My God was an Idol.
When Jesus taught his followers to pray, we are told it wasa little some thing like this…
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
(in some traditions they add “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen.”)
Growing up within a Lutheran context, these words shaped meand my faith in ways that I continue to be able to acknowledge and see. Thisprayer has given me words when I lack them, given me strengthen when life seemsto overwhelm me, given me a vision for who God is and what faith and faithfulnessmight look like, and shaped how I actually viewed God.
While I don’t believe it the intention of this prayer Christ gave us was meant to do harm to his followers as it was a deeply counter-cultural way to confront the cult of Rome that he encountered in the world of that time. I do believe the way we as a people since have used it has affirmed an image of God that is very masculine-centric – starting with the use of Father and then the kingdom imagery. These terms in and of themselves are very helpful and do reflect a part of God and God’s reign but left to our own imaginations and desires, I have come to believe through many patience voices and wise scholars, begins to shape an image of God that negates the feminine and undermines the equality, equity, and liberation Christ began ushering in and invites humanity to.
What this has meant for me was that when I thought of God, I thought of a man. I thought of a Being in my own image and likeness – that being a white, cis male in America – and yes, there has been a lot of baggage that I’ve been confronting with that. The God that I thought of really agreed with me and my preferences a lot.
The God that I thought of who would ‘give us this day ourdaily break’ operated much more like a genie that might grant a wish or two ifthings went ‘right’.
The God that I thought of really liked me and really didn’tlike the people I didn’t like – which in practice meant I didn’t need forgivenessor needed to grant forgiveness.
The God that I thought of only need to deliver me from evil, not expose the evil that I perpetrated both knowningly and unknowingly.
That God was an idol of my own creating.
And I think many of us have made a similar idol.
So years ago, a process began that continues onto today of tearing down this idol, seeking to be transformed by the Deity that Christ was actually pointing us to and who he embodied. It’s been a messy journey, filled with lots of mistakes and things said and thought that exposed how much the systems and structures, power and principalities, have shaped how I view God and how I engaged those around me. Even today, without thinking I might launch into a prayer by starting with 'Father...' as it is so deeply ingrained in me.
Over that time, certain practices have been helpful and one of them I have revisited has been prayer. Specifically centering around the prayer above, only with a minor slight change, it goes like this...
Our Mother who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kin-dom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kin-dom and the power and the glory, for ever.
Amen
It’s the same but different. It stays true to message of Christ when he originally offered it to us, and maybe if you're like me, it causes us to visualize different things, to feel different emotions, to confront long held beliefs that stubbornly remain and aid in tearing down the god-idol we’ve created over the course of our life.
Maybe this is some thing you need to shake the dust off of afaith that seems disconnected from the realities of this world.
Maybe this seems a bit too out there and you’re questioningmy orthodoxy.
Regardless of where you might find yourself with this, Ihope it invites you to acknowledge that god-idol that we all naturally have builtand encourage you to seek a little longer.
None of what I am saying here is new, in fact there are many who have said so much more on this.
For more on God as Mother or the feminine aspect of God to check out this, this, and this.
For more on the kin-dom, here are some links I found very useful. here, here, and here.
And as always, if any of this stirs some thing in you, share it in the comments below. Or if you’d like to talk, send me a message, let’s get a drink and chat.