging, shepherding them through time, assisting them to continue his work of building the reign of God.
The season’s readings also feature the actions of the apostles in spreading the word about Jesus, about his life, his teachings, his cruel death followed by his resurrection. It is a testament to their convictions and courage in the face of persecution, and it is a chronicle of the spread of what we now call Christianity throughout the then-known world. They heal people, feed them and reach out with compassion, understanding and love.
With all this, however, we really have to dig to find women named, or even represented, in the stories we hear in the Gospels or Acts during these pivotal 50 days of the Church calendar. Mary Magdalene is there, and a couple of other Mary’s, but even Jesus’ own mother all but disappears. When so much of Jesus’ behavior is nurturing, healing, reassuring…when he goes to such lengths to prepare his disciples before his death and to return to comfort them after his resurrection…why is it so hard to make the connection between the maternal qualities he embodies throughout his ministry and a Mother image of God?
Where is the mother? Why is she so ignored and absent? Why are Mothers of the People hidden behind the scenes?
In Acts today we hear about an issue of possible bias where the Greek speaking members of the community are complaining that their widows aren’t being cared for in the same way as the widows of the Hebrew speaking majority. It seems the apostles weren’t aware they were neglecting the needy members of the minority population. We know how this works—the “majority” doesn’t seem to see those who are different from them. Until the “minority” speaks up they are often ignored and invisible. In any case, the apostles call the community together and ask them to choose seven holy men to distribute food to those in need. Those chosen, Stephen and Philip among them, are Greek speakers and they are designated to ‘wait tables.’ It sounds like a great solution until you realize this is the last you will hear about food distribution or waiting tables. From here on Stephen and Philip follow in the apostles’ footsteps as preachers. Stephen is the first martyr. The focus of Acts is not ‘waiting tables’ but spreading the word and extending the message of the risen Christ to the world.
I can only imagine what happened then. While the important work of praying and healing, performing miracles and spreading the good news of Jesus was being done by the apostles and the men upon whom they laid hands, the women and the mothers were ‘waiting on the tables,’ taking care of the sick, comforting the poor, making sure everyone had enough to eat, carrying the food from house to house with children tagging along behind.
The Mothers of the People are always there, usually in the background, doing the work that brings little or no recognition. In many ways it is the Mothers who are the cornerstones of any community. It is well documented that when women in poor circumstances are provided with resources they take care of their own families and the community as a whole. The same is not the case when resources are placed in the hands of the community’s men.
If we are, as Peter tells us, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood and a people set apart” then we are set apart to wait tables and make sure the poor are fed, the resources are distributed equally to all in need, and that our vulnerable members are tenderly served, their basic needs met. We are responsible for maintaining a close connection with those who are in the minority, those who are ignored by the larger society, those who would be neglected if it were not for a mother’s watchful eye.
Jesus tells us that he is the ‘way, the truth and the life.’ His way was the way of service. What we need now—and what we’ve needed for centuries—is a community of mothers—mothers of all stripes and genders. We need mothering instincts. We need to cultivate a mother’s heart. We need our Mother Jesus, as Julian of Norwich called him, to teach us how to live as generous and wise mothers in the world. May we learn the ways of self-emptying service our Mother Jesus gave her life to teach.
Happy Mother’s Day.
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