As people generally culturally sensitive to the issues surrounding mother-child relationships, as well as societal pressures for women to be mothers in order to be recognized as fully 'matured' American women, clergy persons were quick to illicit opinions from friends and colleagues searching for politically correct and religiously appropriate ways to handle the holiday. Not wanting to incorporate a non-religious holiday in sacred space some clergy quickly dismissed even the idea of sharing preaching space with the troublesome Hallmark holiday. Other's more actively opposed the participation in the holiday by posting statuses refusing to participate in the honoring of any mother in order that there might be a new level of solidarity formed with women who had made 'alternative' reproductive choices. Still, some clergy had taken a historical perspective, incorporating the roots of the holiday to hold up issues of peace with justice, service and women's liberation in a time when women still live in a society which expects much and supports little.
At a time when Mother's Day conjures up as much, if not more, of an emotional response than the death of Osama bin Laden, perhaps it is even more important for clergy persons to bring into the public realm of the church those issues associated with motherhood that plague the private hearts of so many. It could be an opportunity to resurrect the original purpose of an overcommercialized holiday that once sought to bring forth into the public realm the private issues that women struggle with.
Of course, first this requires us to ask the question: Why is motherhood such a hot button for our culture, not just for us as individuals but for us as a society? And, what is it about all of this that is so offensive and painful that it prevents progressive religious leaders from honoring the struggles and difficulties of mothers? That such a reaction would be cultivated that we would once again push back to an invisible place an already largely silenced position; that of the American mother. And that this reaction would then serve to do exactly the opposite of what was intended, that once again women become isolated into categories of mother and non-mother. Both being silenced. And thus, effectively separated from the support of one another over yet again another culturally created divide to keep up weak and quiet and private about obstacles we face not just as mother but as women. Women who on a daily basis fight this ideal of 'The Mother' that was designed so that no one could ever quite live up to...keeping us fighting amongst ourselves, turning away from the powerful hope of transformation found in the authentic acceptance of the broken mother inside all of us.
An Aside:
After some internal debate, tonight, at our alternative service, I will talk about Mother's Day. Not to isolate or point out differences among women but perhaps as a backward step into solidarity. What IF we could all accept in ourselves and in one another the Divine Mother in all of us? To take the countercultural stance that femininity, true gritty and vulnerable and messy femininity, is that which can be seen as Divine. To hold up this concept of God as Mother which Julian of Norwich states "demonstrates the worldly, sensual and active property of God....in the midst of suffering, illness, and pain, the Mother God says, 'All will be well. You will see it yourself, that every kind of thing will all be well." In this 'wellness' may there be the possibility of seeing outside of predetermined categories of good and bad women...but a new hope in the publicly proclaiming the Divine Mother existing in all persons and the strength that adds to our movement to be at peace with all the world's children. Perhaps, our hope is not found in the image of mother our society has painfully tattooed into our minds but that mother which God has already brought to life inside of our hearts.
