This Sunday is Mother’s Day; so, Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers and those serving in maternal roles. This will also be Ascension Sunday, commemorating Jesus’ Ascension into heaven 10 days prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. It’s interesting to note that the Greek and Hebrew terms for the Holy Spirit are feminine.
I have never had any struggle with the idea of God having feminine attributes. I have jokingly made that known on several occasions, saying “God is a big black woman. If you ever want to know what she looks like … I have picture of her hanging on my office wall.” That picture is of my late Mother, James Ella Reid Finney. She is without a doubt the closest thing to God in the flesh I have even known. So, I’ve always known that if God is real, if God truly loved me as a parent loves a child, then God was also “Mother” and not only “Father.”
The processional hymn we will sing this Mother’s Day speaks of “When God is like a Mother.” It says:
“Just like a mother eagle, who helps her young to fly,
I am a mother to you, your needs I will supply.
And you are as my children, the ones who hear my voice.
I am a mother to you, the people of my choice.”
It closes by saying:
“Our God is not a woman – our God is not a man.
Our God is both and neither, our God is I who Am
From all the roles that bind us, our God has set us free.
What freedom does God gives us? The Freedom just to be”.
As we honor Mothers and those serving in maternal roles, let’s stretch our imaginations to include images of God as the Divine Feminine, who loves, nurtures, and supports us; seeking to be a Mother to us.
Join us at Covenant this Mother’s Day and Ascension Sunday. If possible bring your Mom with you. My sermon is “When God is like a Mother” based on I John 5:9-13 and John 17:13-19.
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