Generally, what is supposed to be a homily becomes a sermon when it has nothing to do with the readings proclaimed or even when it renders the readings tangential by veering off onto other things. This is merely to state the difference between a sermon and a homily. This difference is something with which those of us charged with preaching should know. Bait and switch is usually the tactic employed.
It would be pretty hard to squeeze a Mother's Day homily out of the readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A of the Sunday lectionary. In these circumstances, the bait and swith usually happens by means of a transition, sometimes smooth and sometimes not. This is where the person preaching begins by addressing the readings, or an aspect of the readings, then transitions to something else s/he wants to talk about. In evaluating the preaching of prospective deacons, this is something I am pretty consistent about calling out and strict about discouraging.
Shouldn't we draw from life in our preaching? Only if you want your preaching to have some relevance. This is not the issue I am addressing and nothing I wrote contra Mother's Day sermons indicates otherwise.
Elsewhere, I made a comment about last Sunday's readings in which I said something about how lacking pneumatology often is Roman Catholic preaching and teaching. By contrast, our liturgical pneumatology is sublime. Being prima theologia, liturgy is a good place to start. Along these lines, I have one word: epiclesis. Last Sunday's readings provided a great opportunity to address, creatively, of course, the Holy Spirit: who the Spirit is, what the Spirit does in the divine economy, how the Spirit works, and why it even matters.
I will restate another issue with Mother's or Father's Day sermons: the cue concerning the family is not usually taken from the New Testament, at least not from Jesus or the authentically Pauline letters. "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it" (Luke 8:21). The first sentence of the NABRE footnote to this verse states: "The family of Jesus is not constituted by physical relationship with him but by obedience to the word of God."
The paralell passage from Mark 3, lacking the background of Luke's Infancy Narrative, is more stark (see Mark 3:31-35). Of course, this, too, can and has been put to nefarious use. Our quick dismissal of this revealed reality causes all kinds of problems, certainly doctrinal and, more practically, in forming and sustaining Christian community, the Father's eschatological family. This also negatively impacts how the Church gets with the larger society.
Do last Sunday's readings present any possibility to bring up Mother's Day? While not claiming to have algorithmically analyzed every possible connection, one hook might be Paracletos, rendered "Advocate" in the NABRE. A paracletos is one who stands beside you, who literally takes your side. This is something good mothers certainly do. But this is easily rendered vapid by making recourse to a stereotype: the mom who takes her child's side even when her child is way off-base. So, in this vein, a mention here might not be out of line. But nobody's Mom, however sainted, is the Holy Spirit.
One also needs to be mindful of those for whom such observances are a bit painful for various reasons: wanting children but not being able to have them, not having a good experience with one's mother, to name perhaps the two most obvious. There is no issue with adding some intercessions to the Prayers of the Faithful appropriate for Mother's Day, which can also include prayers for those women who desire to be moms and healing for those who may have issues with their mothers. Another possibility is a blessing for mothers, which might include those who want to be moms, between the Prayer after Communion and the Dismissal.
I am not proposing ignoring Mother's Day altogether. But it is important to not make-up a Mass for Mother's Day.
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