Readings:
Sermon:
Hello, I’m Julia Curtis and I’m a parish priest in the churches of Teme Valley South with Clifton, the Shelsleys and Lower Sapey (Harpley).
I’m also a mother of two fine young men (I know I’m biased) , so Mothering Sunday always holds a special significance for me. My sons are nearly 30 years old now. They have their own lives and we no longer share the same roof. Yet, many things connect us still and it is always a joy when we are able to spend time together. But one of the hardest lessons I have learned as a mother is that you have to let your children go, in order to let them grow.
Much as I would love us all to be together the whole time, that would not be right for any of us to flourish. My sons no longer need the care, daily attention and control over their lives I once gave them when they were infants and toddlers. Instead, they need to know that my support and love is there if and when required, but also they need to have space to spread their wings, to fly and even sometimes to soar.
But giving children that space and actively letting go is not an easy thing to do…..
I think about the mother of Moses, in today’s Exodus reading – how hard it must have been for her to place her son in the basket in the river and leave him. She didn’t even have the chance to name him.
And then there is Christ’s mother, Mary, who stood at the foot of the cross as her son suffered and died for the love of a world that had rejected him…..no doubt with Simeon’s words from their temple encounter 30years earlier coming back into Mary’s mind…..a sword will piece your own heart too.
These readings for today remind me …It is important to let things go to let them grow. To loosen our grip and to trust God’s purposes.
Moses would not have survived if his mother didn’t trust God to watch over him as she left him there. He would never have become the great leader of God’s people as they left Egypt and wandered in the desert.
Mary, bearing God’s son, then had to give Him up to allow all of us to be blessed by God’s great love. And for that she had to endure the pain of a mother watching her precious eldest son’s life end….all words fall short of capturing the enormity of Mary’s maternal distress in that moment.
Now, whilst the experience of being a mother I describe is quite specific, I would argue that our readings have a more general application, beyond those of who are mums. Because it is important for all of us to let things go to let them grow.
The same is true in our churches communities, where an excess of control, can risk stopping others volunteering, stifling vocations, killing off new things before they start, in short hindering the Holy Spirit. To allow new worshipping communities to grow; to welcome more young people and families into congregations and for renewals to occur will require generosity of spirit and deep trust in God. For only by letting things go will space be made to let these things grow.
Imagine for a moment holding a delicate shoot in our hands…that will only survive and grow if handled carefully. Squeeze and hold too tightly and the promise that there is destroyed. Provide the right conditions, step back and that shoot will flourish.
Questions:
- Where do you see new growth or growth potential in your churches or faith lives and how is that being held and nurtured at the moment?
- What might you need to let go of in order to allow growth and flourishing to come?