30th March: Mothering Sunday (Lent 4)
online Holy Communion.
Exodus 2:1-10
Pharaoh’s plot to kill the Hebrew slaves is foiled by two brave midwives, whose names suggest they were foreigners. His daughter then asks Moses’ mother to care for the child.
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’
Luke 2:33-35
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
Something to think about
While serving in the Temple, the old devout Simeon took on the role of a prophet when Mary and Joseph came to the Temple. They were fulfilling the Law’s purification requirements that 40 days after the birth, the family came to offer sacrifices. While rejoicing at the babe’s birth, Simeon warned Mary of the pain that Jesus would bring to them when he grew up.
Collect
God of love, passionate and strong, tender and careful:
watch over us and hold us all the days of our life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Post Communion
Loving God, as a mother feeds her children at the breast
you feed us in this sacrament with the food and drink of eternal life:
help us who have tasted your goodness
to grow in grace within the household of faith;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next Sunday’s (6th) Readings:
Isaiah 43:16-21
John 12 1-8
Please remember in your prayers this week:
Those who are sick or suffering, including Tim Sadler, Linda Torr, Margaret Marsden, Nadia and Irene Wilson, or very elderly, especially Arthur Williams.
The recently bereaved, especially the friends and relatives of Stella Young, Angela Hunt, Molly Bradley, Celia Martin, Christine Webster and Vivyan Manion.
Areas of conflict: the Ukraine, the Middle East and too many others.
Our local churches, as they face up to the problems of the future, such as the interregnum.
Our Ministry Team: Maggie, Nigel & Lynda and her support: Simon.