I've been thinking about the images I have of God. As I've gotten older I've become more aware that his image is fluid for me but that some aspects that I impute upon him stay the same.
Like, God is always a he for me...one day he may become a visual she for me but not yet. He is always white-haired. His Holy Spirit is always wispy. Jesus is always kind and righteous.
God right now is white-haired and lean, kind, loving, compassionate, weary-eyed, and he's waiting for me patiently with a smile. God is not naked though I don't know what he's wearing except that the clothing is simple and worn, his feet are sandaled.
Oh Holy Spirit, you yes are still this wispy loving energy that is my breath.
Jesus, doomed by those bibilical stories, my long-haired Messiah with the travel worn feet and deep but raspy voice with the callused though gentle hands. Your eyes say too much, that gaze is hard to hold, you died for us and knew that the door you opened too many would be afraid to follow.
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3 comments:
I'm always interested in the genders we ascribe to God, whether visually or through some other "sense." Through the years, the divine connection for me has largely been feminine, and dark. Mary, Yemaya, Tara, Guadalupe.
Just before I read your post, I was reading the chapter in Borg's book on Sophia. I'm familiar with her as the wisdom of God, but was not aware of her long-established "lineage" in Judaic thought. There is a tradition in which she is seen very much as the female aspect of God, and in no way is she diminished in relation to "him." "Him." "Her." They both seem like confabulations, but we can't underestimate the power of the connections we feel and forge. "It," for me, is out of the question. As is "They," though I have no problem with multiplicity in God's God-ness.
I loved PB Katharine's reference last year to Mother Jesus. Is the "masculinity" of God and Jesus important to you, or is it simply the way in which your personal images come?
Peace to you, sister. Have a good week.
You are so good at imagery! I haven't done this type of mental exercise yet but I think my images of God and Jesus have little in the way of form. The Holy Spirit though is more like a shooting cloud of smoke that sometimes has lights and occasionally points out lights along the path that I've missed. My God has a voice that often takes the form of a dropped pebble of wisdom with ever widening ripples of understanding. Jesus just is.
Peace!
murat11: in some sense the masculine image of God was ingrained in me from a very young age...so He as "he" is partly comfort and there's some mom stuff to do with it too partly.
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