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Devotion Twenty Seven
Monday 3.28.22

We say ‘they’? I recently heard that there is a movement within Christianity to use the pronoun ‘they’ not only for groups of more than one and for transgender people, but, I learned, for God.

I have been thinking about this. We know that there are problems with using male pronouns for God. It undergirds and reinforces a patriarchal social model that treats women and others as less than. There are problems with using female pronouns for God. That excludes others, as well, though it may lean into the idea of more balance.

Some people have been adamant that the concept of God has no actual biological gender. God is neither gender. God is genderless. Then there are those who see God as both genders, incorporating the diversity of humanity. It has been accepted in many expressions of the church that using male pronouns for God is just linguistically convenient.

There are others, myself included, that want to see moving away from the anthropomorphizing of God. We want to move away from talking about God as a super human. So we may prefer no pronoun for God.

In the midst of all of these different perspectives on the pronoun and gender issue, apparently, the use of ‘they’ for God is emerging.

Well, what about ‘they’? It eliminates the use of exclusively masculine pronouns for God. It eliminates the use of feminine pronouns for God. It really eliminates a gender orientation for God because ‘they’ can be male and female and neither. We might use ‘they’ for a group of cars or trees. No gender implied. So ‘they’ incorporates all genders AND no gender.

It is also the pronoun preferred by people who are transgender, for some of the very reasons cited. I like the idea that a pronoun used for God is also associated with the transgender community. It connects people who are transgender more closely with the image of God.

‘They’ also moves away from the anthropomorphizing of God. ‘They’ can include animals and plants and mountains and seas. It can more closely associate God with all of creation not just humanity.

And there is another reason I like ‘they.” It’s Biblical. God is referred to in the plural in Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness. . .’” And that is what ‘they’ did according to the story!

Can we say ‘they’? As a pronoun for God? It is something to think about. It is something to try out. Something to experiment with. Is it something we can get used to? I think it is worth finding out! So don’t be surprised in church if we say ‘they’!

Lent is a time to expand our vision, to see more of the landscape around us and within us. I think that ‘they’ is a way for us to expand our concept of God and the community of life. Let us embrace the wildness of mercy and try saying ‘they.’

Prayer
We know that we can never fully understand God, the concept, the word, the force. There is always mystery. Ancient teachings guide and inform us so that we can enter new territory in the geography of the spirit. Let us be willing to explore and experiment so that we may more fully experience the embrace of Love and our oneness with all of Creation. Amen.

Devotion 26
Sunday 3.27.22

I did not grow up with gardening. We always lived in a single family home with a yard but we really didn’t garden – flowers or food. My parents both grew up in apartments in the Bronx, NY so they didn’t have experience with gardening. My grandmother lived with us when I was growing up. She was from a small agricultural village in Bavaria, Germany. She always grew rose bushes and tomatoes. She did things with eggshells and coffee grounds. But I simply was not familiar with gardening.

Now, as an adult, I have two plots at the Azalea Community Gardens near our house. I took up gardening over 10 years ago because I wanted our kids to know where food came from. They were older by then, but I thought it was never too late. [One son now actually works on a farm!] What I discovered is that I actually enjoy gardening. We have grown peppers and eggplant and watermelon and arugula and edamame and beans and sweet potatoes and beets and Egyptian spinach and many other things depending on the year. I like keeping an eye on things in the garden. I like going up there to water. I like chitchatting with the other gardeners; hearing about what is going on in the neighborhood. It’s a good, healthy, outdoor hobby.

So, this past January, my husband Jeff and I both got covid at the same time from our grandsons. As these things go, you don’t have the chance to plan and stock up on certain items or get certain errands out of the way. No prep time. No ‘storm warning.’ We ended up being on what I call ‘house arrest’ for 2 weeks. Friends and people from church were offering to help out. Do a grocery store run for us. Things like that. But as it turned out, we had plenty of food on hand and we had lots of produce to eat from the garden! We had cauliflower, broccoli, peas, kale, Swiss chard, onions, tomatoes, hot peppers, lettuce, and lemongrass for tea. And we had parsley, mint, rosemary, and other herbs for flavoring. So we actually had plenty of food.

To me, the garden has always been a hobby. For fun. I have never really considered it a significant source of food. But during our bout with covid the garden actually sustained us when we could not go to the store. We had plenty of produce!

I think church can be like this. Kind of like a hobby. We go. We like the music. We like to see the people. We like the enrichment and inspiration. And that is all well and good.

But then we hit a rough patch. Someone close to us dies. A loved one enters a treatment facility for addiction. Russia invades Ukraine. We get a dreaded diagnosis. Our job is eliminated and we lose our needed income. There’s a pandemic and a lockdown. Life closes in on us.

And there is the church. No longer a ‘hobby’ for enrichment, but our anchor, our shelter, our refuge, our lifeline, sustaining us through a storm. Holding us up when we could easily be bowled over. Bringing us through something that could have taken us down. Supporting us with light and hope when things look really bleak.

As some point, we all find ourselves struggling, trying to cope, finding life a challenge. In the wildness of mercy, the church is here to sustain us and uplift us and carry us through!

NOTE:
If you are reading this and you are not part of a church, I highly encourage you to consider finding a congregation that suits you. You might not think being part of a church is important right now, but the day will come when you are grateful for it! And that church just might need you.

Prayer:
Imagine the produce section of the grocery store filled with nutritious, delicious, colorful fruits and vegetables for you to enjoy. See the amazing variety of apples and greens and berries. All manner of things! Give thanks for the abundance that we have access to so that we can feed our bodies. Now think of the church and all that it provides. Meaningful relationships, music, moral grounding, spiritual inspiration, purpose, transformation of individuals and the world, Jesus, the reality of God, visions of justice and peace. And so much more! Also an amazing abundance to nourish and sustain the spirit. In good times and in bad. Give thanks for the church and the amazing wildness of mercy! Amen.

Devotion Twenty Five
Sat. 3.26.22

How many times have we been reminded that you see what you are looking for? If you are looking for trouble, you find it. If you are looking for bad news, there is bad news aplenty. If you are looking for kindness, you see it. If you are looking for beauty, it is there.

In the book, Bewilderment, by Richard Powers, which, by the way, I highly recommend, there is a wonderful scene about looking and seeing. Robbie, who is 9, and his dad are taking a walk near their home. There are some other neighborhood kids, a little older, trying to dig up a stop sign. Robbie goes up to them and asks what they are doing. And he ends up asking them if they know about the owl in the tree at the nearby church. They all go to look for the owl. And find it. In the tree. They watch until it flies off. The dad is astounded that Robbie is aware of the owl and where it lives. Robbie and his dad continue on their walk. The dad asks, “How did you happen to find him?” Robbie replies, “Easy. I just looked.” [Bewilderment, p. 159-160.]

This scene has stayed with me. I wonder what is in my path that I haven’t seen because I haven’t looked. Why haven’t I looked? There can be things that distract us. We may be pre-occupied. Maybe we are concentrating on something else. Maybe we have become oblivious to nature. And to other things. Like someone with a need. Or someone in pain. Maybe someone with a story to tell. Maybe we are missing something within us. That needs to be attended to. Or something wonderful and beautiful that we simply haven’t been aware of. What are we missing?

There is a wildness in mercy. Lent is a time to be reminded to pay attention. Where does the owl live in your neighborhood?

Prayer
We may have often sung, ‘Open my eyes that I may see.’ During these Lenten days may we open our eyes. Take a few moments to look at something. Just to look. At people passing by. At a painting. At the yard. At the water. Really look. What do you notice that you have not noticed before? Practice this looking outside of yourself. And also practice this looking inside of yourself. What is there that you haven’t noticed before? Give thanks for what you discover even if it is something difficult or painful. Amen.