Moms are known for comforting their children. We think of overtired mom rocking the little one to sleep, maybe for the third time. We think of “there, there, little one.” That comes after a scrapped knew required a kiss and an extra hug. We think of the teenager who flops on the bed and “just wants to talk” while the whole saga pours out. We think of grown children who hug their mothers with an extra squeeze, not knowing which time might be the last.
In my own Mother’s Day project book, from the middle child, I was told one of the reasons I am loved is because I said it is going to be all right, at doctors, medications, and other times that make you nervous. Comforting often seems to be a part of the role, but it is not that mothers have a corner on the market.
This is not so far from how we see the people of God describe God. In the prophet Isaiah, twelve times, God is said to comfort the people, including Isaiah 66:13, As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you. Throughout the prophets, Lamentations, Jeremiah, Nahum, Zechariah, God provides security, reduces pain, and eases the burden of people. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. A total of at least 64 times, we are reminded that God comforts us, even when others do not.
God who comforts us in the most tender of moments. Even though I walk through the most challenging of times, I need not fear. Even though I am walking for the first time on Mother’s Day without my mom, I need not fear. Even though I watch the news of missile tests from North Korea, I need not fear. Even though I am not sure how the sun will rise tomorrow with all of the pain I know today, I need not fear. How idealistic and short-sighted that may sounds. Remember that message of the cross sounds like foolishness to those who are perishing, even while to those it saves, it is the power of God. The absence of fear is not the absence of trial or challenge; it is where we find ourselves when we need not be crippled by dread and anxiety.
Living is hazardous. We do not live in the Garden of Eden. There is nothing about faith that guarantees a stress-free day. In fact, biblically, we have a stronger case to realize that challenges often come from living out our faith. Challenge comes when we live out the biblical imperative to speak up for the voiceless, to care for those who have no one else to care for them, to treat one another as children of God, regardless of our origin. Challenge comes when we follow God first, even when it puts others out. Challenge comes when we share love with the seemingly unlovable and embrace the downtrodden.
It can downright uncomfortable to live this life. It can be uncomfortable to put the needs of others before our own. Ask any mother who is looking for peace and quiet and find brief glimpses in the bathroom. Ask any teacher who is setting up for the next lesson with students clamoring at their heels for what comes next. Ask any protest speaking on behalf of the way of God which calls into account the comfortable way of others. Ask anyone who has ever had to make decisions in which they feel the sharp divide between what is comfortable and what is right.
Comfort often comes temporarily from ignoring our call to stand up for others. But this is not true comfort. When we avoid our call to in relationship with others, we do not experience the ultimate comfort that the psalmist calls out to praise God for. From the valley, we are sure to have view of the high country. It might be easy to feel the high country always over our heads, always out of reach, and beyond our grasp. To walk in the valley is to learn at the feet of one who is abundant. When you walk in the darkest valley, you never walk alone.
We do not walk alone, but walk with the God, who never leaves us or forsakes us. They road and thy staff, they comfort us. The rod and the staff, we must understand, not as weapons, but as instruments of salvific nature. The rod might be used in times of defense, but more commonly to direct, encourage, or guide sheep when they have made potentially dangerous choices. The staff always brings back those in danger. Gathers the sheep in need from the difficult spots and rescues the little ones when they need it most. The staff is used today as a symbol of a pastor. In the United Methodist tradition, the Bishop carries the crozier or shepherd staff as a symbol of authority. Ready to guide and encourage, comfort and redirect as necessary to bring us more fully into God’s way. Comforting us in ultimate ways.
Did you know that Mother’s Day has specifically Methodist roots? Ann Jarvis started during the Civil War to organize women’s clubs to serve suffering women and children. She brought attention to the needs of coal miners in West Virginia and the fevered children left behind in desperate economic situations. It was her daughter, Anna Jarvis, who had no children of her own, who worked for the federal proclamation of Mother’s Day in 1914 with John Wannamaker.
I have come to believe that Mother’s Day is less about those who are mothers, and more about those of us who have mothers. Those of us who want to acknowledge how we have learned the most fundamental lesson of care for one another. This lesson comes sometimes because of our mothers and sometimes, despite our mothers. The biblical imperative that in midst of valleys, we are the hands and feet of God to comfort one another, bringing peace with justice.
There are those of us today who dread Mother’s Day. We might hope life circumstances were different: a different relationship with a mother or child, missing a deceased mother or child, pain with infertility. In fact, each and every church I have served has some faithful folks who cannot bring themselves to be present on Mother’s Day. I will never forget the pain of first time I self-identified with Mother’s Day, having miscarried a few weeks earlier. But like Anna Jarvis, we do not wish to reduce the second Sunday of May into a sentimental cause for increased flower sales, chocolate confections, and greeting cards.
Mother’s Day is a poignant reminder of all those who seek to comfort us as we walk in the valley of the shadow of death. All those who helped us to know both the rod and the staff of our great shepherd. All those who have worked with the Good Shepherd for peace and justice to reduce all of the ways that humanity walks in the valley of the shadow of death. In the spirit of the Mother’s Day proclamation for peace and comfort though justice, I want you to know that currently in the U.S., the rate of maternal deaths has increased since 2000 from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes, and some 65,000 nearly die — by many measures, the worst record in the developed world.1
This year, more than 470,000 children and families have died fleeing from conflicts in Syria.2 UNICEF tells us that nearly half of all refuges around the world and in every conflict, are children.3
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me. Thou art with me and with my neighbor. With the ones, I have never met and the ones I am being urged to meet. Thy road and thy staff, they comfort me. Instruments of justice and peace give me hope that there will not always be pain and suffering. The good shepherd saves us with the staff from being in places we ought not go. The good shepherd urges us on with the rod to places we need to go, but are nervous or unsure.
Mothering God, lead us on to care well for those in need of your comfort. Let us pause in your presence and be restored to your goodness. May we know your presence and share it well with all your people, we pray. This is the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.
2http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/children-of-syria-by-the-numbers/
Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 23: 4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
Gospel Lesson: John 14: 25-31
‘ ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.
Meditations For Your Week
Sunday, May 14 ~ Saturday, May 20
Sunday: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me.” Psalm 23:4a. Each of us knows a darkest valley. Even on Mother’s Day, we may know loss and disappointment, pain and fear. Let God walk with you.
Monday: “Your rod and your staff— they comfort me.” Psalm 23: 4b. The road and staff are for encouragement, rescue from danger, and guidance. Ask God to show you where you might be guided, rescued, and guided, even though it initially felt punitive.
Tuesday: “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” John 14: 25-26. Pray for the Holy Spirit who reminds and convicts, encourages and emboldens to be with you always.
Wednesday: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.” John 14: 27-28. The peace of Christ is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God. Where is God inviting you to moments of peace?
Thursday: “And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. “ John 14: 29. Our God wastes nothing. What in your life is occurring, so that you may believe?
Friday: “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me;” John 14: 30. God’s silence is not absence. Pause in the silence to rest together in each other’s presence.
Saturday: “But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.” John 14:31. Jesus invites the disciples of long ago and today to both pause in the presence of God as well as being actively on their way to service. Where in your life are you pausing and where are you actively serving?