The Image of God as Mother

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On Sunday, May 11, we will give thanks for the people in our lives who have mothered us. This can be a wonderful opportunity of celebration and love. It will also be an opportunity for us as faithful people to consider the mothering images of God in scripture.

We’ll hear some of these images in worship, and then you are invited to stay after worship for a forum to consider the mothering images of God. 

From Isaiah, who prophesied before, during and after the Babylonian Exile of the Jewish people and the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem:

“For a long time I [God] have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.” (Isa. 42:14)

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I [God] comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” (Isa. 66:13)

And from New Testament, words of Jesus:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34)

“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? And 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.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)

Have you ever thought of God as a mother? 
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The image of God as feminine and/or a mother have not been as prevalent as the image of male and/or father. Come to the forum on Sunday to learn more about the history behind this and how we can expand our imaginations to recapture a wider understanding of God and the mystery of the Divine. 

- Pastor Marietta 

​Image Credit: Kelly Lattimore Icons, https://kellylatimoreicons.com/. Used with permission.

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