Trinity: A Reflection on Holy Wisdom, the Feminine Face of God

This is Trinity Sunday in the cycle of the lectionary.  If you are not familiar with the concept of the Trinity you would probably understand from the word itself that is has to do with the number "3." Many (some would say most) Christians are Trinitarian, which means they (or at least their faith tradition) believe there is One God in three distinct persons ... or in some circles three unique persons in One God.  I find this doctrine (teaching) of the church to be one of the most misunderstood ... people ask, "so do you believe in one God or three Gods?"  I'm not sure I've ever come across a satisfactory answer for anyone who has asked me, BUT I do know from my seminary education :) that we do not believe there is one God, three "roles" in one.  God doesn't operate in one role sometimes and one of the other roles at other times.  This is a heresy called "modalism."   A heresy is a belief that is contrary to formal church doctrine.  And of course no one would want to be accused of heresy!  So whether you understand the doctrine or not, let's just say we do and we won't get into trouble with the heresy police ... LOL, of course in our corner of the world "they" don't have much power!  But in our own Christian history and in some darker corners of the world today, people ARE killed for heresy, many of them women. 

Oh and BTW, modes are NOT images of course!  The bible is FILLED with images of God.  Read the Gospel of John if you wonder what I mean by images.  These are images that Jesus uses of himself: Bread of Life, Light of the World, Gate, Good Shepherd, Resurrection and Life, Way Truth Life, and Vine.  These are the 7 "I AM" statements that John uses to talk about Jesus.  He is not physically bread, light, a vine or a gate but each of these things tell us about him.

And what about feminine images ... Source: Women's Ordination Conference
Hosea 11:3-4 God described as a mother, Hosea 13:8 God described as a mother bear, Deuteronomy 32:11-12 God described as a mother eagle, Deuteronomy 32:18 God who gives birth, Isaiah 66:13 God as a comforting mother, Isaiah 49:15 God compared to a nursing mother, Isaiah 42:14 God as a woman in labor, Jeremiah 44:25 Queen of Heaven, Psalm131:2 God as a Mother, Psalm 123:2-3 God compared to a woman, Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 God as a Mother Hen, Luke 15:8-10 God as woman looking for her lost coin

In a sense all we can ever know are images, echoes of a God that is so expansive we can explore from here to eternity and never know the inner edges of God.  Thomas Merton says, "If I penetrate to the depths of my own existence and my own present reality, the indefinable am that is myself in its deepest roots, then through this deep center I pass into the infinite I am which is the very Name of the Almighty."  Merton and other mystics teach us that in knowing self, we will know God ... in knowing God we will know the self.  Merton ... way deep, right?

Friends, in a very traditional way we bless people in the name of "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."  This is our proclamation of the Trinity.  A more modern rendering that I see and hear is "Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer."  From the title of my writing this week you can probably sense that my personal preference is the later for it's inclusive language.   You would be right!

However that is only a preference.  In some ways Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer do not feel as personal and intimate as the familial relationships that are reflected in Father, Son ... and here is where you should make sure the heresy police are not hiding outside the door of your heart!   BUT is it not time to let the feminine image of God shine not only hidden in our hearts but ringing out in our liturgy?  Would you believe the first time I heard God referred to as "Her" in an affirmation of faith at a small evening communion service at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, I wept!  "She" was no long hidden!  Sadly, that is the ONLY time I have ever heard God referred to as Her in a public worship service.  And I confess, dear reader, that each week I help design and lead a traditional/semi-contemplative/communion worship service :( 

In Jewish mysticism, the Kabbalah, "Shechinah emerges -- the mythic figure of the the Kabbalah associated with God's feminine and unconditionally loving side."  (Estelle Frankel, Sacred Therapy, Jewish Spiritual Teachings on Emotional Healing and Wholeness, p 191)  The stories of Shechinah evolved in Talmudic legend as a corrective to the "overly punitive judgmental and patriarchal image of God" that we find in the Jewish Bible.  The Shechinah is often referred to as the manifestation of God's glory.  Carolyn Jane Bohler defines Shechinah as "hovering presence."  (God the what? What our Metaphors for God Reveal about our Beliefs in God, p 63)  If I am honest, dear reader, I have felt the presence of the Shechinah while deep in prayer.  And this only inspires me to continue to seek not only the feminine image of God, but the feminine "person" in the Trinity.  Can I tell you that when I read "God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them" (CEB) I wonder, if I am made in the image of God, where can I find the image I am made in?  

So where can we find the feminine "person" of the Trinity?  Let's turn to one of the Wisdom writers of the Jewish Bible, the writer of Proverbs, traditionally known as Solomon.  I am thrilled to have an opportunity to read, study and reflect on a fascinatingly lovely biblical passage with hints of the feminine God ... the female "person" in the Godhead, IMHO.  Joyce Rupp once asked this question of herself, "Just what, or who, is this beautiful figure that Proverbs describes as a partner with the Holy One?"  ("Desperately Seeking Sophia" www.uscatholic.org, a great read including an explanation of how Sophia got "lost" in  the early days of Christianity)  Note: Sophia is the Greek word for wisdom, translated from the Hebrew word Chokmah.

On a day when we honor the Trinity, I invite you to read HER story. 

This passage is too long for a traditional session of lectio divina which should not exceed 10 verses for a deeply contemplative experience.  Rather, take time to read each line slowly and drink in the lovely images the writer of Proverbs has provided.  Pause between reach line and listen for God calling you in a new way.  Perhaps if there is a line that calls to you, you might stop and dwell with the words or the image that emerges.  Another suggestion would be to practice lectio with just a few verses each day this week.  In the spirit of inclusivity I am using an egalitarian translation of Proverbs 8:1-4 and 22-31.  Enjoy!

Doesn’t Wisdom call?

Doesn’t Understanding raise her voice?

On the hills along the road,

at the crossroads,

she takes her stand;

beside the city gates of the town,

in the gates themselves, she cries out, “Women and men, 

people everywhere,

I’m calling out to you!

I cry out to all of humankind!

“YHWH gave birth to me at the beginning,

before the first acts of creation.

I have been from everlasting,

in the beginning, before the world began.

Before the deep seas, I was brought forth,

before there were fountains or springs of water;

before the mountains erupted up into place,

before the hills,

I was born— before God created the earth or its fields,

or even the first clods of dirt.

I was there when the almighty created the heavens,

and set the horizon just above the ocean,

set the clouds in the sky,

and established the springs of the deep,

gave the seas their boundaries

and set their limits at the shoreline.

When the foundation of the earth was laid out,

I was the skilled artisan standing next to the Almighty.

I was God’s delight day after day,

rejoicing at being in God’s presence continually,

rejoicing in the whole world and delighting in humankind. 

Priests for Equality (2009-03-16). The Inclusive Bible (p. 444). Sheed & Ward. Kindle Edition.


Amen!  Amen!  Amen!

Icon of Holy Wisdom/Sophia, St. George Church in Vologda, unknown author late 16th c, in 

public domain

A Prayer to Sophia ... 

 Source of Inner Luminosity,
thank you for being a loving radiance.
May the lantern of your perpetual goodness
always shine in me and through me.

                        ~Joyce Rupp