The Rev. Frank Logue
King of Peace Episcopal Church
Kingsland, Georgia
May 14, 2006 

God Our Mother
John 14:15-21 

Mother’s Day. The one day in the year when families try to do something special for the Mom and Mom’s pretend they don’t mind the extra work. So if you buy cereal with marshmallows in it, or fondly remember when you did, this day is for you. It also for you if at any point in your life your idea of a good day was a day without a child leaking bodily fluids on you. Today is also your special day if you know what it is like to have to hide in the bathroom just to have a moment to be alone. 

Today is the second biggest gift giving holiday in the U.S. Hallmark estimates that 96% of consumers take part in buying something for today even if it is only a card. So if you have not done anything yet, you are officially now toast. But not to worry as today is peak day for long distance calls, so don’t forget to make yours if your mother lives away. Mother’s Day is also the busiest day for many restaurants, so I’ll try to be quick enough so that y’all can still beat the Baptists to the buffet.  

But, where would we be without our mothers or grandmothers? I don’t mean that in the most basic sense of we wouldn’t even be born. But where would we be without someone to tell us that we have to wear clean underwear in case we end up at the hospital.  

I want to share some actual motherly wisdom with you. Amy Borkowsky is a stand up comic who saved her answering machine messages for more than a decade. She realized that while her mother was driving her crazy, she was also pretty entertaining. Here are two actual answering machine messages introduced by Amy. 

[Play two sound files with Amy’s Mom giving advice.
The clips are Justice for Amy and Motor Vehicles
click on these links to hear the clips or go to Amy's site to buy a CD] 

It’s a little over the top, but that’s just an example of how our mother’s care about us, right? What kind of person would I be if my mother hadn’t frequently said,

“Beds are not made for jumping on.”
“We don't live in a barn. Close the door!”
“If you're too sick to go to school, you're too sick to play outside.”
“Don't talk with your mouth full!”
“If it were a snake, it would have bitten you.”
“When you have your own house then you can make the rules!”
“Don’t cry about it. If you are going to play with the big boys, you are going to get hurt.”
“So what if Billy’s mom said he can do it? If Billy’s mom let him jump off a bridge, would you want me to let you do it too?”
“Going to a party? Who's going to be there?”
“Call me when you get there, just so I know you're okay.” 

Our mothers are so formative for who we are, it is not surprising that the Bible uses the image of a mother to speak of God at times. For example: 

• In Deuteronomy (32:18), God is described as “the God who gave you birth.”
• The Prophet Hosea described God as a parent who loves, teaches, holds, heals and feeds her child. God is not specifically described there as father or mother, though the actions are those most associated with a mother. Hosea also describes God as being like a mother bear protecting her cubs (Hosea 13:8).
• The Book of Job also referred to God’s womb bringing forth the world (Job 38:8,29).
• In five Psalms (Psalms 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 91:1, 4) the Psalmist uses the image of God being like a mother bird protecting her chicks under her wing.
• In I Peter (2:2-3) Christians are described as newborns longing for pure spiritual milk from God.
• While Jesus did not use motherly language, he did compare God to a woman working leaven into bread (Luke 13:18-21) and a woman seeking a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10).
• In Isaiah (42:12) God is compared to a woman in labor. Also in Isaiah we get those words we sing here at King of Peace which say (Isaiah 49:14-15), “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even if these may forget, yet I will never forget you.”

This is an important distinction, for I know in speaking of mothers how complex that can be. Not everyone has had an ideal mother. This is the same problem we can run into when speaking of God as Father. In both instances, God is compared to an ideal mother and an ideal father. This is why Isaiah acknowledges that even if a woman does forget her own baby or the child within her womb, God will nonetheless be like that ideal mother who could never forget her own.  

God also says through the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 66:13), “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” 

In our Gospel reading for this morning, Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” In the King James Version, the verse is translated, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” This translation fits well with the verse as Jesus is speaking of sending the Holy Spirit, sometimes referred to as the Holy Comforter from the King James Version’s translation which speaks of Jesus as sending a comforter to be with us always. 

The Holy Spirit as comforter is a very feminine image, which fits well enough as Spirit in both Hebrew and Greek is a feminine word. In those languages, the pronoun she is used of Spirit, including Holy Spirit. Of course, all of this is by way of analogy as God is neither male nor female. And certainly speaking of God the Father is orthodox Christian teaching. Yet, we should also hold on to some of that feminine imagery for God is not only like a man as God is like the father in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son. But God is also like a mother who can not forget the child in her womb.  

Jesus knew that his leaving the world and no longer being physically present would seem to create a crisis. But he also knew, and was teaching his disciples to understand, that God would never leave us orphaned, parentless, comfortless, alone. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God would be present not just alongside us, but in us and us in God. This is a truth that goes well beyond any image of mothers and fathers, this is the deeper truth that all that imagery is calling us to—that we can be in God and God in us. This is where language can not take us, but can only use a variety of expressions to point to the truth beyond words. 

On this Mother’s Day, we remember not how the love our mothers have for us reminds us of God. This is the day to remember that the love God has for you points to the love you should show your mother, your father, your children and even your enemies. For just as God is in us and we are in God, so is God in our mother and our mother is in God. And this is a bit of comfort for those of you who have been listening to this sermon remembering your mother who has died. For your mother is still present to the God who is in you. It is through God that you have an ongoing connection. 

All that mother imagery of God is just pointing out the care God has for you, care that goes beyond what any mother can provide. For the Bible uses the image of the care of a womb in describing God’s love for us. We are wrapped up in womblike care even now. That is one way of describing how it is that we are in God even as God is in us. So God’s love is like a mother’s love only more so. And with that comfort and love of God’s Holy Spirit in our spirits, we are empowered to share that same love with others. For that love gives us strength. 

It’s like the teacher who asked her kindergarten students what they wanted to be when they grow up. The last child to speak was the most shy and timid little boy in the class. He said, “When I get big, I’m going to be a lion tamer in the circus. I’m going to face those animals with my whip and chair and make them leap through hoops of fire and obey all of my commands.” Seeing the disbelieving looks on the faces of his classmates that he could ever act so boldly or bravely, he was quick to reassure them, “Well, of course, I’ll have my mother with me.” 

What can a little boy dream of being if he knows his mother will be there? What more can we dream of knowing that God is with us and in us. God will not leave you orphaned. God will come to you and be with you. For you are in God and God is in you. 

Amen.