The Pastor's Weekly Sermon

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MOTHER’S DAY 2026

 

 

May 10, 2026

 

“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” – Stevie Wonder

 

“From my mother, piety and beneficence, and abstinence, not only from evil deeds, but from evil thoughts; and further, simplicity in my way of living, far removed from the habits of the rich.” – Marcus Aurelius

 

“My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted thee seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.” – Michael Jordan

 

There seems to be a consensus among high achieving people on the importance of the contribution of mothers. On this Mother’s Day, I’d like to slightly change things up and focus on honoring the women whose love, patience, strength, and compassion help shape so many of our lives in ways both large and small.

 

Long before we can explain goodness, or understand the lessons of Jesus, many of us first encounter goodness through the care of a mother. Through encouragement. Through comfort. Through guidance. Through quiet sacrifices made every single day without recognition. Mothers are often our first teachers, especially in the lessons of kindness, resilience, forgiveness, and love.

 

It is perhaps no surprise, then, that scripture itself sometimes uses the language of motherhood to speak about God.

 

Consider Isaiah 66:13, where God is quoted as saying, “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.” What a beautiful image that is.

 

We often speak of God as Father because that is the language used by the ancients, who admittedly lived in patriarchal societies, when they described how they understood God. It’s a language we inherit through tradition and Scripture. Yet the Bible also recognizes something deeply sacred and divine in the nurturing and compassionate love of a mother. When the prophet Isaiah wanted to describe divine comfort, he reached not for the image of a father, but for one of the most tender human experiences imaginable: a loving mother comforting her child.

 

Elsewhere, Scripture speaks of God in that motherly role, carrying, sheltering, feeding, protecting, and refusing to forget His people. In Isaiah 49:15, we read, “Can a woman forget her nursing child or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these might forget, yet I will not forget you.” The message is clear. Divine love is not cold, not distant, not merely authoritative. It is compassionate, protective, patient, steadfast. The love of God includes the same nurturing spirit that we so often see reflected in mothers, except to an inexhaustible degree.

 

A good mother teaches with love more than she rules with an iron fist. She teaches reassurance and courage. She teaches us how to care for others and how to rise again after hardship. She reminds us that gentleness must not be seen as weakness, and that love is perhaps the strongest force in the world.

 

Today, we give thanks for mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, adoptive mothers, those who wish to be mothers, and all those who have shown the world a mothering spirit through their care and compassion. We want them to know that their influence reaches farther than they may ever know. And, perhaps, in their love, we may all catch a glimpse of the very heart of God.

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“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” – Psalm 131:2

 

Rev. Dr. Brian J. Kelley

Executive Pastor, Unitarian Christian Church of America (UCCA)