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READINGS
 

From the Bible
1 O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.

20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?

22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

From Swedenborg

His mother was standing by Jesus' cross; and Jesus, seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing by, says to his mother, Lady, here is your son; and he says to the disciple, Here is your mother. So from that hour the disciple took her as his own mother. John 19:25-27.

This passage means that the Lord did not recognise Mary as His mother, but the church; so He called her 'Lady' and the disciple's mother. The reason why she was called the mother of this disciple, that is, of John, is that he represented the church as regards the good deeds of charity; these are the church in its real action. That too is the reason why he took her as his own mother. It can be seen in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED (5, 6, 790, 798, 879) that Peter represented truth and faith, James charity and John the works of charity; and the twelve disciples together represented the church in all respects (233, 790, 903, 915).
* Elsewhere, as AC 5886:2, TCR 306, this verse is quoted as 'whom I have sent away.'  C.L. 119

 

MESSAGE
"Being Mothered"
 

 

 

I was in my forties when my mother passed away; yet I had never felt so alone in the world. No longer was there someone to ask when I had had the chicken pox, or when I had learned to ride a bike. I knew I would see her again someday; but there was no one on the earth with me now who had those pieces of my past.

Losing my human mother weakened my connection with Mother Earth in some way. I didn’t feel quite as nurtured, as known, as understood.

Today we honor all of our mothers: living on earth and in heaven; our biological mothers and all others who played a role in nurturing us It is a day when I feel such gratitude to those who dedicate themselves to life’s most precious calling: nurture the young.

There are mothers who nurture lovingly in the most dire of straits, and those who do so while also able to be present in the world in so many other roles.

Today, I’d especially like to honor Erin Brockovich. She is not a fictional character, but a real person by that name. She is an extraordinary mother. She not only cared for three young children without a partner or stable income; she also found time to stand up for Mother Earth. You may have seen the move of that name that was released in 2000.
 
If someone made a movie based on your life, do you think it would become your favorite movie? For many of us, it would. However for Erin Brockovich, her favorite movie is Paying it Forward. She thinks more about sharing with others than of honoring herself. Erin wrote in her blog that the movie is 98% accurate about the events in her life. Take a look at the trailer to get a sense of what her life was like; or refresh your memory of the move, if you would like.
 

 Erin was born in Lawrence, Kansas, and had an Associate degree in Applied Arts. She then moved to Southern California where she worked at odd jobs; and entered and won a beauty context. She got married and they had two children: Matthew and Katie. They were divorced. She re-married and they had a daughter: Elizabeth. Then, in 1990, she was divorced again. She was then a single mom with three children. She was injured in a traffic accident, but was awarded to money in compensation. She ended up working as a file clerk in the law office of the lawyer who had represented her.
 
She writes:

While organizing papers in a pro bono real estate case, I found medical records in the file that caught my eye. After getting permission from one of the firm's principals, Ed Masry, I began to research the matter. My investigation eventually established that the health of countless people who lived in and around Hinkley, California, in the 1960's, 70's and 80's had been severely compromised by exposure to toxic Chromium 6. The Chromium 6 had leaked into the groundwater from the nearby Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Compressor Station. In 1996, as a result of the largest direct action lawsuit of its kind, spearheaded by me and Ed Masry, the giant utility paid the largest toxic tort injury settlement in U.S. history: $333 million in damages to more than 600 Hinkley residents.

Here is a video of the first part of the movie; about ten minutes. So often when we talk about Erin, we refer to her incredible efforts that brought some justice to many people who had been exposed to environmental toxins from a negligent company. That part of her life is an incredible – and true – story. But In these early minutes of the movie, we start to know Erin as a mother; first and foremost.


 

What are the spiritual themes for us today in this movie?

Erin Brockovich was an incredible mother to three young children. And she was an incredible daughter to Mother Earth. She began her crusade in 1991, when her children were ages 7, 6, and 1. Her ability to nurture became a wholistic theme throughout her life, as she fought to protect Mother Earth. This helps us appreciate that “mothering” is a verb. It is a verb that takes us to the core of what it means to live in the world with Love and Wisdom. It involves living in the world open to Divine Influx, and allowing oneself to be guided by it. It means living a life of “uses”: whether or not one has born and/or raised children.

Part of what is inspiring about her story is that it begins with a very ordinary and humble woman. Today, she is famous and is sought-after for environmental talks and consultations. Yet, when she started her crusade for Mother Earth, Erin was a single Mom at a low paying job who was barely making ends meet. I see a message in this for all of us. So often we say, “I’d like to make a difference, but I can’t because I don’t have the time, the resources, or the status.” Yet we are called by God everyday of our lives to do loving actions. Most of them seem very small to us; but they can be enormous in God’s view of the world. Erin was simply clerking in a law office, and feeling confused about the filing system. She had to figure it out. In doing so, she brought justice into the lives of many people.
 
She became involved in the most basic of all justice issues: our environment. Without Mother Earth, we would not be here to face all the other justice issues.

The Eco-Justice unit of the National Council of Churches sent out a story this week about another mother who is serving the environment:

Olivia James was a runway model for 16 years wearing full body make-up. When she decided to become pregnant she continued to get her nails done twice a week and her hair dyed. When her son D.J. was born, he arrived ten weeks early and he had a reproductive birth defect called hypospadias. After researching the cause, she found that a chemical in nail polish and fragrance is linked to reproductive birth defects in boys. She tells her story because she thinks it's important for this information to get out to others. A number of personal care products we use everyday like deodorant, shampoo, lipstick, and mascara contain chemicals linked to cancer, early puberty in girls, and reproductive birth defects in baby boys. These chemicals can also end up in our waterways and have been linked to the feminization of aquatic species. Women of child bearing age, infants, and children are also particularly vulnerable. On average women use twelve products and men use six products everyday. A typical teenage girl in the U.S. wears on average 16 personal care products a day. In these products are a number of chemicals. This is a concern because ingredients in personal care products go virtually unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration! Take this opportunity to honor Olivia's courage and all mothers by educating your members of Congress about harmful chemicals in personal care products. Click here

When I was teaching at the Swedenborg School of Religion, I met many extraordinary people. One of them was a student who was a single Mom who was going to seminary full-time while also working for environmental change. I asked her for a comment, and here are her words. They are from Rev. Nadine Cotton:

As a mother, I felt it was very important to expose my children to God's incredible handiwork in nature by spending time with them outdoors, camping, and taking the time to admire the song of a bird or the antics of a squirrel. The more time and exposure they had to our natural environment, the more enthusiastic they became about our Mother Earth and her many gifts to us. I also went out of my way to recycle, reduce and reuse whenever I could, so I could model for them ways that each one of us can help with the environment. I am pleased that they have both turned into caring adults who love to spend time in nature and are doing what they can to be responsible to our Mother Earth.

So we can learn many things from the life of Erin Brockovich on this Mothers Day, about what it means to “mother.” It is a verb that encompasses our relationship to our planet and to each other; whether or not we are raising or have raised children. When we get confused about what it is to “mother”, we can looking at the most profound of all “mothering” == from a God who is total Love and Wisdom and nurture. Find some time to relax, and open your heart to the experience of being surrounded by Divine mothering, as loving inflow if forever pouring into us.

CLOSING SONG
"The Earth is our Mother"