Sunday Stretch: Mother's Day 2024

Start off your week with a grounded take on Bible, prayer, the world, and your life ...

Hi Readers,

Mother’s Day came fast this year! I’ve been a mom for 12 years now (if you count the time I was pregnant with my first) and that old adage of long days, short years, just gets more and more true all the time.

And isn’t it fitting that Mother’s Day, for so many of us mothers, is not only a celebration of ourselves but a time to share that celebration with our own mothers, or to grieve their loss. It gets kind of complicated kind of quickly, huh?

I took some time last year to talk a bit about the layers of feelings people often bring to Mother’s Day, especially in the church, and I got the chance to lift up some really powerful Motherly Images of God. So today, in a break from our regularly scheduled Lectionary texts, I want to share that content with you again:

I mean, isn’t that just the BEST image to shake up your flowers and frilly dresses on Mother’s Day?! I’ll also reproduce the Biblical texts here below:

Happy Mother’s Day from the Bible!

Biblical Images of a Mothering God

Isaiah 49:14-15

Is. 49:14    But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,

my Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵ Can a woman forget her nursing child,

or show no compassion for the child of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

Isaiah 66:12-13

Is. 66:12    For thus says the LORD:

I will extend prosperity to her like a river,

and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,

and dandled on her knees.

¹³ As a mother comforts her child,

so I will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

Hosea 13:8

I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs,

and will tear open the covering of their heart;

there I will devour them like a lion,

as a wild animal would mangle them.

Isaiah 42:14

Is. 42:14    For a long time I have held my peace,

I have kept still and restrained myself;

now I will cry out like a woman in labor,

I will gasp and pant.

Reading these passages, I can’t help but think of the more popular modern-day American Christians conceptions of womanhood. The “Live, Laugh, Love” ethos. The “Proverbs 31 woman.” Purity culture. Submission. Abuse.

But these images of God from the prophets are very different. They lift up feminine, mothering strength as being an attribute of God, godself! They honor the power of women and of motherhood. They strike against a hierarchical, New Testament understanding of complementarianism, where women are held to be submissive to men. And these texts are from the Bible, too, and every bit as important as Paul’s letters to understanding who God is, and who God calls us to be as human beings, of all genders.

PRAYER

However you’re taking in Mother’s Day today - and whoever you are - know that you are exactly who God created you to be, and God is at work in you.

As promised, here is a special prayer for Mother’s Day adapted by Heidi Carrington Heath and originally written by Amy Young, shared with me by my colleague pastor and friend, Natalia Terfa.

I want you to know I'm praying for you if you are like Tamar, struggling with infertility, or a miscarriage.

I want you to know that I'm praying for you if you are like Rachel, counting the women among your family and friends who year by year and month by month get pregnant, while you wait.

I want you to know I'm praying for you if you are like Naomi, and have known the bitter sting of a child's death.

I want you to know I am praying for you if you are like Joseph and Benjamin, and your Mom has died.

I want you to know that I am praying for you if your relationship with your Mom was marked by trauma, abuse, or abandonment, or she just couldn't parent you the way you needed.

I want you to know I am praying for you if you've been like Moses' mother and put a child up for adoption, trusting another family to love your child into adulthood.

I want you to know I am praying for you if you've been like Pharaoh's daughter, called to love children who are not yours by birth (and thus the mother who brought that child into your life, even if it is complicated).

I want you to know I am praying for you if you, like many, are watching (or have watched) your mother age, and disappear into the long goodbye of dementia or Alzheimers.

I want you to know that I am praying for you if you, like Mary, are pregnant for the very first time and waiting breathlessly for the miracle of your first child.

I want you to know that I am praying for you if your children have turned away from you, painfully closing the door on the relationship, leaving you holding your broken heart in your hands. And like Hagar, now you are mothering alone.

I want you to know that I am praying for you if motherhood is your greatest joy and toughest struggle all rolled into one.

I want you to know that I am praying for you if you are watching your child battle substance abuse, a public legal situation, mental illness, or another situation which you can merely watch unfold.

I want you to know that I am praying for you if you like so many women before you do not wish to be a mother, are not married, or in so many other ways do not fit into societal norms.

I want you to know that I am praying for you if you see yourself reflected in all, or none of these stories.

This mother's day, wherever and whoever you are, we walk with you. You are loved. You are seen. You are worthy.

And may you know the deep love without end of our big, wild, beautiful God who is the very best example of a parent that we know.

Amen.

**This has been a special FREE edition of the Sunday Stretch for Mother’s Day, because I want everyone to have access to these amazing images of a mothering God, as well as to share the prayer above. Typically, the Sunday Stretch is only available for paid subscribers. Subscribe below to receive it in your inbox each Sunday morning, and thank you to those of you who are already a part of this community! May God bless your day today, all of you.**

An Invitation

A Community that prays for one another is transformed by the power of the Spirit. We’ve been praying for and with each other now for over a year! For the new year, and about once a quarter, I will re-start this space for prayer requests and praises. Please email with your own requests and I will share here with your permission!

We have begun a new season (EASTER) of the Church Year, which means I have restarted our section here for prayer requests. Please hit REPLY to this email or leave a comment to add a public or private prayer request to this list. Thanks for praying with me!

1. For the new bishop-elect of the Minneapolis-Area Synod of the ELCA, Jen Nagel, and for all of the candidates who faithfully engaged the process, may your Holy Spirit be our true guide and faithful leader

2. For so many loved ones of mine who have recently been diagnosed with cancer and are undergoing treatment. May they have caring and high-quality care, rest as needed, and loving support of family and friends.

3. We also pray for all those who are caring for loved ones who are going through myriad health challenges. Grant them rest and relief in the midst of difficult and tiring times.

4. For all churches, church leaders, musicians and volunteers who worked hard this season to add extra worship services and prepare for Easter; may You bless their words and work and help to build great community in local churches this season. May they also be granted time for rest and renewal to continue to do the work that You have called them to do.

5. For ongoing war and bloodshed in Israel and Gaza, that humanitarian pathways will be opened up to make way for food and supplies into Gaza, that a way forward out of war will be heard by Israel and Hamas, that all those in danger, including hostages, will be protected and set free. For all leaders to prioritize human life over power.

6. In Gaza, we pray especially for Sully’s loved ones (and all of our loved ones throughout the Holy Land in Israel and Palestine) that they might find protection and safety, and be able to gain safe shelter and access to their homes, or to be able to escape to safety in other countries.

7. For those who continue to live and fight in Ukraine, that the world will not turn away its attention from the plight of Ukrainians and their stand against authoritarian Russia.

8. For the United States and her politicians. That governmental leaders might see themselves as servants and examples, and for wisdom and courage for all who serve in government, especially the judicial system as it faces former President Trump’s cases.

9. For all those who don’t have a safe place to live or enough food to eat, that they might be first and receive what they need.

10. For all those living with addiction and mental illness, that they might find a way into recovery

11. For farmers and all those preparing for planting season

12. For all around the world who face persecution for their religious beliefs, especially for religious minorities in places where governments sanction religion-based violence

13. For Christians to be emboldened to speak out courageously against anti-semitism and to acknowledge how we have been complicit in anti-semitic actions and speech against our Jewish siblings

14. For governments and leaders to prioritize climate change solutions and not be only ruled by profit or big business

15. For all the concerns deep on our hearts, that you hear and know and acknowledge, we pray …

In the confidence of Jesus’ resurrection, as we await the leadership of the Holy Spirit, may You give us hope and energy for new life …

In Jesus’ name we pray,

AMEN

P.S. …

A Few Notes:

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