Sixth Sunday of Easter or Mother’s Day?
It’s not a trick question. But it can be a tiresome one, especially if you’re a church leader who has fought too many battles over “Easter People, Raise Your Voices” vs. “Faith of Our Mothers.”
In recent years, the controversy over incorporating this Hallmark holiday into the Sunday liturgy has centered mostly on how to do it in ways that acknowledge previously-ignored complexities: women struggling with infertility or the loss of a child; those who opt out of motherhood entirely; distant, absent, or abusive mothers. Many denominations now have litanies and prayers that cover these real-world contingencies.
But for many, Mother’s Day is symptomatic of a more serious ailment: the uncritical inclusion (intrusion) of civic and cultural observances in the Church’s worship. You can shortshrift Epiphany, maybe, or Christ the King, but ignore Scouts Sunday and all hell might break loose. We may hardly remember that there’s a Trinity Sunday every year but overlook Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, or the Fourth of July? At your peril, my clergy friends.
I think it’s mostly a matter of catechesis. In teaching the church year, liturgical calendar, the lectionary–in a variety of settings and over the long haul–people are almost always curious, attentive, absorbed, and sometimes not a little put out that “no one ever told us this stuff before.” More than one 70-something military veteran has told me how much he appreciates the moral seriousness with which the Christian liturgical tradition addresses its relation to the state.
But it’s also true that the liturgically-correct crowd–of which I count myself a member–needs to lighten up a little. It’s possible to stay centered on the seasons and stories that shape our common worship and on the calendar that orders our feasts and fasts, while also acknowledging some of the cultural celebrations that church-goers will most certainly take part it.
Of course it matters how you gesture toward these kinds of things, and a gesture is all that’s called for–a nod, a wink, as if to say: take your mother to lunch today but don’t assume that this holiday has more significance than it does. As Christians we have many mothers to whom we are related by baptism not biology.
The lesson from Acts this week is illuminating here. Lydia–a cosmopolitan woman of means–is a “worshiper of God.” Her piety pre-dates Paul’s visit to Philippi but she is moved by his riverside sermon and later “she and her household were baptized.”
Was she a mother? Does it matter? Lydia, the first official European convert, prevailed upon Paul and his companions to “come and stay at my home.” Her material support made Paul’s ministry to the region’s Gentiles possible.
Lydia, like a host of other worker-women in the Bible, embodied not a vague motherly piety but a practical hospitality and generosity that any worshiper on any Sunday can learn a little something from.
May 6, 2010 at 9:17 am
You have written of several issues I’ve struggled with on Mother’s Day. As a Baptist who often uses the lectionary, I’ve felt that some of the great truths of our faith are smothered by civil holidays.
May 6, 2010 at 11:37 am
I don’t see any great conflict between Mothers Day and Easter. Lydia can be considered the mother of European Christianity. She was baptized with her entire household and we are not told if they already believed in the gospel, but I imagine that they soon came to Christ if they hadn’t already. She was instrumental in making it possible for Paul to establish his ministry in Europe. Even if our birth or adoptive mothers were not capable of nurturing us in love and in faith, all of us have a Lydia who has nurtured us in love and faith, a woman who has loved us unconditionally and thus taught us how to love others. This love resurrects our wounded hearts and souls from the grave of hopelessness and despair.
May 6, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Oh, you have surely spoken the truth here.
It reminds me of places of worship that take greater notice and care of where the flag is than where the cross is.
And, honestly, I just love ‘mothers by baptism’.
May 6, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Enjoyed these insights as always. I think the question is this: is liturgy prescriptive or descriptive? The same question can be asked of grammar of any language.
I don’t have the answer, but have seen my share of Scout Sundays and announcement of high school state championships from the pulpit…and I’ve often wondered if the high school gym in our community is the true place of worship. Blessings.
May 7, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Mothers Day started as a call for peace and equality by a woman called Julia Ward Howe after her distress at the effects of the civil was in the US. It did not start as a Hallmark holiday perhaps we need to reclaim its original intentions. Google her!