White Male God or God of Delight?

For many of us, our picture of the Divine is shaped by what public theologian Christena Cleveland calls White Male God:

As a child, I would sit in my grandfather’s church, a fairly large church. And the image of Jesus would not only be a white male, but it would also be distant for me, up there on the altar away from me. And if I’m good enough to have a reason to be up on that altar, then I can be close to him.

Perhaps you can resonate. This is a God who is rigid, demanding, distant, hierarchical, rules-based. And your relationship with Him is often one of trying to please, of living out of shame and by should’s.

Let’s compare that with God as Wisdom - Sophia - Jesus. Listen to how She describes Herself.

“The Lord brought me [Wisdom] forth as the first of his works,

    before his deeds of old;

I was formed long ages ago,

    at the very beginning, when the world came to be…

Then I was constantly at his side.

I was filled with delight day after day,

    rejoicing always in his presence,

rejoicing in his whole world

    and delighting in humankind.

- Prov. 8:22-23, 30-31

This, friends, is a God characterized by relational delight - delight within Godself, with us, with all of creation!

Imagine yourself sitting with someone who fills you with joy and life. Picture them clearly. What do you notice happening in your body? Are you smiling? Do your muscles tighten or relax? Where? What other sensations do you notice?

Bring that image and those feelings with you into a few moments sitting with Sophia-Jesus, who delights in you. Perhaps you could breathe in on the word “delight” and out on the word “trust.”

In: Delight.

Out: Trust.

Amen.