Mothers day- worth the pain?

As most know this sunday is Mothers Day, or mothering sunday in the UK. 

It is a day ( and week before) in which holds many tensions for people. It is a day to be confronted* with our feelings about those who nurtured us and those who we get to nurture. For some it's a celebration of goodness and love, for others it's a day to be reminded of what has passed or was never there. I suspect for most it's a combination of both. 

So what to do about it as churches. I've seen on Facebook many churches will be doing as little as possible because it's a painful over commercialised day! 

Shame, understandable, but a shame. I think that pain is exactly what the church should be talking about and people in pain should be able to be held in community at such time. Obviously a person has the right to op out of gathering as church for many reasons, but I'm sad that at time when society is hurting the parts of the church will be avoiding a painful topic. 

As I see it the bible wonderfully tells of the following things:

• God loves us and nurtures us like a good mother and father do.
• God loves good healthily parenting and nurturing. 
• Parenting is hard.
• Church community is place mourning people can find support and love.
• Church community is place where people can celebrate God's goodness.
• God in His grace can breath new life into broken relationship.
• God heals broken hearts. 

People I met and know are longing to hear the Goodnews of the Gospel and mothers day is one such opportunity for the church. To creativity try to hold real people with real issues together while worshipping God and allowing him to heal us and change us in the week in and week out role of the church. Not easy on mothers day, not everyone will come and not everyone will like what we do- but hey that every time we gather together anyway! 

This week church1v23 will be trying to hold the people we love with their emotions around mothers day, and so share and be the Gospel to one another. Pray for us, we'll pray for you. 

*by confronted I mean that if you have any connection to children they spend time most of the built up week doing mothers day stuff, making cards having stalls selling more stuff. Shop also make it clear that this is time for you to spend you money on mushy cards for your mums.

Call it lent snobbery, call them lent Pharisees

 There is now a new way of thinking and the new ways as it so often does looks down in the simple old way. It looks down on the old ways as shallow and not "deep" enough.  Lent is place we see this old human trait raise it ugly head.

I've seen many a post in the last couple of weeks (and years) looking down upon the simple lent fasts of chocolates or fizzy drinks or a certain tv soap as well, not really good enough. Now instead of giving things up (far too negative for the modern trendy church) we need to be doing things and smiling about them. Lent is not more about stop- it's about GO.

When I read the temptation of Jesus I see character and issues of control at the centre of this wrestle between these ancient foe. 

What controls you? Where are your character defects? Do you find yourself reaching for the confort of the choc bar or fizzy drink or beer or ..... To numb you feelings and lack of control. Are you frozen into inaction by low self worth or fears you have. Well bless you, your not alone, try giving up that choc bar and seeing you are made for more and that you can endure the pain. And forgive those who snobbishly look down at your need. If your frozen by inaction believing you can't change anything and that you have no power, we go do something and I hope that by  giving up inaction you will be set free to enjoy life. 

Of couse we can continue to hide our character defects and control issues behind our lent fasts and so choose something easy, which does not confront our weaknesses of character and our wrestle with control. 

Life has deserts, Jesus knew that. Deserts are temping places to take the easy path. Jesus experienced that. But He stood firm for live even in the hard place. Let's not try to control others by judging their deserts and their attempts to not be controlled by them.