Celebrating Mothers
Mother’s Day is a day that can bring both celebration of fulfilled longings, as well as grieving for longings that remain. It can be difficult to talk about motherhood without falling into stereotypes or norms that can exclude so many, but I think it’s safe to connect the idea of nurturance and care to the idea of motherhood – keeping in mind that by no means are these expressions exclusive to mothers, nor are they the experience of everyone.
This Sunday, Mother’s Day, I want to share two stories: the story of an Aboriginal girl living in the North End of Winnipeg and the story of the Samaritan woman at the well from John 4. The stories connect in their themes of nurturance and longing. Both women long to be known deeply, and yet to experience that knowing without judgement. We’ll then look at what Jesus offers the Samaritan woman and what we too can offer those around us – those like the young Aboriginal girl in the first story.
It’s amazing how Jesus continues to step outside gender norms – and norms in general – and offer fulfillment of our deepest longings in a way that rises above the confinement of norms. He doesn’t even hesitate.
Looking forward to celebrating Mother’s Day with all of you!
Carolyn