Mothers of God
In thinking about what Jesus would say on Mother’s Day, I think about Jesus’ own mother, Mary. I wonder if Jesus had her in mind as he reunited this mother and son in Luke 7.
As Protestants, we don’t often give much attention to Mary as the mother of God. Yet Mary calls us to the power of mothering that exists within us all, whether we are mothers or not. Mary’s way of mothering sets a pattern for discipleship as she walks toward the unknown, her pregnant body itself a challenge to the values and expectations of her culture. She is both a lowly creature and the bearer of God’s life into the world.
What if one way we framed our daily discipleship is to think of ourselves as mothers of God, as carrying God’s love and birthing it into the world?
We hear such an invitation in this quote attributed to the 12th Century Christian Meister Eckhart:
We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of Man is begotten in us.
I long to be full of grace, carrying God’s Love and birthing it into the world in this time and culture. May we all be mothers of God.
Dr. Amy Oden
Dr. Amy Oden is Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality at Saint Paul School of Theology at OCU. Teaching is her calling, and she looks forward to every day with students. Her latest book (Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, Abingdon Press, 2017) traces ancient mindfulness practice for Christians today.