Faith Works 5-12-18
Jeff Gill
Moms on the move
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Mother's Day is a reflection of late Victorian America, an idealization of the role of mothers that we struggle with today.
It's not that motherhood hasn't been idealized and honored for all of human history, let alone in the life of churches, but if you go back before the Civil War you find the place and sense of motherliness to be something a bit different from the model that has tended to sit at the heart of Mother's Day. M is for the many ways . . . you know.
For Christians, Mary as the mother of Jesus has always occupied a special place in our understanding of how God works through humanity, starting with her "yes" to God's purposes literally working through her. In that way, she became a model to all Christians for faithfulness and discipleship. Mary's "Mary-ness" is in a deep sense for everyone.
There's a contrast here that explains why churches have such an awkward relationship with Mother's Day observances. The historic tone of Mother's Day celebrations is very specific, to those who have had children, and in the duties due mothers from those offspring. This obviously leaves men out, but even more painfully it can leave out a number of women who for a variety of reasons have never had kids.
Today's faith communities tend to be much more sensitive to this tension, seeking to honor women more generally, and mothers in particular. My own congregation has a Mother-Daughter dinner to which, very intentionally, "any woman who has been a daughter" is invited. I think that's a blessing to be aware of such needs for inclusion, while honoring the mothers among us.
And this is where the Bible has a great many mothers to offer us who show the complex, multi-faceted side motherhood, from which we can all learn, women and men, those with children and some of us without any family connection at all, other than through the human family.
Hannah in I Samuel is a favorite of mine. She keeps Elkanah on his toes, and has something to say back to Eli. She is a woman and wife and mother, and she is a powerful woman of faith.
But go back farther. Rahab: we've finally in the modern era caught up with where the ancient authors of Scripture already were. Matthew knew, and included in Jesus' genealogy females who would have lived in their own eras under a bit of a shadow, but who had more to them than those around them realized.
Rahab appears to not have been a mother when she enters the narrative in the Book of Joshua, but she becomes one as a result of her relationship with God's people; her child, Boaz, then marries and makes a mother of Ruth, who is another woman with a remarkable story of childlessness, hopelessness, and yet still faithfulness which is ultimately rewarded. Not when she might have wanted, but just when hope was almost gone, as faith in Naomi and Naomi's God carried her through.
And then there's Esther, beauty pageant winner who proves to have steel beneath the silks and linen of the harem. But her sharp weapon is her wits; she is persuasive, even from a relatively powerless position. And she, too, is only later marked as a mother and matriarch of her nation. First, she is a leader.
In the New Testament, we overhear Paul speaking to Timothy about the remarkable example given him by his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice, students of the sacred texts and role models in faith; John in his second letter addresses an "elect lady" who may be symbolic, but could also be the leader of one of his scattered small churches in her own right. His writing to her talks about the relationships within the church in the model of motherhood and how to be loving children together.
Finally we come to Revelation, where Mary or her emanation embodies God's fierce love in ways you just have to read to believe. But don't mess with her!
The Bible has an expansive view of motherhood we would do well in our churches to examine, reflect on together, and to share with our community at large: moms on the move, getting things done!
Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; he's got a mother, and is married to one, and they both have taught him much, even if he hasn't always learned it. Tell him about tales of modern or ancient motherhood at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack.
