Dear Friends,
This coming Sunday is one of those occasions for celebration. But what are we celebrating? Mothering Sunday has a long tradition as an occasion when those ‘in service’, were allowed to return to their Mother church and their families to meet their annual requirement to be in their home church for communion; back to the place where they were nurtured and brought up. Thus, the emphasis is on a recognition and remembrance of our rootedness and origins.
It is easy to see how the emphasis developed into an appreciation of mothers, especially as today we are persuaded to part with our money in various gifts, cards and gatherings (when they are allowed).
We have seen in the news this week, how family traditions, practices and expectations are not always happy or healthy. Bringing about change or development is not always easy or possible; this can lead to tensions and a fracturing of relationships. These are difficult in any circumstances but even harder when they are carried out in the public eye.
The gospel reading this Sunday is from John 2:13 – 22; when Jesus disrupts the temple routine by overturning the tables of the sellers of pigeons and the exchange of money. Jesus challenges what many would see as the proper way to worship God. To offer a pure dove in sacrifice, bought with the special temple money which was pure and untainted from the outside world. It was the way it was done, it paid for the upkeep of the Temple, it was holy, expected and not to be questioned.
Jesus’ actions and words shake us out of our complacency, our established understanding of God’s ways and purposes. He can be dismissed as misguided, or he can be seen as an invitation to travel the way to the cross and beyond; the disruptive way of grace, bringing salvation to the world.
Peace
Tim