Revd Sara’s Reflection Sunday 10th March 2024 Reading: John 3:14-21
This Mothering Sunday, let us remind ourselves of God the parent. God’s presence in your life gives you absolute assurance of forgiveness, restoration and hope. With God, you have a relationship that should inspire you in how you relate to those you share this world with. Parenting and parental figures can take countless forms: family; teachers; those who care and are cared for; guardians; siblings; friends.
There is such joy in being able to say that we have people in our lives who worry about us, care for us, nag us a little now and then, check in on us, provide for us, and give us a soft place to land when the world gets too much. I would argue there is even greater joy in being that person for someone else, whether we are related by blood or not.
There is such power in knowing that you do not have to be terrified of making mistakes. By having life in all its fullness, you will stumble. You know that you will hurt people, forget important things and act carelessly. Having this powerful relationship with God, and (in turn) people around you who embody that spirit of unconditional love, is a reminder that there is always hope. When you make a mistake, all we need to do is have the humility to acknowledge that, and you find ourselves running into the outstretched arms of a God who welcomes you home with a party.
Today’s gospel reading includes a verse that is often used to summarise the whole of the Christian gospel: John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This verse is an invitation into relationship with God, through Christ Jesus. That relationship changes our relationship with the other people in our lives, with ourselves, and with the whole of creation.
So, may you strive to create relationships with those around you. Whether those relationships are with parents, children, students, grandchildren, friends or colleagues, may you recognise the life-changing power they have for you. May you remember that a relationship based on forgiveness and renewal is not the same as one based on shame.
May you practice the unconditional, forgiving, renewing, understanding, patient love of a parent, and may you cherish the people in your life from whom you receive that love.
Pause for a moment to give thanks that you are part of a global community of people who worship a God whose love for each and every one of us – whether we are in that community or not – is so immeasurably vast as to give the gift of Jesus, who made us that we might have eternal life. You may wish to pray a prayer of thanks that God so rich in grace, mercy and love, that each of us can be inspired to share as much of it as we can with the world around us and the people you meet this week.
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