Mother’s Day

Acts 16:9-15, Psalm 67, Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5, John 14:23-29

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

“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 Pray for God’s peace to each of you as we worship on this Mother’s Day Sunday. Amen.                  

 

The practice of honoring of Motherhood is rooted in antiquity. The early Egyptian as well as the ancient Greek and Roman cultures held festivities that celebrated Motherhood. From the earliest times these rites had strong symbolic and spiritual overtones; these societies tended though to celebrate the symbols and concepts of Motherhood, rather than honor actual Mothers. Only in the past few centuries did the celebrations of Motherhood develop a decidedly human focus.

In the 1600's an Anglican clerical decree was the first to broaden the celebration to include real Mothers, earning it the name Mothering Day. Mothering Day grew to become an especially compassionate holiday toward the working classes of

England

. During this designated Sunday during the Lenten season, servants and trade workers were allowed to travel back to their towns of origin to visit their families. Mothering Day also provided a one-day reprieve from the fasting and penance of Lent so that families across

England

could enjoy a sumptuous family feast. Mother was the guest of honor and mothers were presented with cakes and flowers, as well as a visit from their beloved and distant children.

When the first English settlers came to

America

, they discontinued the tradition of Mothering Day although the British holiday lived on. The discontinuation of Mothering Day in

America

may have been because the settlers just didn’t have time; they lived under harsh conditions and were forced to work long and hard in order to simply survive. It may have been because the Puritans, fleeing

England

to practice their form of Christianity without being persecuted, ignored the more secular holidays and focused instead on a no-frills devotion to God.

The reinstitution of our modern day celebration of Mother’s Day in this country can be traced back to Civil War times, approximately 150 years, about the length of time that this parish has been in existence. The institution of Mother’s Day celebrations is also closely linked with the story of a formidable woman in history, Julia Ward Howe. Prior to the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe and her husband Samuel Howe were staunch supporters of the abolition of slavery. Julia was also, against the wishes of her husband a well known writer and poet of the day; and during the Civil War she and her husband became involved in the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which was an important but poorly remembered institution of social service. More men died from disease caused by poor sanitary conditions in prisoner of war camps and their own army camps than died in battle. The Sanitary Commission was the chief institution of reform for that condition, leading to far fewer deaths later in the war than earlier.

Julia Ward Howe was one of the most famous poets in

America

of the time. During the Civil War she wrote her most famous poem, which we still know today as the words to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. It is for this that Howe is remembered today; as the author of the song, still loved by many Americans, still hated by many Southerner Americans. Her earlier popular poems are forgotten as well are her other social commitments. But there was much more to the life of Julia Ward Howe. Following the publication of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, she became a much sought after speaker. As she toured she became aware that some of the worst effects of war were not simply the death and disease which killed and maimed soldiers. She began to work with the widows and orphans of soldiers on both sides of the war and realized that the effects of war go far beyond the killing of soldiers in battle. She also became sensitized to the economic devastation of the Civil War, the economic crises that followed the war, and the difficulties of restructuring the economies of both the North and the South.

Distressed by her experience she became determined to pursue peace which she defined as one of the two most important causes of the world. (The other important cause that she identified was equality in all its many forms.)

In 1870 war was once again rising in the world with the Franco-Prussian War. Julia took up her new cause in a singular way. She called for women to come together across national lines and recognize all that was held in common as more powerful than what divided people, and to have them commit to peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Julia Ward Howe was influenced in her attempt to organize this “Mother’s Day for Peace” by Anna Jarvis. Anna was an Appalachian homemaker who had attempted, starting in 1858 to improve living conditions and basic sanitation through what she called, “Mother’s Work Days”. Anna Jarvis organized women independently throughout the Civil War to work for better conditions for both sides and after the war worked to reconcile

Union

and Confederate neighbors.

Modeling on Anna Jarvis’ organizational tactics, Julia Ward Howe issued a call to action. This is her “Mother’s Day Proclamation – 1870”:

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies;
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Julia failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of Mother’s Day. That success was left to the daughter of Anna Jarvis, also named Anna Jarvis. The younger Anna, influenced by both her mother and Julia Ward Howe, started her own crusade to found a memorial day for women. It was in 1907 that the first Mother’s Day was celebrated in the

West Virginia

church where the elder Anna Jarvis had taught Sunday school. From there the custom spread, with the holiday being declared officially by individual states until in 1912, Mother’s Day was officially celebrated in 45 states. President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day in 1914.

Mother’s Day as you can tell is deeply steeped in the history of war and peace and it is also deeply rooted in our Christian traditions and teachings. It is not coincidental that the first official Mother’s Day in this country was celebrated in a church.

The church traditions of the Episcopal Church include a cycle of Bible readings that are set so that over three years, if one attends every service; the major portions of the entire Bible will have been heard. There are, however, certain readings and stories that are so integral to our beliefs and our Christian life that they occur much more often. These more constant repetitions form the back bone of and describe the basic framework for our lives and relationship with God. It is not just a coincidence that every Sunday, including Mother’s Day Sunday we hear repeated, “My peace I give to you. My peace I leave with you.” The concept of God’s peace is intrinsic within our heritage, beliefs and worship.

I want to make a very important distinction here. There is a difference between “Peace” as Jesus bestows upon his followers and “Peace” as the absence of world conflict or war. In our gospel reading today Jesus makes the distinction. “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Peace with God, as Jesus is offering begins with two aspects – first it involves reconciliation with God and as a result of that we can become at peace with ourselves. This type of peace becomes a part of our lives when we maintain a focus on God. By simply accepting the gift of forgiveness and peace we can stop struggling with ourselves and with God. We can then acknowledge our short comings and sins and can let go of the past (and all the personal pain and misery that we carry with it).  The peace that Jesus offers us involves attaining and maintaining a relationship with God; then we can be at peace with ourselves. We can let go of fear and worry and look at the world and our individual lives with a new vision.

Jesus said; “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.” Troubled hearts and worry can drain the peace out of life. A relationship with God, however, is not a solo effort on God’s part. It is a mutual relationship and requires mutual effort. Communication with God through prayer can be a means to give us perspective. Prayer reminds us that God is with us, that God is also with others, and it is a way to cultivate spiritual peace in our lives.

The final stage of peace; after re-establishing a relationship with God, then cultivating internal peace through that relationship; is establishing peace with others through mutual respect, tolerance and understanding. Peace grows and thrives where respect and love exist. We build credibility and trust with one another when we live with mutual respect. God’s peace becomes evident to others by our lives. Only by accepting this peace, that is a gift from God, can the other type of peace or “absence of war in the world” have a chance to grow.

Here is a modern day story which may give us hope in the world – by Adam Phillips 16 February 2006.

“The continuing quest for

Middle East

peace is usually cast as a high-stakes political drama involving top officials from the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Yet significant peace-making efforts are also underway on the grassroots level.

The classroom at

New York

’s

Columbia

was packed earlier this month (February 9, 2006) with students for the Mothers for Peace event. It was the fourth stop in a six-city tour co-sponsored by a pro-Israel education group called The

Israel

Project and by a student organization called Pro-Israel Progressives.

The two mothers on tour are Nonie Darwish, an Egyptian who grew up in Gaza and moved to the U.S. over 25 years ago, and Miri Eisen, a recently retired colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces, where she worked for 20 years in Army Intelligence. Each woman is the mother of three.

“We are not political,” says Darwish. “We have no agendas except peace. We don’t want to run for office. We are just mothers and we came out here to speak and actually inspire others to speak.”

Eisen nods respectfully. “I think the fact that we stand here together makes a huge difference for the public and for ourselves,” she says. “This isn’t a publicity stunt. It’s something that we’re doing as part of a dialog that we hope will go further.”

Their joint tour culminates a long inner pilgrimage for both women. Darwish is the daughter of an Egyptian military officer who she claims was assassinated in

Gaza

by Israeli operatives. She says she was brought up to hate and fear Israelis and Jews.

“They told us: ‘They (Jews) are evil monsters who want to kill Arab children. This is their mission, and that they were ‘apes’ and ‘pigs’,” she recalls. She also remembers being told as a child “’don’t take candy from strangers. It may be a Jew trying to poison you.’”

Darwish never questioned that attitude as a girl. Then, one day, when she was 21, she was sitting on a hilltop with a Christian friend within earshot of a hate-filled sermon issuing from a loudspeaker atop a nearby mosque.

“Every prayer ended with a cursing of the enemies of Islam,” she recalls. “My Christian friend actually looked scared. And when I saw her eyes in fear, that’s when it struck me. I am embarrassed by the way my religion is being taught.” Darwish calls that incident “the first seed,” because it marked the beginning of her interest in knowing the history from the other side.”

For Miri Eisen, understanding their true history seemed to her a possible breakthrough on the path to peace. As a woman who has spent her entire professional life defending her country against attacks by Palestinians and other Arabs, she doubts that the issue of the land will ever be completely resolved.

“And in that sense,” she says, “I’m a realist.”

But Eisen believes it is a good start to encourage people on each side to try to understand history from the other’s point of view.

“Both sides have different histories, and they don’t look the same of sound the same. But I can understand their history,” she says. I can go out of my way to read their history and look at their perspective, and I don’t have to agree with it. But by opening my mind to look, and realizing that they have a different story, we may be able to arrive at a livable community.”

Because Nonie Darwish advocates the official recognition of

Israel

by all Arab states, she has put herself at odds with many of her fellow Arabs. However. She insists she is not anti-Arab. To the contrary, she says, recognizing

Israel

and denouncing terrorism is actually pro-Arab. “Because terrorism is not just hurting the enemy,” Darwish says. “It’s hurting our culture. It’s hurting our society. It’s hurting our families. It’s hurting our people.”

Miri Eisen agrees. However, she believes that most people on both sides are going to be unhappy with whatever solution is arrived at. Still she cherishes the hope that “by listening, through that tolerance, we can achieve a situation where (people) are willing to compromise.”

“May God give us his blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of God.”