Mothering Sunday 2021

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Mothering Sunday 2021

We Are the Children of Promise

THE OLD TRADITION OF MOTHERING SUNDAY, PRECEDING THE MODERN MOTHER’S DAY BY MANY CENTURIES, CARRIES WITH IT THIS UPLIFTING ASSURANCE FOR US ALL, AND OF COURSE IT ALSO REMINDS US OF THE GENTLE WOMAN WHO WAS BLESSED ABOVE ALL OTHERS, BEARING AND THEN RAISING JESUS CHRIST.  WE MUST BEAR THIS IN MIND GENEALOGY IS A POPULAR SUBJECT NOWADAYS.  IT IS FEATURED ON TELEVISION, AND WELL ADVERTISED BY THOSE WHO PROFIT FROM IT.  THIS IS ESPECIALLY SO IN NORTH AMERICA, SINCE FAMILY TIES WERE OFTEN CUT BY TIME AND DISTANCE WHEN OUR ANCESTORS CHOSE TO CROSS THE OCEAN AND SEEK A FRESH START IN ONE OF THE NEW COLONIES.  MANY IMMIGRANTS WANTED TO FORGET THEIR ORIGINS, AND A PAINFUL PAST.  WE CHRISTIANS CANNOT FORGET THE PAST, BECAUSE IF WE FORGET WHOM AND WHERE WE COME FROM, THEN WE WOULD LOSE OUR IDENTITY, AND OUR INHERITANCE, BECAUSE WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE.

THE BACKGROUND TO THIS TERM IS: THE STORY OF ISAAC, ABRAHAM’S SON AND HEIR, FROM WHOM SPRANG THE FAITHFUL JACOB AND THE RESENTFUL ESAU, WHO WERE LATER RECONCILED THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF JACOB, WHO WRESTLED WITH AN ANGEL, AND WAS RENAMED ISRAEL, THUS BECOMING THE PATRIARCH OF THE HEBREWS.  THE HEBREW FAMILIES, DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS, KEPT RECORDS OF THEIR ‘BEGATS,’ BECAUSE THEY PRIDED THEMSELVES THAT THEY COULD TRACE THEIR FAMILIES BACK TO THE PATRIARCHS OF OLD.

BUT THERE IS ALSO THE CHURCH’S ‘FAMILY TREE’.  WE CAN TRACE OUR SPIRITUAL ANCESTRY THROUGH THE OFFICE OF BISHOP, BACK TO THE APOSTLES.  SOME OF THIS HISTORY IS LOST IN THE MIST OF TIME, BUT THERE ARE STILL ENOUGH RECORDS EXTANT TO ASSURE US THAT FOR THE MOST PART THE OFFICE HAS BEEN PASSED FROM ONE BISHOP TO ANOTHER IN AN ORDERLY MANNER.

GENEALOGY CONTRIBUTES TO A SENSE OF OUR PLACE IN THIS WORLD, BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT  IS OUR SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE.  ALTHOUGH OF COURSE GENEALOGY IS NOT ENOUGH.  AS JESUS ONCE SAID, GOD COULD TAKE STONES AND MAKE FROM THEM MORE CHILDREN FOR ABRAHAM.

THE PROMISE GIVEN TO ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB WAS THAT FROM THEM A GREAT NATION WOULD ARISE.  THEIR DESCENDANTS WOULD BE AS THE SANDS OF THE SEASHORE.  FROM THE VANTAGE POINT OF THE GOSPEL WE KNOW THAT GOD MEANT A NATION DRAWN FROM ALL RACES AND KINDREDS AND PEOPLES AND TONGUES, A NATION THAT FAR EXCEEDS ALL WORLDLY BOUNDARIES.  THE START OF THIS CONCEPT CERTAINLY WAS THE ‘DIASPORA,’ THE SPREAD OF THE ISRAELITES, AND LATER DESCENDANTS, THE JEWS, TO SO MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD.

THE MEANING OF THE PROMISE WOULD BE FULLY REVEALED WHEN CHRIST CAME AND THE CHURCH AROSE. THIS WAS AN EXCITING IDEA TO THE CROWDS IN JERUSALEM ON PENTECOST. THIS GREAT PROMISE WAS BEGINNING TO COME TRUE!

NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, FOR SOME WHO ‘CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS,’ THE EXCITEMENT HAS DIED DOWN. WE TEND TO TAKE THE PAST FOR GRANTED: AFTER ALL, WE MUST CONCENTRATE ON THE PRESENT FOR MANY REASONS. WE MAY RUN THE RISK OF BEHAVING LIKE ESAU, INTERESTED ONLY IN THE PRESENT. HE WAS READY TO SELL HIS BIRTHRIGHT AT BARGAIN PRICES. JUST SO, MANY ARE DISPOSED TO MAKE ANY CHANGE NECESSARY THAT WILL KEEP THE CHURCH, SOCIETY AND THEMSELVES IN STEP WITH THE SOCIAL FASHIONS OF OUR AGE. NEVER MIND THAT THOSE WITH SOME HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE KNOW THAT THESE ‘FASHIONS’ HAVE BEEN AROUND BEFORE…THAT WE ARE SEEING THE SAME TRENDS THAT HAVE DESTROYED OTHER CIVILISATIONS, THROUGH MORAL DECLINE, AND FORGETFULNESS OF GOD.

OUR ROOTS ARE IN THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM….AND WE ANTICIPATE THE APPEARANCE OF A NEW JERUSALEM, THAT FUTURE GOD-MADE CITY THAT SHALL BE FREE. MEANWHLE OF COURSE IT IS A BELEAGUERED CITY, WHICH HAS BEEN DIVIDED, AND EVEN AFTER THE RISE OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL HAS OFTEN HAD AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE.

ON THIS FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT WE RECOGNISE THAT, WITH GOD FOR OUR FATHER, THE CHURCH FOR OUR MOTHER, PERSONI FIED BY MARY THE MOTHER OF THE LORD, WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL “BLOODLINE” THAT IS SECOND TO NONE. FROM THIS CONNECTION WE GAIN OUR TRUE FREEDOM, THE FREEDOM ST PAUL IS WRITING ABOUT.

IT IS NOT BASED UPON ANYTHING AS OBVIOUSLY CHANCEY AS MODERN CONSTITUTIONS. POLITICAL FREEDOM CAN DISAPPEAR OVERNIGHT, AND HAS, MANY TIMES, FOR MANY NATIONS, OVER THE COURSE OF HISTORY. OUR FREEDOM GOES MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT, AND IS FAR MORE SECURE THAN ANY WOULD -BE GUARANTEES THAT GOVERNMENTS MAY SUPPLY. THE SOVIET CONSTITUTION GUARANTEES MANY RIGHTS THAT NO ONE ACTUALLY ENJOYS—WITNESS THE NAVALNY CASE DURING THIS PAST YEAR. THAT HAS BEEN TRUE OF OTHER DESPOTIC REGIMES. POLITICAL FREEDOM MAY OFTEN BE AN ILLUSION. FOR US, THERE MAY BE A GREATER CERTAINTY OF IT, BUT HISTORY SHOWS HOW QUICKLY THE COURSE OF NATIONS CAN CHANGE, WHICH IS WHY WE MUST NEVER TAKE OUR LIBERTIES FOR GRANTED.

SO, ALTHOUGH THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION GUARANTEES FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION; FREEDOM OF BELIEF, OPINION, AND EXPRESSION, AND FREEDOM OF LAWFUL ASSEMBLY, WE KNOW THAT CONSTRAINTS MAY EASILY BE IMPOSED UPON THEM….AND THAT OFTEN SUBTLE PRESSURE IS APPLIED SO THAT ONE MAY NOT FEEL FREE TO GIVE VOICE TO IDEAS CURRENTLY OUT OF VOGUE IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER. GOVERNMENTS MAY ALSO SAY THEY WILL FOLLOW ONE COURSE, AND THEN FOLLOW ANOTHER. FREEDOM HAS ALWAYS NECESSITATED GREAT VIGILANCE ON THE PART OF THE CITIZENS OF A FREE NATION.

WE HAVE ALREADY HAD AN EXAMPLE IN RECENT CHURCH HISTORY: HOW THE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE WAS WITHDRAWN FOR THOSE WHO OPPPOSED THE CHANGES WHICH HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, REGARDING THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE USE OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. ALTHOUGH STILL THE OFFICIAL LITURGY, IT WAS BANNED IN CERTAIN DIOCESES YEARS AGO. WHEN ANY CHURCH DEPARTS FROM THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE DETERMINED ITS CHARACTER, WATCH OUT! THAT IS WHY SO MANY OF US HAVE HAD TO TAKE A STAND FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE FAITH AND TRADITIONS OF CHRISTIANITY, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR ANGLICAN WAY.

ON THIS MOTHERING SUNDAY OUR IMMEDIATE THANKS MUST BE THAT IN OUR LITTLE BRANCH OF THE CHURCH WE DO INDEED HAVE A HOLY MOTHER, THE EXTENSION OF THE MOTHERHOOD OF MARY: AND OUR LINK TO THE SONSHIP OF CHRIST AND THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD.
WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO UPHOLD THE BELIEF AND FORM OF WORSHIP THAT HAVE BEEN BESTOWED UPON US THROUGH OUR OWN TRADITION AND HERITAGE, THANKS TO THE UNSWERVING LOYALTY OF SO MANY WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US.

AND SO IT IS VERY NECESSARY THAT WE CONSIDER WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE COMPONENTS OF THAT FREEDOM, AS ST PAUL PUTS IT, ‘WHEREWITH CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE’?

CHRIST HAS GIVEN US FREEDOM FROM FEAR, THROUGH HOLY BAPTISM. SO LONG AS WE LIVE WITHIN THE GRACIOUS ENVIRONMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, SPIRITUALLLY NOURISHED BY HOLY COMMUNION, PROVIDED BY THE LORD WHO FED THE FIVE THOUSAND. NOURISHED IN MIND BY THE WORD OF GOD, WE ARE PROTECTED.

THE COMBINED FORCES OF SIN, SATAN, AND DEATH, CANNOT CUT US OFF FROM GOD, WHILE WE REMAIN FAITHFUL. PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR: THE PERFECT LOVE OF OUR SAVIOUR, WHOSE DEATH HAS MADE US FREE FROM THE INEVITABILITY OF DOMINATION BY THE POWER OF EVIL.

CHRIST HAS GIVEN US THE FREEDOM TO PRAY, THROUGH THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT, AND IN THAT WAY TO ADD THE STRENGTH OF OUR FAITH AND CONCERN TO THE REALISATION OF THE WILL OF GOD. I SAY, ‘FREEDOM,’ BECAUSE SOMEONE WHO IS NOT REALLY IN TOUCH WITH GOD, OR FOR WHOM GOD IS SOME FUZZY ABSTRACTION RATHER THAN THE HOLY TRINITY, WILL HAVE MANY MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL BLOCS TO REAL CONTACT WITH HIM. WE MAY USE OUR FREEDOM TO PRAY AT ANY TIME, IN ANY PLACE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SILENTLY OR ALOUD, IN OUR OWN WORDS, OR IN NOTHING MORE THAN CRIES FROM THE HEART…. THOSE ‘GROANINGS’, WHICH, ST PAUL SAYS, THE HOLY SPIRIT TRANSLATES BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD.

CHRIST HAS GIVEN US THE FREEDOM TO SERVE GOD, BECAUSE THAT IS PERFECT FREEDOM, AS WE SAY IN THE FIRST COLLECT AT MATTINS. THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT ARE OURS: LOVE, JOY AND PEACE.

THE CHRISTIAN SLAVES CONDEMNED TO THE ROMAN MINES OF SICILY AND SARDINIA, THE BLACK SLAVES WHO CONVERTED TO CHRIST, THE MILLIONS IN THE SLAVE LABOUR CAMPS OF THE NAZIS, AND THE GULAGS OF THE SOVIETS, HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFULLY STOPPED FROM LOVING GOD, AND UNDER THE WORST CONDITIONS HAVE SHARED THAT LOVE WITH OTHERS, PRAYING, AND DOING DEEDS OF KINDNESS. IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL INSIDE OUR SOULS, NO ONE CAN STOP US.

OUR MEMBERSHIP IN THE BODY OF CHRIST ASSURES US THAT WE WHO KNOW AND LOVE HIM CAN SERVE HIM. WHILE WE ARE SUBJECT TO THE TEMPTATIONS WHICH MAY THREATEN OUR INNER FREEDOM, WE CHRISTIANS MAY ‘GIVE HEART AND SOUL AND MIND AND STRENGTH TO SERVE THE KING OF KINGS’, BECAUSE OUR SOULS ARE FREE; AND SO LONG AS WE ARE FAITHFUL, NO ONE CAN TAKE THAT AWAY FROM US.

JESUS HAS GIVEN US THE TRUTH, WHICH ALSO SETS US FREE. WHILE MANY PEOPLE ARE FLOUNDERING, SEEKING BUT NOT FINDING, THE TRUTH HAS FOUND US! THE ACADEMIC WORLD LIKES TO USE THE WORDS OF JESUS AS A SLOGAN FOR INTELLECTUAL ENQUIRY. ALL TRUTH IS GOD’S TRUTH.

BUT THAT IS NOT ULTIMATE TRUTH. THAT TRUTH IS IN JESUS ALONE, AS ST PAUL HAS WRITTEN. HE IS THE ONLY COMPLETELY RELIABLE SOURCE. IN OUR LORD ALONE WE GAIN THE SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE THAT COMES TO US BY FAITH, NOT EXPERIMENT NOR OUR OWN LIMITED REASONING POWERS: THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD AND LIFE ITSELF, WHICH WE GAIN FROM HIM, WHO IS ‘THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.”BUT THAT IS NOT ULTIMATE TRUTH. THAT TRUTH IS IN JESUS ALONE, AS ST PAUL HAS WRITTEN. HE IS THE ONLY COMPLETELY RELIABLE SOURCE. IN OUR LORD ALONE WE GAIN THE SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE THAT COMES TO US BY FAITH, NOT EXPERIMENT NOR OUR OWN LIMITED REASONING POWERS: THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD AND LIFE ITSELF, WHICH WE GAIN FROM HIM, WHO IS ‘THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.”

ST PETER COUNSELLED THE NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANS, AND IT HAS BEEN PASSED ON TO US, ‘LIVE AS FREE MEN.’ THIS IS WHAT HE MEANT; THE TRUE FREEDOM UNDER GOD, WHICH ONLY THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE MAY FULLY ENJOY. WE MUST CHERISH OUR FREEDOM, BOTH SPIRITUAL AND POLITICAL. FREEDOM IS TOO GREAT A GIFT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. AND ABOVE ALL OUR SPIRITUAL FREEDOM IN JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
 

LET US PRAY. O heavenly Father, keep us faithful to Him and to our holy mother the Church; that we shall indeed possess the true freedom which we are meant to enjoy as thy children; and share in the inheritance of thy Kingdom; through the power and love of our only Lord and Saviour. Amen.