John 1:10-13
we become
children of God
not by praying
a standard prayer
clean and tidy
not by checking off
the right beliefs
on a checklist
not of natural descent
nor of human decision
nor a husband's will
we become
children of God
through the blood, sweat and tears
of love
powerful as contractions
we become
children of God
through the raw, animal passion
of life that must come out
that will come out
though the little head seems
to keep slipping back up
we become
children of God
pushed between her thighs
drawn towards her chest
to suckle at her loving breast
we become
children of God
born of God
________________________________
[6.-7. May 2022]
Me reading John 1 on Tuesday: Ugh it's so hard to learn anything new from a text you know by heart.
Me reading John 1 on Wednesday: Hang on. "Born of God"? God gives birth?! *poem idea born*
It's also John 1 where God has a uterus (v.18: the Greek "kolpos" often translated "bosom" is actually "womb"). So no, there's nothing "biblical" about God being "male", and there's nothing "unbiblical" about imagining God as a mother or (o horror) imagining God giving birth. God is neither male nor female, but male and female imagery can help us understand what God is like. Traditionally we have limited ourselves mostly to male imagery, but the Bible itself is full of feminine imagery as well, from the mother hen to the nursing mother to the uterus in John 1:18 and now this (which to be honest I only noticed this week).
We talk a lot about being "born again", but never really think the image through. What does it mean to be "born"? On the one hand it does signify a completely fresh start, the purity of a new beginning, maybe also the potential that is in every newborn child. But what we tend to omit is the actual act of giving birth and what that means to the mother. Maybe because (in Western culture at least) we speak of giving birth as being this terrible, scary, painful thing. And yes, it can be. But birth is also beautiful, and it can also be empowering. Maybe what makes it scary is how "feral" it is, how completely physical and instinctual. The pain comes from the powerful muscles working to get baby out. The mind only gets in the way here.
We like to view God as the one who brings order into chaos. Birth and the female sphere in general have often been relegated to the "chaotic". So what does it mean that God "gives birth" to us? I don't want to name conclusions, I'd rather let the image speak. So maybe next time we talk about being "born again" we consider what that means - what a raw connection that must be between us and God. How much we must mean to God.
Picture by Paula Modersohn-Becker
