Like the mother hen of Luke 13:34 Jesus shakes out his feathers, spreads his wings, and faces the foxes. Mothers and mother-ers are both warm AND fierce. The wisdom of children demands it. We are all nesting in the branches of the same Tree of Life. This Sunday we will celebrate the many forms of “mothering” in our lives: mothers, mother figures, and those filling a mothering role. We do this even as we also remember those grieving the loss of a mother, those with challenging relationships with a mother, and those who long to be mothers. Together, we will sing and talk and pray. We will encounter the Holy.