TRUITY Spiritual Mentoring

Beyond Mother’s Day

Another Mother’s Day is over. The long-distance telephone lines have quieted down, the Hallmark card stores are nearly empty, the florists are sweeping up the fallen petals from the hundreds of thousands of bouquets that were delivered.

Some of us spent the day in the pleasant company of our mothers. Many made contact by phone. Others wistfully recalled the beloved moms who have departed for that Farther Shore; I know I did.

Thanks, Mom, for all you did, for all you are; for your patient, loving care.

But what about those folks whose mothers weren’t the sweet and tender angels the greeting cards celebrate?

Mother’s Day must be a sad and confusing time for those who do not know what "a mother’s love" feels like. And it is madness to rejoice in "motherhood" if our female parents were negligent, absent, or abusive.

And what about the kind of parents we become? Human beings imitate what we’ve seen and experienced — often unconsciously. How do survivors of bad parenting break the cycle of abuse?

It isn’t easy.

Where will they find the wisdom and the strength and the love that is so desperately needed? Who will teach them the right path to follow?

The Lord Christ taught us what lovingkindness looks like. His life and ministry provides a model for nurturing and supportive parenthood. When we have no idea what to do, which way to turn, what to believe, He is our sure salvation — the One who rescues us from despair, from violence, from hatred and harm.

Perhaps it may seem weird or unnatural to equate Jesus Christ with motherhood.

But I wonder.

As the Revealer of God’s true nature, our Lord shows us how our Divine Parent feels about us. In His life we see mercy, forgiveness, and compassion ... and a desire for us to grow into people He can be proud of. There are no threats, no rage, no violence; there is healing, and teaching, and praying. And, above all else, there is love.

When the time was right, Jesus blessed his followers and sent them on their way, confident that they would be able to follow Him. Like a good and healthy parent, he discouraged Mary Magdalene from "clinging" to Him — instead sending her out on her own mission. It was time for her to "leave the nest" — to spread her wings and begin preaching the Gospel (John 20:16-18).

When we seek to be good parents — loving and nurturing, blessing and encouraging — there is a Way for us to follow. If our families of origin were disordered and damaging, there is a Path of hope and healing.

In his life, death and resurrection our Lord Christ assured our salvation. In his teaching and preaching he nurtured us. In his love he has given us life: abundant life here and eternal life hereafter. Through him we are born again.

Jesus the Lord cared for the sick, the poor, the hurting, the helpless and the hopeless. Dirt, dust, disease, distance — nothing prevented him from reaching out to those in need. Late into the night he kept watch, and kept praying. And he never, never gave up on those he loved.

Perhaps it is not an act of daring — but only of daring to speak the holy, undeniable truth — when we speak of Jesus as our Mother. How else to describe Someone who will love us to the ends of the earth — and beyond?

Virtual hugs and real-time blessings,