This Sunday is that special day in the year when we get to say thankyou to our Mums and, depending on our family’s tradition, take Mum out to lunch, give her bunches of flowers or boxes of chocolates. This is all very nice and I’m sure most mothers appreciate the attention and love that’s given to them on this day. But of course being a mother is a 24/7, 365 days a year role that never really ends. One doesn’t ever ‘retire’ from being a mother and caring about one’s children.
While this is a happy day for many, it can also be a difficult day … whether grieving for one’s mother, dealing with a difficult relationship with one’s mother, lamenting that one couldn’t be a mother or struggling to make ends meet as a single parent. It also leaves out the many other significant women in our lives, whether they are aunties, sisters, wives, daughters, granddaughters or friends. These women are also worthy of our thanks.
While it is usually the men who feature in our Bible readings, this week’s description of the early Christian community in Acts 2 suggests that roles and responsibilities were evenly shared. The (male) apostles may have been the teachers, but it was almost certainly the women who provided the hospitality and the homes for people to meet in, as was the case during the ministry of Jesus. It takes the gifts of each person to build a community, so let us remember and be thankful for the wonderful gifts that so many women contribute.