In February our thoughts turn to LOVE. Everywhere we look, we see red and pink hearts. Balloons, greeting cards, stuffed animals, etc. are all in celebration of Valentine’s Day, all related to LOVE. We’ve talked before about the definition of love, the various aspects of love. But there’s one definition that we overlook. And that is ‘God is love.’  Of all the ways God is described, all the things that God is, ultimately – God is love.

 

It leads me to imagine that if God is love, and love has no requirement or restriction upon it, no limitation, no boundary, then neither should God. Including the restriction of gender.

 

In our traditional theology, God is referred to as male. He, Him, His….. Father…… King. We hear it in the old hymns, prayers, some scripture. But consider this….

​

God is defined as a spiritual being, having no physical body. Gender, on the other hand, is a characteristic of physical creatures that reproduce. Since God has no biological body, chromosomes, or reproductive organs, human categories of male and female would not apply.  God is the creator of the material world and God existed before the concept of human gender identity. When you think about it - giving God a specific gender - is a limitation. It reduces God – who is infinite - to a finite human category.

​

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that God "transcends the human distinction between the sexes" and is "neither man nor woman". Many theologians argue that because both men and women are said to be created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), therefore, God must encompass or transcend the qualities of both!

Perhaps terms like "Father" or "Husband" are analogies to describe God's relationship to humanity (for example, as a protector or provider) rather than God’s actual nature. In fact, the Bible and other scriptures also use feminine metaphors for God, such as a nursing mother (Isaiah 66:13) or a mother hen protecting her chicks (Matthew 23:37).

So this month, the month of LOVE, I ask you to consider that God is spirit, energy, light. God is infinite, powerful, awesome, all-knowing, and boundless. God is nurturing and compassionate. Let’s not limit God. For God has no limits. God is truly - pure LOVE.

​

Pastor Jessilou