I am sure you will have seen Michelangelo’s famous painting of God on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. It really is quite spectacular, but it shows God as a European, white, old man, with grey hair and a beard, giving the impression to many people (Christian or not), that God is an elderly European male. While Bible is full of strongly masculine descriptions of God like a Father or a warrior or a shepherd, I hope we all know that God most definitely is not an elderly European male!

This point is made really clear in the Bible when Moses meets God in the desert. Moses was probably not expecting God to be revealed in a burning bush (Exodus 3.1-15)! And when Moses asked God what name he should use when talking to the Israelites and Pharoah, God simply (but profoundly) said: “I am who I am.” While most gods have names – Zeus, Thor, Lakshmi, Papatūānuku – the God Moses met wasn’t going to be limited by a single name, or even by a noun in general! God says, “I am”– a verb! – meaning, I exist, I live, I am present!

All the names and titles we use for God are just attempts, therefore, to describe something that is really impossible to describe. While God is sometimes like a father, or a king, or a shepherd, the ancient writings of the Bible also don’t have a problem describing God as a woman giving birth (Isaiah 42.14), or as a mother in general, caring for her children or dressing them (Isaiah 49.15-17; Job 38.8-9, 28-29), or as a midwife, helping another woman as she gives birth (Psalm 22.9; Isaiah 66.9). Sometimes God is described even more imaginatively as a fierce Mother bear protective of her cubs (Hosea 13.8), or as a mother eagle who lifts her young and helps them fly, sheltering them under her wings (Deut 32.11; Exodus 19.4).

When we think of Jesus, we might imagine the baby Jesus in the manger, or Jesus the miracle worker or teacher, or Jesus the crucified Lord, the Son of God, the Messiah. But did you know that Jesus also described himself as a Mother Hen? As he looks out over the city of Jerusalem he laments: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings!” (Luke 13.34). What a lovely image, of us the people, as chicks, sheltering and being comforted, under the safe and loving wings of Jesus.

In other places, Jesus often used parables to show people what God was like. In one parable, he said that God is like a woman, searching for a lost coin, looking everywhere and finally rejoicing that it was found (Luke 15.8-10).

There is such a rich description of God in the Bible as feminine, images that are often overlooked or forgotten. You might like to watch a short video of Moses standing on holy ground in front of the burning bush and reflect on the images of God that might surprise you and yet resonate with you, enriching your understanding and connection to God.

Dr Gillian Townsley

Chaplain