‘Mothering Sunday service’
Greetings,
Today’s Companionship is in the form of a chapel service. Next week, at the end of the spring vacation, we hope to begin live-streaming services, but for now it’s in written and recorded form. The bell-ringers call us to worship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzebyGK1rHk
Welcome
All are welcome to this service of worship, from the University of St Andrews Chaplaincy, to students and members of staff, people who regularly worship in St Salvator’s Chapel and others who have received this Companionship email, whether you share the Christian faith or other cultural traditions or philosophies of life. The service will follow, as far as possible, the usual order in the University Service. Feel free to read it, say aloud parts in bold, and click on the links for music. Christians have for centuries been encouraged to engage in daily prayer – not only as congregations gathered for worship, but as households, families and individuals. This service is offered as part of that tradition, and for these extraordinary times.
Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent, Mothering Sunday, and the service reflects on themes of motherhood and family in the context especially today of the coronavirus pandemic and the resultant dramatic changes to our society and across the world.
Approach to the Word of God
Introit: Benjamin Britten, Hymn to the Virgin, sung by St Salvator’s Chapel Choir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Spb-Zi-sE
Of one who is so fair and bright
Velut maris stella, [Like a star of the sea]
Brighter than the day is light,
Parens et puella: [Both mother and maiden]
I cry to thee, thou see to me,
Lady, pray thy Son for me,
Tam pia, [so pure]
That I may come to thee.
Maria! [Mary]
All this world was forlorn,
Eva peccatrice, [because of Eve, a sinner]
Till our Lord was yborn,
De te genetrice. [through you, his mother]
With ave it went away,
Darkest night, and comes the day
Salutis; [of salvation]
The well springeth out of thee.
Virtutis. [of virtue]
Lady, flower of everything,
Rosa sine spina, [Rose without thorn]
Thou bare Jesu, heaven’s king,
Gratia divina: [by divine grace]
Of all thou bearest the prize,
Lady, queen of paradise
Electa: [chosen]
Maid mild, mother
es effecta. [you are made]
Call to worship
For thus says the Lord…
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
(Isaiah 66:12-13)
Hymn Now thank we all our God, from Songs of Praise from Beverley Minster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItfKjxkXhMk
Prayers of approach, thanksgiving, confession and forgiveness, and collect
Eternal God,
We pray trusting and hoping in your love, your wisdom and your companionship with your world,
that you are present with us in all that we are facing,
and will guide us into a future of goodness and joy.
We are thankful for families,
where scattered piles of stuff testify that we live fully in the moment;
where the noise of laughter and the silence of sadness are freely shared.
We are thankful for families,
where we find sanctuary from danger and judgment;
where words of love and openness are the rule of life.
We are thankful for families,
where our differences are the spices of life;
where our unity is something that we can always take for granted.
We are thankful for families,
even when we are conscious of the miles or the oceans between us on this Mother’s Day.
Loving God,
as a mother protects her children,
watching over them day by day, alert to danger, and ready if necessary to sacrifice herself for their sakes,
so you protect,
your arms constantly encircling us,
your hands delivering us from harm.
For this, we thank you, especially in the circumstances today.
Merciful God,
in these extraordinary days,
we are conscious of the ways that we forget others,
or think badly of them,
that we make the circle of love tight and exclusive.
Forgive us, we pray,
with the loving heart of our parent.
And help us to live with commitment,
patience and generosity,
in our lives within families, among friends,
at work, in our studies and in all our encounters in the world.
And now the collect for Mothering Sunday:
God of love,
passionate and strong,
tender and careful:
watch over us and hold us
all the days of our life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Word of God
First Reading: Exodus 2:1-10
2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ 8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’
Psalm 34
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are they who trust in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you that are his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good.
Tomás Luis de Victoria, Benedicam Dominum (Ps. 34:1), performed by Vocal Concert Dresden and Florilegium Fortense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SpJSQDPi2w
Second Reading: Matthew 2:13-15
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’
Anthem: Philip Stopford, Lully, Lulla, Lullay, performed by Voces8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7qYeZcOioI
Sermon
The Love that Carries Us
It’s surely a lovely scene. The King of Egypt’s daughter, the princess, bathing in the warm waters of the River Nile, playing perhaps with her maidservants, enjoying all the privileges of birth. She comes upon a basket made like a boat and finds an astonishing gift inside, a child. Immediately she commands that the boy be hers and that someone be found to feed him for the time being. The child’s future is secure. What could be a gentler bedtime story?
But the reality was much more frightening. The princess’s father wanted to limit the number of immigrant children born in Egypt, particularly the Hebrew boys. He had declared that they should be killed at birth. This infant was surplus to requirements and his life was in mortal danger.
Can we imagine how his mother felt? Sick with fear, desperate for his survival, terrified of losing him. For three months she hid him, but that soon became impossible. So she took an immense risk. She reckoned that Pharaoh’s daughter was the only woman in the land who could manage to raise a Hebrew boy without her father ordering his death. But the mother couldn’t simply give him to the princess: she had to let her find him, to arouse her pity. It was a chancy plan, but it was the only thing she could do. And somehow it worked. The boy’s mother was even able to have two, perhaps three precious more years with him before Moses was finally weaned, and she had to say goodbye.
Again, how awful that must have been. But better to say farewell knowing he would live, than to say goodbye knowing he would die. In Denmark there is a proverb – A rich child often sits in a poor mother’s lap. Moses was rich because of the desperate love of his poor mother.
On this Mothering Sunday, what’s so wonderful about this story is how the helpless child brought out love in so many people. There was his sister Miriam, who was a crucial part of the attempt to save his life, offering to find someone to breastfeed him.
And there was the princess. Now she was no fool: she knew that this boy, like all the Hebrew boys, was meant to be killed. But she showed great courage, standing up to her father, even disobeying him because she loved this foundling. Martin Luther King once said, I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. As Moses’ adoptive mother, the princess showed nothing short of love.
The Bible is full of characters who would do anything for the love of a child. Jesus, just like Moses, escaped a massacre of infants, this time by going to Egypt. And it was Joseph who took him and his mother Mary there – unheralded Joseph, a sort of step-father to Jesus, who soon slipped out of the story. But Joseph’s love for the infant Jesus is clear by the way he protected him from Herod’s orders, taking a hard road into exile. Joseph could have given up, but instead he gave his all for a child.
Behind these stories of love for a child is the heart of the Bible, and of the Christian faith – the love of God for his children, not just Moses and Jesus, but every member of the human family (and other living creatures). Time after time, God guides his people through danger, bringing them to a place and time of peace. Moses’ basket is called in Hebrew a tebah, the same word as used for Noah’s ark. God rescued Moses as he rescued his creatures in the flood, and rescues his people over and over again. He supports us in our arks as we cross the troubled waters of our lives. Our closing hymn from the NHS Choir will pick up this theme
One of my favourite writers is the novelist Armistead Maupin. One of his characters says: You never really know if love is there, unless you let it carry you sometimes. For all that we try to be strong, we all need carried sometimes, and that’s when love shows itself. This time of the coronavirus pandemic is surely a time when people close to us and around the world will need carried by love – the love of people working in health services; the love of family, sharing a home at close quarters or unable to visit; the love of friends on the phone, by email, on social media; the love of students and staff for learning, even in new formats; the love we show in prayer; the love we find in trusting God.
A mother, a sister, an adoptive parent, a step-father: all showed love to a child, making an immense difference to his life and their lives. And this in spite of their feelings of anxiety, fear and inadequacy. We talk of a mother’s love, but in truth we recognise such love in all sorts of people who carry us, and whom it is our privilege to carry. It wasn’t easy then, and it won’t be easy now. Moses was the only child in the Bible that the writer tells us cried. There will be tears today and throughout this season. But there will be love.
Response to the Word of God
Anthem: Deliver Us, from The Prince of Egypt, sung in Hebrew by Ofra Haza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOBjDh-Kuyw
Prayers of intercession and Lord’s Prayer
Eternal God,
whose love pours out from you into your world,
we pray for the world, its societies, communities, families and people, that your love would be present in every circumstance.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Bless O God, our mothers, and ourselves.
Bless our own mothers, near and far,
that they would know your forgiving love in their lives, and share your welcome and reconciliation in all their relationships.
We remember especially all those for whom today may be particularly difficult:
for mothers whose children have died, that they may find hope for their children and themselves; for women who have miscarried;
for mothers whose children have been given for adoption;
for women who have felt unable to continue with a pregnancy, and struggle with the consequences;
for all who have longed to have children, that the love in their hearts will find many in need of their care;
for mothers fearful in this time of pandemic.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Gracious God,
we pray for your
people called to follow your risen Son in his mission of service and love.
Help us in our lives, actions and words
to witness to your love, your truth and your presence by your Spirit to transform lives.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
God of all goodness,
we remember this University, our community and world,
in this time of pandemic.
Give wisdom to all making decisions affecting us,
And courage in these unprecedented times for our health, our work and our economy.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Merciful God,
we pray for people who have the virus,
for their carers,
for all who are anxious at this time,
and all who are feeling isolated,
for students, staff and alumni of the University,
for any who have been bereaved,
that your love would carry them and us at this time.
We remember in a quiet moment those known to us in need of your guidance and comfort:
Silence
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Eternal God,
we give thanks for those who have shared our journey through life,
from our mothers’ arms to all who have given us gifts of love,
but whom we no longer see in this world.
We trust that they are safe in your arms,
and we ask you to draw us at the end into your blessed peace, by your grace.
Our Father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever, Amen.
Hymn A Bridge Over You, sung by the NHS Choir, a medley of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel, and Fix You by Coldplay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8qHXlShfUQ
Benediction
Let us go, carried by the love of God.
And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you this Mothering Sunday
and every more.
Amen.
Voluntary: Sämtliche Orgelwerke: No. 7, Fantasia super ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott’ (Improvisation), played by Sean Heath
Yours,
Donald.