Sermon on the Fourth Sunday of Lent - Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters

There are a few days in the year which are a joy to very many people but a challenge to some.Christmas especially can be difficult after the loss of a loved one and it can feel very lonely.Valentine's Day for those who yearn for a relationship but haven't found their right person canbe likewise.Mothering Sunday also very much falls within this category. For many, Mother's Day, as it'scalled outside this building, is a lovely day. It's a day of flowers and cards and cake and a veryearly morning if you're in the rectory.Today isn't Mother's Day at St John the Baptist. It's Mothering Sunday, as Laurie told me whenhe looked at the cards I produced for the children and got very grumpy at me about the factthat they said Mother's Day. The words Mother's Day and Mothering Sunday might soundfamiliar but the meanings definitely aren't.Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters explains that every person in this room is called to be a spiritual mother, to love as Christ the mother hen has loved us, just as I have loved you, so you also must love one another.