Über Muttertag und unerfüllte Wünsche

Der Muttertag ist vorbei, und ich stimme Russell zu: Im Gottesdienst ist sensitiv mit dem Thema umzugehen. Bei manchen geht es nämlich um das Thema “unerfüllte Wünsche”.

Mother’s Day is a particularly sensitive time in many congregations, and pastors and church leaders often don’t even know it. This is true even in congregations that don’t focus the entire service around the event as if it were a feast day on the church’s liturgical calendar. Infertile women, and often their husbands, are still often grieving in the shadows.

It is good and right to honor mothers. The Bible calls us to do so. Jesus does so with his own mother. We must recognize though that many infertile women find this day almost unbearable. This is not because these women are (necessarily) bitter or covetous or envious. The day is simply a reminder of unfulfilled longings, longings that are good.