Letter from the clergy - Friday 12 March 2021

First published on: 12th March 2021

Dear all,

I remember once getting my mum some daffodils for Mother’s Day, the problem I had as an 11-year-old boy was that I did not have very much money; and what money I did have I wanted to spend on sweets, so I hatched a plan. We were living in London at the time and near to our house was a main road with a huge roundabout, on this roundabout were the biggest and brightest daffodils. All I had to do was cross two lanes of busy London traffic, pick some flowers and the cross the road back. Despite my older brother trying to talk me out of such an amazing plan I went for it and I picked as many as I could carry and brought them home. The next day, I wrapped them in some wrapping paper I found in a drawer and gave them to my mum. She was delighted but also sceptical. I am not sure if this was an example of love and sacrifice or theft and stupidity.

This weekend we celebrate Mothering Sunday, and the old testament reading is the story of Moses’ mother placing her child in a basket in a river to prevent him from being killed. It may seem like a weird story for Mothering Sunday, but it is a story of wonderful love and sacrifice. Sometimes love leads to difficult and challenging decisions.

As I write this, I know that Mother’s Day is not the most amazing day for some people and not everybody has got or had a brilliant relationship with their mother. However, I think as we look at this Bible reading and think about Moses’ mum’s love and sacrifice, we see great similarities with the love that Jesus has for us all. His life led Him to death, the ultimate sacrifice, for the redemption of the whole of creation.

I am challenged, as I prepare to celebrate mothers on Sunday, about my own love and whether I am prepared to love, even at great cost to myself. As I reflect on that, I find it easy to say yes to that for my children but am I prepared to love my friends, neighbours, work colleagues, enemies, those on the edge of society, those people I pass in streets, with a love that is sacrificial like Jesus has loved me? I have been left with these questions.

  1. Who is God wanting us to love more at the minute?
  2. How can we as a church show God’s love to our community?
  3. What sacrifices may we need to make in order to love more?

As we celebrate Mothering Sunday this week let us be encouraged to show the love of God more and more in our lives.

God Bless,

Gareth.

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