“Sometimes I feel like a motherless, child a long way from home.” ~Traditional Negro Spiritual~
I was born into a very religious family. My father was a Pentecostal preacher. Both of my maternal grandparents were Pentecostal preachers. Five of my mother’s eleven siblings were preachers. Did I mention I come from a very religious family? (Smile)
Growing up in such a rich protestant Christian community exposed me to Christian scripture early and the many and varied expressions of “the one God” that lay within its pages. I saw God as Father and all the things “father” symbolizes in a patriarchal society; protector, provider, disciplinarian, leader, authoritarian. I also saw God as Son; obedient, sacrificial, compliant to “the will of the Father.” But where was the Mother?
If it is truly “in earth as it is in heaven” Surely there had to be a feminine aspect to God. The concept and design for woman had to be based on something. After all it is said the conversation was “let us make man in OUR image…male and female created he them” It was the missing piece of the story that I always wanted to know. The question I needed answered.
Over the years of my life my relationship with the Almighty Mighty grew and with it my appreciation for how spirituality was express throughout the world and in diverse cultures. I began to study and research about the spiritual practices of many different indigenous people throughout the globe. The more I learned about these other expressions of divinity the better I understood my own. I also discovered a recurring theme that appeared in most of these practices; a balance of masculine and feminine. There was a coming together of male and female to create, protect and guide humanity. If it was present everywhere, surely it was present in the spiritual teachings of my own religious expression as well. Another thing I noticed was the forms that the aspects Masculine and Feminine took in other spiritual practices. I saw the male aspect portrayed as conceptual, ethereal, and abstract. Though Spirit, He expressed in a very mental way. He was often larger than life and always seen apart from one’s self. I witnessed female being portrayed as tactile, tangible, sometimes sensual, but most importantly a presence that was ever available and always with you; even in you. As I returned to biblical study with these archetypal constructs it was easy to see there was a feminine aspect, a Goddess, if you will who remain shrouded but still very present.
What do we think of when we think of femininity or female qualities in the traditional sense? Some words that come to mind are comforting, nurturing, helpful, encouraging, guiding (in a motherly sense). All these are words that are used to describe the Holy Spirit in the bible. Equally when you look at the female principle expressed in other religions you not only see the previously mentioned qualities you also see strong, powerful, transformative qualities in their female deities. These are also words that are used to describe the Holy Spirit in the bible. She had been right in front of me the whole time
I do believe that it is ”in earth as it is in heaven” and just like on earth when a child is deprived full access to all of her origins she feels incomplete and is perpetually searching to fill the void left by ignorance. So it is spiritually when we are deprived of the full knowledge of our origin. Yes I know as Christians the main aspiration is to be in the image of Christ. But even he explained himself as the “expressed image of God.” He had a role model in which he could find himself, a pattern to emulate. As females following his path how do we see ourselves? I also know that “there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus,” but as a Christian female is there no eternal expression of divinity, that looks like me after whom I can emulate? Let us not forget that though the men who wrote the scriptures were inspired by the Almighty, they were still men subject to the times in which they lived. And those who translated those texts from their original languages to English were also subject not only to the time in which they lived but also the dictates of the governments they worked under.
I am sharing this as a revelation that I have found to be true in my life. It has deepened my relationship with the Almighty; having this understanding that there is a part of the Great Divine that looks like me. It has been a homecoming to a universal truth that I believe was always meant to be know and understood (Matt 13:11). She who has ears to hear, let her hear.
*If you are interested in the subject matter in this post I will be offering a two day workshop that deal with it more in depth. Stay tuned for times and dates.*
~art by Hrana Janto~
