About a decade ago there were rumblings throughout the Methodist church about a new aspect of “spirituality.” Honestly, I was a little young to remember the specifics but there were a group of like minded people “out west somewheres” (west of Ohio, where I was at the time) and that they were taking a new view of the sexuality of God.
Somehow this is where “God the Mother” got some of the grounded foundation that began to grow in popularity. In college we had a Chapel Dean who would refer to God as Her. It never really bothered anyone enough to do anything about it, my circle of friends just agreed it wasn’t what we were used to and sounded somehow foreign.
The problem with all this arises when people who are far less comfortable with their perception of God being altered are confronted with the notion of God the Mother. Or, conversely, when a social die hard feminist latches onto the term in order to shove the female persona in the faces of a male dominated religion.
Unfortunately, I’ve had the displeasure of dealing with both types.
The first type are the ones who have been handed down traditions in the form of doctrine, which they assume was actually created by the hand of God on high. The problem here is that this closed minded way of thinking leaves no room for one of the most important parts of Christian life—the Holy Spirit. Which was specifically left by Christ as a comforter and teacher in His physical absence. Jesus never asked his followers to close of their brains to new thought, nor did he reply to their questions with quips about, “well, I’ve always done it this way, that’s why.” The ministry of Christ was one that was filled with tough questions and the even tougher answers that came with them.
The second are even less predisposed to having a change of mind, however. I’ve met feminists who are boons to their sex and to the world because how they choose to approach the issues. And there are certainly issues out there that need champions. Sadly, as with all professions there are those who craft a bad name for the collective, some of whom are the ones jumping on the “God is my Homegirl” bandwagon for no other reason that the sheer joy of being a bunch in the panties of Strom Thurmond and Pat Robertson.
The bottom line is that God is neither. And Both. And everything in between. First, if I may, consider these two pieces of scripture, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23:37).” This has Christ using obvious feminine allusions in regard to God; the motherly desire to gather the brood closely for protection and out of love. The other scripture is from Genisis 1:27 “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Clearly a description of God forming both sexes to reflect His/Her own image.
The only difficulty arises out of not being able to stretch our minds to the infinite nature of the Almighty even the least little bit. God has no gender and yet is both aspects of everything we perceive. Male and Female social rules govern so much of our day to day actions if becomes extremely difficult for most of us to separate them and disassociate ourselves from them in regard to our worship life. Though, in truth the question here is, must we do that?
It is not necessary to see God as androgynous in order to “meet faithfully with your God,” nor is it compunctual for us to rewrite every piece of church tradition and service to reflect the non-gender that God owns. Only in our minds and hearts does the revolution need to take place.
If you are in need of your God as the Motherly comforter then so picture it. Our image does not change the Nature of God. If our life needs the strict guidance of the fair judge and Father, then so be it. If Christ can liken His father to a hen, then shouldn’t we be able to also allow ourselves the ability to see both sets of parents in the Infinite?
For most people this idea is not news, but for others it may still border on heresy. Mostly and conclusively the problem lies in our innate inability to match our mortal minds to the infinitude that is God. The idea that a being could be both and neither, in the past and the future, is as near to an aneurism as most of us care to get.
So, we tirelessly revert to the one solid tangible thing that every Believer of every sect can agree on. Father or Mother, God is Love.
No comments:
Post a Comment