Today, the 4th Sunday of Lent, is a day that we, in the Church, keep as Mothering Sunday. And for us, in the Church, it is Mothering Sunday and not Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is a 20th-Century American secular celebration, whereas Mothering Sunday is a Christian celebration that dates back to at least the 8th Century.
The idea of Mothering Sunday stems from the old lectionary readings for today, which spoke about mothers in various ways. And coupled with some words from the psalm of the day,
‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’
it became customary for people to go, in procession to their ‘mother church’, which was usually their local cathedral. Later, after the Reformation, people came to see the church in which they’d been baptised as their mother church. Later still, it became a custom for domestic staff to be allowed the 4th Sunday of Lent off work to visit their mother church. This became known as ‘mothering’, and so the day became known as Mothering Sunday.
But the idea and understanding of the Church as mother goes back long before even the 8th Century. We find a lot of this kind of imagery in the Church Fathers who wrote about the Church giving birth to people through baptism, nourishing them with the food of the Eucharist and teaching them, in effect, the Church giving birth and caring for her children as a mother gives birth and cares for hers. And it is in baptism that we find this image of the Church as mother most clearly.
We might think that being a ‘born again Christian’ is a fairly modern idea, but it’s not, in fact, it’s a very old one because the Father’s speak about having two births, a physical birth by our biological mother and a spiritual rebirth by the Church. In fact, we know that in the early 3rd Century, the newly baptised were given milk and honey to drink and we also know that, in the ancient world, babies were given milk and honey to drink shortly after their birth. So in the writings of the Church Fathers and in the practices of the early Church, we have this great treasury of imagery showing the Church as our mother. But while this might all seem very nice and cuddly and homely, the image of the Church as our mother could, and was, put to very serious use.
If we start to read Church history, we don’t get very far before we realise that, in spite of Christ’s prayer that the Church would be one, for much of its history, it hasn’t been. There have always been problems in the Church. And sadly, you would expect that. The Church is a divine institution because it was called into being by Christ himself, but it’s also a human institution because it’s governed by human beings. And as a human institution it’s subject to all the problems of any other human institution, greed, selfishness, lust for power and abuse of power and so on. And very often these problems have caused members of the Church to disagree, argue, and fall out. And that’s often led to schism, a division in the Church. We see the results of it in the multitude of denominations in the Church today.
But for the Church Fathers, schism was the worst of all possible sins because it resulted from a failure of Christians to do the one things that they’re called to do above all else; a failure to love one another. And so they were very forthright in their pronouncements on schismatics, those who’d caused a division in the Church. And it’s in this context that we find a very famous quote from the 3rd Century bishop, St Cyprian of Carthage. Speaking of the one Church Christ called into being as mother, he wrote:
‘…she is one mother, plentiful in the results of fruitfulness: from her womb we are born, by her milk we are nourished, by her spirit we are animated. The spouse of Christ cannot be adulterous; she is uncorrupted and pure. She knows one home; she guards with chaste modesty the sanctity of one couch. She keeps us for God. She appoints the sons whom she has born for the kingdom. Whoever is separated from the Church and is joined to an adulteress, is separated from the promises of the Church; nor can he who forsakes the Church of Christ attain to the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger; he is profane; he is an enemy. He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.’
I’m sure many of you will be familiar with the teaching that there is no salvation outside the Church. This is the earliest source we know of for that doctrine, but I think it’s important to note that St Cyprian isn’t talking about non-Christians here; he’s talking about Christians who have separated themselves from the main body of the Church. And I think that is important because this is a problem we still have to deal with today. And it’s not just a problem of the Church splitting into different denominations but of individuals leaving the Church because they’re unhappy about someone or something in the Church.
And this is a problem for us at this time. How many people do you know who’ve left the Church because they don’t like something that’s happened, or they’ve fallen out with another person in the Church? I’m sure we all know a lot of people we could put in that category. Very often these days people are leaving the C of E because they don’t like the people at the top. Perhaps they’re also leaving because they don’t like the way the Church is being run, and/or the direction it’s taking, or being led in. But as understandable as this may be, none of these things are reasons to leave the Church. As Christians, we belong to the Church. We don’t belong to this bishop or that bishop. We don’t belong to this vicar or that vicar. We don’t really even belong to this parish or that parish. We belong to the Church. We are her children and she is our mother. She contains all we need for our spiritual growth and well-being and if we cut ourselves off from the Church, where else can we go for these things?
Let me put it another way. Many people here are Manchester United fans. And if you’re one of those people, you have my sympathy because you’ve had a pretty rough time recently. Many of you will lay the blame for that at the feet of those in charge of the football club. But have you stopped supporting Manchester United because you don’t like the people in charge? Have you stopped watching the team play because you don’t like the way the club is being run? No, or course you haven’t because if you had, you wouldn’t really be able call yourselves Manchester United supporters any more. And if you are Manchester United supporters, you’ll carry on supporting the team and watching them play because what else can you do? You can’t watch Manchester United play by going to Boundary Park because Oldham Athletic play there. You can’t watch Manchester United play by turning the TV off when they’re on. If you are and want to remain a Manchester United supporter, you have to watch them play, regardless of what you think about those in charge. And it’s the same with the Church. You can’t call yourself a Christian or be a Christian if you cut yourself off from Mother Church.
We all go through times when we’re not happy about something or someone in the Church. I’ve been through those times. But we have to remember that it is the Church that we belong to. The Church is our mother and we are her children. We have to distinguish between the flawed, human institution of the Church and cling to the divinely ordained Church that Christ called into being. And we have to do that because it is only the human institution that upsets and annoys us, not the divinely ordained Church that is our spiritual mother. We have to do that because in the Church’s teaching and sacraments, are the words of eternal life and all we need to sustain us on our journey there.
It’s as St Peter said to Jesus when he asked if the disciples were going to leave him;
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…”
And in the same way, if we leave Mother Church, to whom shall we go because she has the words of eternal life; she is the repository of Christ’s words and teaching. This is what the 4th verse of this morning’s Introit hymn is really driving at, and I chose it for this very reason:
And I hold in veneration,
for the love of him alone,
holy Church as his creation,
and her teachings as his own.
So we must venerate the Church as Christ’s creation, even if and when the human institution annoys and upsets us. And for the love of Christ we should regard the Church’s teachings as his own and not walk away because of what some of those in the Church say and do.
Just one final thought. We all got into trouble when we were younger and when we did, I’m sure we were all told by our mothers,
“Just wait till I tell your father gets home! Just wait till I tell him what you’ve done!”
I’m sure that was probably enough to put the fear of God into most of us, if not all of us. If we disrespect or abandon our mother, the Church, what fear of God will we have when we get home and have face our heavenly Father?
Amen.
Propers for Lent 4 (Mothering Sunday) Year A, 15th March 2026
Entrance Antiphon
Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.
Be joyful, all who were in mourning;
exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.
The Collect
O God, who through your Word
reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way,
grant, we pray, that with prompt devotion and eager faith,
the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations to come.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Readings
1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13
Psalm 23
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41
Prayer after Communion
O God, who enlightens everyone who comes into this world,
illuminate our hearts, we pray,
with the splendour of your grace,
that we may always ponder what is worthy and pleasing to your majesty,
and love you in all sincerity.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Parish Church of St Mark Chadderton 