A Sermon for Mothering Sunday

Preached at All Saints Church Penarth, at Evensong on 15th March 2026

On this fourth Sunday of Lent, which is also Mothering Sunday, I’m hoping that I can concentrate on other things than motherhood and apple pie, on the understanding that you have already done these bits; your mothers have had their flowers, and if you are mothers yourselves, you have had your Prosecco, and if you are particularly fortunate your offspring have been in touch and perhaps even been round to give you said Prosecco.

But now here we are at Evensong on the fourth Sunday of Lent, and before you get too sniffy about my reference to Prosecco I should point out that this Sunday is what is traditionally referred to as ‘Refreshment’ or ‘Rejoice’ Sunday – if you want to get extra points, you can use its original Latin name, Laetare. On this Sunday, according to tradition you are allowed to have a break from the fasting and self-denial of the rest of Lent, so if a glass of Prosecco has crept into your hand at lunchtime, that’s perfectly all right, and indeed you could take it as spiritual refreshment, very apt for Refreshment Sunday.

But the fierce gnomes in Montréal who compiled the Lectionary, according to the Consultation on Common Texts, don’t appear to be having anything to do either with the idea of Mothering Sunday or of refreshment and jollification, Laetare Sunday. In particular we’ve got a long passage from the prophet Micah – in fact it is the whole of the last chapter of his book of prophecy – which is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a matter of rejoicing.

J.B. Phillips has produced a modern translation of the book of Micah in his collection called Four Prophets where he has produced modern translations of the works of Amos, Hosea, what he describes as the First Isaiah, (the first 39 chapters of the book of Isaiah), and Micah. This is what J. B. Phillips says by way of introduction to the prophet Micah.

“Micah … is a countryman. … He has the sturdy independence of the man who lives on the land, and, being close to scenes of battle, he is contemptuous of those who “sit at ease in Zion” and do not see the dangers.

“Micah, … speaks for the poor, and speaks as one of them. He is horrified at the luxurious and degenerate life of the city, and realises that he and his fellow-peasants are paying for it. In another age he might have led a Peasants’ Revolt, although he was no mere political agitator.

“It is justice, justice between men and a right attitude towards God, which are his passionate concern.

“… His message is religious and ethical, and very much down to earth. He paints a terrible picture of the decay of ordinary justice, the abuse of power by the court judges and the prevalence of bribery. He speaks of the exploitation of the poor and needy, of the rich landowners who are squeezing out those who cannot pay their exorbitant demands.

“Consequently there is widespread misery and degradation. The lust for money has invaded the religious sphere and even priest and prophet have grown accustomed to favouring the rich and browbeating the poor.

“Micah is red-hot with righteous indignation. He sees the evils of society not only as the heartless exploitation of the weak by the strong, but as a failure to grasp the meaning of true religion.

“Obedience to the laws of God is binding upon rich and poor alike, and the people to whom he is speaking have an utterly wrong idea of God. Micah’s most memorable message is his famous epitome of true religion recorded in 6.8:

‘… for what does the Lord require from you,

But to be just, to love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?”

He describes the faults in society in Jerusalem, 3,000 years ago. The rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer. Immorality and lawlessness. You might say, little has changed.

Now James, in his letter – and again we have heard a long passage from it – again criticises society, especially the rich. It’s a social, political message. He is writing to ‘The Twelve Tribes dispersed throughout the world’, which might be a reference to the Jewish diaspora, but it seems more likely that James (whoever he was) was a man from a Jewish background, writing to the early Christian churches, which were spread surprisingly widely. Christians were in Rome, North Africa and the Middle East very quickly, within the first century after Jesus’ time on earth.

James gives a lot of practical advice. You will probably remember one of the ‘sentences’ which the minister may say at the beginning of the Communion service: ‘Whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?’ That’s from the first letter of John, but James has almost the same words in chapter 2:14 of his letter, before the bit we had in the lesson:

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

For another day we must compare and contrast St Paul’s teaching, and indeed the teaching of the churches ever since, that salvation comes through faith, that you can’t earn a place in heaven by doing good works. That idea was called Pelagianism – but I would suggest that James’ and John’s teaching may not have much to do with getting to heaven, but it is squarely in line with Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbours.

Micah was a prophet. This means that people listening to him believed that God was using him as a mouthpiece – or rather, to the extent that people believed that he was speaking the words of the Divine, so they respected what he said as having divine authority, as being true.

We don’t know for certain who James was. The early scholars thought he was the brother of Jesus, but his polished use of Greek and sophisticated expressions seem to be a bit unlikely if he was a Galilean fisherman. His letter was included in the Bible because it does have a ring of authenticity, reflecting what the early churches believed and wrestled with in their faith.

What do we regard as authentic, as true, about how God regards our life today? One way of checking, of testing, what we might think is good, when on the face of things it isn’t, is what Pope Leo has just suggested.

Pope Leo has just been saying that world leaders ought to go to confession. This is what one report said.

“On Friday morning in the Clementine Hall, Pope Leo XIV looked out at a room full of priests and seminarians training to hear confessions and asked a question that would echo far beyond the Vatican walls.

“Do those Christians who bear grave responsibility in armed conflicts,” the pope said, “have the humility and courage to undertake a serious examination of conscience and confess?”

He named no one. He didn’t have to.

“The United States and Israel launched a joint military assault on Iran on February 28 under the Pentagon codename “Operation Epic Fury.”

“In the two weeks since, at least 1,332 people have been killed, including more than 160 girls in a primary school struck on the first day of the bombing.

“Six American service members have also died. President Trump, raised Presbyterian, has called for “unconditional surrender.” Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — both Catholics — have defended the campaign without reservation.

…..

“Leo was speaking to the men who will sit behind the screen and listen when powerful people kneel down and confess their sins. The pope wanted those future confessors to understand the gravity of what they may one day hear — and to hold the powerful to the same moral standard as everyone else.” (Christopher Hale, ‘Letters from Leo’, see https://tinyurl.com/55wenrdz.)

You could be forgiven for thinking that the Jerusalem criticised by Micah hasn’t improved much. There is still a huge gulf between rich and poor. Laws – particularly international law – are ignored. There is widespread corruption. There are war crimes and genocide.

What do you think it might do, if President Trump, President Putin and Prime Minister Netanyahu had to go to confession? If they really felt that they had to confront their Maker? What would Mr Hegseth, who I think is another one who professes to be a Roman Catholic, say about his disdain for rules of engagement, or his praise for sinking an Iranian frigate in international waters as ‘silent death’ for the 300 sailors – who most probably were anything but silent as they died?

Is this a counsel of despair? Is there anything good to look forward to? We can see that Micah had a simple prescription for life, to be just, love mercy and walk humbly with God. And what marks out his prophecy is that it ends in hope. He says

‘Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity

and passing over the transgression

of the remnant of your possession….

not retaining his anger for ever,

because [you] delight in showing clemency.

He will again have compassion upon us;

he will tread our iniquities under foot.’

And Micah comments directly,

‘You will cast all our sins

into the depths of the sea.’

Let us pray that that still holds good. Let us have that hope, that Christian hope.