Selah: Pause and Reflect

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2022]

Two days ago the Anglian community worldwide celebrated ‘Mothering Sunday’, the fourth Sunday in the period known as Lent. It is intended to honour the role of the church in nurturing its followers, both individually and collectively as congregations. The practice dates from the 16th century and, in earlier years, it was a ‘day-off’ for those who worked on Sundays.

By contrast, Mother’s Day is a much more recent innovation, initiated by one person who wanted to recognise her own mother’s achievements. It has subsequently been commercialised to the point where, in the US, it has become the third-most prolific occasion for the purchase of greetings cards.

In many countries Mother’s Day is celebrated in May but in the UK and several other countries the earlier date has been adopted for the two events. Unfortunately, the emphasis given to the latter event tends to obscure the importance of the former.

The Bible has a lot to say about mothers. The best known are Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Eve, the mother of all mankind, but there are many others. There are those who have had a good influence on their children; others who have not.

We can think of Jochebed and Hannah who both gave up their sons, both of whom in turn became very significant men in the history of the Israelite people. Hagar returned to a hostile household so that her son would not perish. He too became a significant leader.

The books of Kings and Chronicles record the names of many of the mothers of the successive kings but few are as notorious as Athaliah who encouraged her son to rule Judah in a way which displeased the Lord; when her son was killed she sought vengeance on the whole royal family.

Naomi engendered such love in her daughter-in-law that the younger woman accompanied her back into a foreign country. Later in that family line we see Bathsheba who successfully argued that her son should succeed David as king, rather than any of the competing claimants.

There is the curious story of Rizpah who sat with the bodies of her sons, to protect them from wild birds which might otherwise have preyed upon them. How this contrasts with the account of Herodias who had John the Baptist beheaded so that her daughter could advance her dancing career.

The apostle Paul wrote to his protege Timothy, reminding him of the faithful witness of Eunice and Lois, his mother and grandmother respectively, that resulted in Timothy growing up with a Godly heritage. This is a blessing that many of us have enjoyed and we thank God for the ways in which believing mothers have influenced us.

On Mothering Sunday my mother died. From her conversion amidst the bombs of World War II (literally) to her demise at the outset of what might yet become World War III she walked faithfully with her Lord and now he has called her home.

In memoriam
Georgina Mary Humphreys
14/Mar/1928 – 27/Mar/2022

---

..

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

~~~~~~~~~
Horley Baptist Church online
HBC main site
Confidential prayer link

Return to Tuesday Challenge

Jump to Index of Bible Passages

 

---

Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author