Even God has a mother!

"... and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son." Luke 2.7

Today is Mothering Sunday and thoughts turn instinctively to our own mothers. The mother - child relationship may be the strongest bond of all. There are sound biological and anthropological reasons why this should be the case. So we have much for which to be grateful: our very existence no less and, in some cases, our survival through illness, danger or catastrophe. How amazing to think that God has a mother too!

Much that is nonsense has been claimed for Mary, wife of Joseph and mother of Jesus, which is a pity because it distracts from her historical role and it subtracts from what we can know and celebrate of her real achievements and personality: risking her reputation, happiness and place in society in acceding to the angel Gabriel's announcement that she would bear the Messiah, who would be God's only Son and, indeed, one with God - ie God of God; protecting the infant Jesus from the murderous intent of King Herod, even enduring a period of exile in Egypt; the pressure of nurturing the Saviour of the world and then, when the time came, letting him go to fulfil his purpose, with all the triumph and the heartache that entailed.

How that must resonate with so many mothers today. One thing, however, remains unique to Mary: greeting her son in his resurrection. Because of that reunion we can all look forward to our own resurrection and the joyful reunion it will enable with all who die in faith or persevere until the return of Mary's son, our Saviour, Jesus. May that happy prospect inspire all who are mothers and everyone who has ever had a mother, today and every day...