Transfiguring Lent

I love the season of Lent.  I did not grow up with it really.  But, in becoming an Episcopalian, I grew to love this time of walking in the wilderness.  So often it is thought of as a time of giving up things, but that is not the purpose.  It is a spiritual journey of reflection.  A time when we hopefully allow for still moments to listen to the workings of the Spirit in our lives.  And yes, that can include giving up something so that we can come to see what is really important. But, taking on a spiritual practice, taking on a new way of doing things, can in many ways be a better way to fully embrace the Lenten experience.

Nearly at the start of this season, we are faced with the multiplicity of disasters that have impacted our brothers and sisters in Japan, and those still moments I find are filled with the images of the devastation.  My heart rejoices at the news of survivors, and weeps at the rising numbers of those who lost their lives.  And I am inspired by the stories of former enemies praying and providing relief.

It is an unfortunate part of our society today that there are some who would, in the midst of these events, seek to find a way to blame the victims, usually inferring it is God's judgment upon them, as though God is filled with the same prejudices they embody on Earth. 

God's judgment.  Really?

I was preaching a sermon at the Church of the Redeemer in Morristown, NJ on the Sunday before Lent.  The Gospel reading for the day was Matthew 17:1-9, the story of the transfiguration of Jesus, and I think that it is fitting that the transfiguration is the story told before Lent begins.  During the sermon, I brought forward these words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a wonderful leader in our Anglican Communion. “All over this magnificent world God calls us to extend [the] kingdom of shalom-peace and wholeness — of justice, of goodness, of compassion, of caring, of sharing, of laughter, of joy, of reconciliation.  God is transfiguring the world right this very moment through us because God believes in us and because God loves us.  What can separate us from the love of God?  Nothing. Absolutely nothing.  And as we share God's love with our brothers and sisters, God's other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no opposition that cannot be ended, no hunger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned into love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled.”

Here he is drawing on the words of Paul, who in his letter to the Romans (8:38-39) wrote:  
^"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God..."

The "tyrants" that the Archbishop speaks of are not always the despot heads of state we often envision, but the worst kinds of all - the ones who seek to diminish their brothers and sisters, the very neighbors that Jesus commands us to love.  These tyrants point to those they do not know or understand and accuse them of being sinful.  But sin is that which separates us from feeling God's love.  Actually, some define it as that which separates us from God's love, but I do not believe that is possible.  I believe God's love is always there, all around us, just waiting for us to take it in.  Sin is what keeps us from seeing it and feeling it, and in their hardness of heart for their neighbors, these tyrants have actually hurt themselves as they hurt others.

It is a sad and tragic thing to watch anyone harm themselves, but most especially when their actions harm others as well.  And because there are those who would do just that, we must hear the call of God "to extend [the] kingdom of shalom-peace and wholeness — of justice, of goodness, of compassion, of caring, of sharing, of laughter, of joy, of reconciliation."

We must be the agents of transfiguration for the world.

Because "as we share God's love with our brothers and sisters, God's other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no opposition that cannot be ended, no hunger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned into love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled.”

In this season of Lent, take a moment to open your heart to the love of God that is all around you.  Hear the call of Christ to love yourself, your neighbor, and God.  And be filled with the Spirit to work for change in the world, so that all of God's children may be free and live with dignity.

Wishing you all the blessings of a Holy Lent.

Chaplain Diana

Am I your child too, God?

I wrote the following after despairing for a young woman who said "it doesn't matter to me that God is a he."   

Am I your child too, God?

I hear you are a boy,

but I am not.

I hear you are Father,

but I cannot be.

I hear you are Lord,

but I am told to be a lady.

I hear I am created in your image,

but I do not see it in the mirror.

I hear I am loved by you,

but your Church ignores me.

I am a little girl, God.

Do you hear even me?

Diana Wilcox  ⓒ 2010

Words matter.   The church must see inclusive language - using both female and male terms for the divine, as a matter of justice.  If words didn't matter, than how about we use all female language for the next 2000 years, just to balance things out a bit.  Anyone have an objection?

It can seem odd at first to hear it, but after awhile, it becomes odd to hear the all male language.  I know, because when I first became part of a Christian community that employed inclusive language I was startled to hear "Our Mother, Our Father, who art in heaven..."  But now, whenever I worship elsewhere, the mostly male language is troubling to me, despite the warmth of the congregation and the beauty of the liturgy.

Those opposed to inclusive language like to point to the bible as "proof" that God is Father/He.  Yes, those are the predominate pronouns employed by a patriarchal society attempting to describe their faith experience, but we have evolved since then to understand that women are equal to their male counterparts.  And, as with most justice issues (and this is a justice issue), the bible can be picked apart to justify any position, with unfortunate consequences at times. 

When I asked a group of people how Eve was created they all said "from the rib of Adam." That is one version of the creation story, but in Genesis 1, Adam and Eve were created together.  

"So God created humankind in his image,

   in the image of God he created them;

   male and female he created them." (Gen. 1:27, NRSV)

And in Luke, Jesus uses a female metaphor for God in the doublet of lost sheep and lost coin:

"Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” (Luke 15:8-9, NRSV)

There are other verses as well, and historians are far more able than I to expound on the many cultures that believed in the divine feminine.  So, it has not always been this way, and it is changing.  But is it changing fast enough?  

We cannot allow ourselves to be more interested in preserving liturgical traditions than in supporting justice for all. 

God cannot be boxed into our language for the divine.  When we try to say that God is only Father, we are trying to limit God.  We are, as Jesus said to Peter "setting [our] mind not on divine things but on human things." (Mark 8:33, see also Matthew)  

But, we are not only attempting to limit God, we are doing damage to our neighbor in the process.  We must break out of this cycle of exclusivity and open our hearts and language to include all of God's children, male and female.  Because, "God created humankind in God's image, in the image of God they were created; male and female God created them." (Gen. 1:27, changed to inclusive language)

So, in the name of all that is holy, in the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier, let us all open our doors to everyone.  Let us remember that we are all created in God's image.  Let us not allow a human made thing like language deny through silence any of God's beloved children.

It is a matter of justice.  

So this week, try using all female images for God.  And should you feel odd when saying She and Mother, remember how it must feel to never hear a reflection of your identity in God Talk.  Carry that discomfort with you like a pebble in your shoe, and then go out and live into a life of inclusive worship.

It can be done.  It has been done.  

As with any justice issue, it takes a heart open to embracing all of God's children fully, and a willingness to be a little uncomfortable in the process.

Will you hear the call for change?  Somewhere, a little girl like the one talking above is hoping that you do.

Blessings to you all in the year to come.

Chaplain Diana