Here in the UK, the fourth Sunday in Lent is traditionally a time to remember – and give thanks for – mothers. Scripture teaches us to honour our mothers and to remember how much their care and provision shapes our lives and the lives of everyone around us.
As Christian, we are more used to thinking of God as a Father, because that is how he reveals himself in Scripture. Nonetheless, there are a few passages where God likens himself to a mother. These passages often underline his compassion or care for us. In Isaiah 49:15, for example, God asks his people “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?” Constant care and compassion are at the heart of motherhood.
But sadly, we all know – whether from reading in the news, or from painful personal experience – that the answer can sometimes be “yes”. God replies “Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”. In the Gospel, we meet a God whose care and compassion for us goes even deeper than that between mother and baby.
Ed