LENT IV - MOTHERING SUNDAY 2004

Presumably, God knows what He is doing.

In the catholic tradition, it is always presumed that when a man aspires to the office of Deacon or Priest, he has been called by God. Holy Orders is therefore referred to as a vocation, as opposed to a profession - a profession being something that we ourselves choose to do, in contrast to a vocation where we are called by someone else to do something. In the church, the call comes from God. Both ordination services, for Deacon and Priest, contain this question from the Bishop to the ordinand, "Do you think that you are truly called, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the due order of this Church, to the Ministry of the Church?" (with the addition of the word "Priesthood" for that particular instance). In my case, leaving my jet set lifestyle in Vancouver, where I was actually paid to go to Hawaii on average once per month, to study for Holy Orders was definitely not something that I would have chosen for myself, and now that I have been in this calling for some years, well, presumably, God knows what He is doing.

When we contemplate the life of a very holy priest who has served faithfully with a truly fruitful ministry, we might often hear people say that that particular individual was always destined for that calling, no other purpose in life was even possible. We might reasonably observe that that man was called even before he was aware. And that is not so very far fetched. In Scripture we might think of at least two such episodes.

At the beginning of the prophecy with his name attached to it, Jeremiah is told by God, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations" (Jer. 1:5).

In his letter to the Church in Galatia, St. Paul says, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace" (Gal. 1:15).

In Jeremiah's case, the observation of his having been called from his very conception is perhaps not all that surprising, as the beginning verses of his prophecy tell us that he was born into a priestly family. And St. Paul, although he went through a rather cataclysmic career change on the road to Damascus, with which I can most certainly relate personally, had nonetheless been a very zealous Pharisee in the Jewish tradition, which is to say, convinced that he was serving God in the best possible way right from his very youth, quite unlike me. For both Jeremiah and Paul, we need not really muse that presumably God knew what He was doing.

For both Jeremiah and Paul, their acknowledgement of having been called by God from the womb, presents us with an interesting thought. How many of us can remember a time, most likely in our teenage years, when we wished to ourselves that we had piercing blue eyes like Fred, or naturally blonde hair like Sally; that we were much taller like Sam so as to be a star basketball player, or could eat vast quantities of food, without ever gaining a pound like Jane. Without realizing it, underlying such speculative exercises, was perhaps a secret desire that we might have had different parents. After all, if mum and dad had both been much taller, with blond hair and blue eyes, chances are, I would have too, and I just might possibly have, as a result, pursued a very different career.

Alas, bound as we are by time and space, it is not possible for us to choose our parents, not that I would ever contemplate having had different parents (and I would say that, even if they weren't sitting here today). And yet, there is one episode in the history of man where that in fact did occur.

Today is Mothering Sunday, and, fortuitously, we shall be celebrating in the coming week that singular event in the history of the world where Someone did choose His Mother.

When, in the fullness of time, God, Who exists eternally outside of time and space, deigned to enter His created realm, into the sphere of space and time, He chose when. Not only did He choose when, He chose the country, the city, the people, the class of society, the political and economic conditions, the language He would speak. All of these details would depend on one factor - the woman He chose to be His Mother - God chose His own Mother. Presumably, God knew what He was doing. His revealing this to humankind occurred when the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her what was going to happen -the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - our patronal festival or, "feast of title" if you will, for this parish.

In passing, the Annunciation always falls within Lent, or if Easter is very early, its date may actually fall within a few days of Easter. In following the rubrics of the Church, we do not celebrate the Annunciation on a Sunday. If its date, March 25, happens to fall on a Sunday, we are instructed to move our commemoration of it to the first available Tuesday following, or some convenient weekday. If of course, occurs exactly nine months before Christmas Day. This year, March 25 falls on Thursday of the week coming.

The Annunciation; God's messenger was sent by Him to Mary to tell her that He had chosen Her, in effect to be His own Mother. I've heard a sentiment mentioned several times within these walls, the kind of sentiment that, as Dr. Henry Stauffenberg mentioned in a recent Bible Study, in which we should never allow our minds to engage. It falls into the category of speculative theology: what if Judas had not betrayed Jesus? what if Pilate had released Jesus? In the case of the Annunciation, what if Mary had said, "No?"

Now, we certainly don't want to get into a long distraction here on free will versus predestination. And while it has been observed by many that the Incarnation was dependent on Mary's "Yes," I for one am not convinced in this particular instance that there was ever any possibility that she might have refused. Remember, God created His own Mother. Not only is it reasonable to presume that He would make her as perfect as possible to be Theotokos - God bearer - but, how, having been created by Him for that purpose, could she have said "No?" Could Paul truly have said "No," after having been knocked off his horse on the way to Damascus? Could Jeremiah really have refused God's call after having been told by Him that he had been ordained to be a prophet while still in his mother's womb? Presumably … no, undoubtedly, undeniably, irrefutably, God knew what He was doing.

God created His own Mother. Mothering Sunday. All Christians have the Spirit of the Risen Lord within their being; therefore, as our Lord's Mother, Mary is also the Mother of all those who are members of Christ's Body, the Church. As a fellow member of the Body of Christ, a fellow Christian, she is also our sister.

Mothering Sunday. This cathedral parish is the mother church of our Diocese. "Jerusalem, which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." One of our Collects begins, "O Almighty God, who hast built thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the head corner-stone," so today in our Epistle reading St. Paul encourages us to remember that that universal Church, having included the Gentiles as children of the promise, is the Jerusalem which is the mother of us all and to which we all aspire after this life. Mary, Theotokos, Mother of God Incarnate is my spiritual Mother in Christ Jesus. Her sister Eileen Reid, is my earthly mother. Thanks be to God that He knows what He is doing.

THE ANNUNCIATION OTTAWA 2004 CLRk