Free from Fear - Redeemer Episcopal Church

Luke 8:26-39

²⁶Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 

²⁸When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— ²⁹for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 

³⁰Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. ³¹They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. 

³²Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. ³⁴When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.³⁵Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

³⁶Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. ³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 

³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

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If you would like to hear a recording of this sermon (which infusions from the Spirit), you can find the recording by clicking this link.

God of freedom, we ask that you break open our shackles of fear of the other so that we might go forth to declare how much God has done for us, risking the work of freeing all people, because they are your children and they are worthy of grace, and mercy, and justice. Amen. 

There is a lot happening in the gospel text this morning. And I could preach on about six different things here, so it’s a shame we only hear this story once every three years. It is rich with the very meaning of God’s incarnation in Christ Jesus. I spent my internship year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and there, people were more accustomed to two or three hour worship services. So on a Sunday like today, I might say, "sit back, get comfortable, because this is going to be a long one." 

But I don't think you will let me preach for an hour or so, so I had to pick something, just one thing to preach about. 

So this morning, I want to focus on something different, something sort of on the outside of this text. I want to focus on the community around the man we call the Gerasene demoniac, the man with a legion of demons, the man with no clothes who lives not in a house but in the tombs. I want to focus on the community around that man.

We don’t know much about the community, but I think we can safely extrapolate some things from the reading. Even though it never says that the man possessed by demons harmed anyone or even himself, he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles. I can only imagine that the community did this out of fear. Perhaps they were afraid that he might be too difficult to care for, a strain on the community, or a nuisance to the right order of things. Perhaps they were afraid that they, too, may become possessed by demons as if it were some communicable disease. As if they didn’t have demons of their own to deal with. But we do know they were a fearful people, because when they came back and saw that the man was in his right mind, when the demons had left him— they were afraid— seized with great fear. They remind me of the verses from Isaiah where God says, “I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you’” (Isaiah 65:2,5). God has some words for people like that. 

Somehow, by some luck or coincidence, the community surrounding this man is full of people who are not possessed by demons. They believed they were free. Yet instead of intervening on behalf of this man, instead of trying to work toward his wholeness and healing, they have cast him out to live among the dead. They have decided, as a community, that he is unworthy of being cared for because of circumstances that he cannot control. 

And I don’t want to assume too much about this community, because you know what they say about people who assume. So maybe they did attempt other paths before resorting to chaining him up and guarding him. Perhaps this is the only way they knew how to deal with this man. We don’t know the whole story, but it seemed like this man’s bondage worked for the community. They were okay with him being chained up, they were comfortable with it even. But it does not work for Jesus, God is not comfortable with God’s child being shackled and chained. 

At this point in his journey, Jesus has made a habit out of seeking out the people who have been discarded by their community and left for dead. And that’s exactly what he does in this story. He crosses the sea into an unclean land that is Gerasene, to an unclean place that is the tombs, to an unclean man who is possessed by demons. There is something about God incarnate in Christ that is like a magnet to the people who are outcast and discarded. Because this man, like us, like every person on this earth, is God’s child and is worthy of grace, and mercy, and justice not because of who he is or what he has done, but because of whose he is as God’s child. 

And grace upon grace that God is, Jesus not only casts out the demons, but grants their plea and does not send them into the abyss. And most importantly the man is healed. He is restored and clothed and freed. 

So, too, are we restored and clothed and freed in our baptism. So, too, are we restored and clothed and freed and fed in this holy meal. 

After the man was freed from his shackles and chains, he begged to go with Jesus, to be safe by his side, away from any more demons that may be lurking. But Jesus sets him on a different path— a more difficult path. He is to return home, declaring how much God had done for him. He was to go and spread the gospel. He was to go and help his own community break the chains of fear that they held so close to themselves even now, even after they witnessed Jesus’ incredible power to heal and restore. 

This, too, is our call. We have been freed from our shackles of sin and we are called to proclaim what Christ has done for us. We are called to proclaim our freedom. We get to be a part of God’s work of freeing others. We have been freed like this man to go and tell others what God has done by actively working to break down the boundaries and walls and fences that we have build up against one another. And that is holy work for the sake of God’s reign in this world.

But it is not easy work. There will be people who are afraid of God’s power. There will be people who resist the gospel. Afraid that the gospel says, in no unclear words that in God’s kingdom: there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, there is no longer black and white, there is no longer conservative or liberal, there is no longer migrant or citizen, there is no longer undocumented or documented. 

There will be people who are afraid to accept that we are all made in Christ’s image, we are all one in Christ, belonging to Christ, and freed in Christ. All of us. Every single one of us. And every single one of them. You know you I am talking about. The people who we consider them— maybe they are those who are in prison, those who are across any border, those who are openly wrestling with demons. All of them in detention centers and mental hospital wings and on the street or facing their court date. Every single one of them is made in the image of God, is a child of God. 

We may even be those frightened people, the ones who don’t want to accept that truth, every once in a while. Or maybe even most of the time. Because it is also risky work. Doing the work of the kingdom is why Jesus was arrested, tried, and murdered by the state. So what are we to do? 

We do as Jesus says, we declare how much God has done for us. And we hope. Unrelentingly, we hope. 

Because we have been welcomed into a new community. And the opposite of a community surrounded by fear is a community fully entrenched in hope. Hope for a new day, hope for a new creation, hope for God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Hope for all people all people to be unshackled and safe and clothed at Christ’s feet. 

Amen. 

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I preached this sermon at Redeemer Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, Florida on June 23, 2019. 

Live among God's faithful people

I think there is a reason that baptismal covenants often start with something about relationships.

Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism: to live among God's faithful people?

Relationships are quite possibly the most important part of our faith lives. Bonhoeffer's famous book about the Christian life is appropriately named Life Together. We simply cannot be followers of Christ without being in relationship with others. It's not possible.

For many people who were raised within Christian households, this may be second nature. We attended worship services, Bible studies, Sunday School, and maybe some of our closest friends and our parents' friends were from the congregation in which we grew up. It just made sense to live life together as God's people. But sometimes the church, as we experience it growing up, is not the best place for growing toward relationship with others or even toward relationship with God.

I invite you to hear Derek's story as he shared it with me:

"LCM [Lutheran Campus Ministry] taught me what it means to live among God’s faithful people. I grew up in a large church that was impersonal, isolating, and, at times, abusive. Even though I attended this church for over a decade, there was always a metaphorical wall between me and the people that I saw every Sunday: I was afraid to be vulnerable with anyone there. I actually walked away from religion entirely for several years after leaving this church. LCM was instrumental in helping me heal from this experience. At LCM, I found a community where I did not have to wear a mask or put up a front. I began to feel close to God and to other people for the first time in my life. There is, perhaps, a reason that “living among God’s faithful people” is listed first in the baptismal promises: it is difficult to share in God’s word, proclaim the good news, serve others, and strive for justice if there is no foundational sense of community. I am grateful to LCM for providing me with the fellowship and solidarity that I needed to begin to live out these other promises."

Campus ministry provides an opportunity for many students to not only find a new community in Christ, but oftentimes heal from the experiences of previous communities. Simply being in relationship with people who are struggling through the same life situations as you can be immensely helpful in furthering your faith. When we live among God's faithful people, we begin to understand ourselves and our God more fully. No one understands this sentiment more than Alex Long, who spent two years as in intern for campus ministry.

"For two years I lived in a church basement.  I was the ministry intern at Jacob's Porch, the Lutheran campus ministry at Ohio State, and part of the salary included housing in the church.  I was on scene for all the joys and triumphs of being a college student, as well as all the dramas and doubts.  I was blessed to see the day by day faith lives of dozens of people I still call friends and family.  From Bible studies to random sleepovers, sermons to coffee breaks, worship services to concerts, study breaks to trumpet practice at 9 in the morning, I was there for all of it.  There was nothing more rewarding and more draining than to live among God's faithful people.  And, there was nothing that helped my faith life more than helping others' faith lives.  My faith grew more deeply and richly than it ever would have done if I hadn't been the Porch intern and resident.  Living among God's people is not only a good thing to do for a solid faith life, I believe that it is a necessary thing to do for one's self."

It is not that students are unable to find their own clubs, social engagements, and groups to be a part of in college. But how many of these clubs are truly helping students form relationship, fellowship, and faithfulness during an incredibly challenging time in their lives? Campus ministry has an opportunity to be a place of safety, questioning, and encouragement for people struggling and celebrating through this formative time. Campus ministry has the opportunity to be a beautiful place in which we live among God's faithful people now, and for years to come.

Baptism & Campus Ministry

Lent is a season for many different things depending on your tradition, your background, and whether or not you're a pastor.

Growing up, I remember that everyone in our family "gave something up for Lent." My parents might "give up" carbs one year and, for as long I can remember, I "gave up" chocolate (a real sacrifice considering my birthday always fell within Lent). It is for that reason I always associated Lent with a sort of "second New Year's resolution" time in the church calendar.

Others may take on other spiritual disciplines that have nothing to do with food or physical health. Others (pastors) may try to get through the season as quickly as possible, jump right over Easter, and enjoy the Ordinary Time while it lasts (I see you, pastors, and I totally get it).

This year I am doing something completely different during the season of Lent. For me, it will be a time of reflection and a time of celebration for two of my favorite facets of the church-- baptism and campus ministry.

In baptism, no matter what tradition we hail from, we make promises (or promises are made on our behalf) that look something like this:

You have made public profession of your faith. 
Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism: 
    to live among God’s faithful people, 
    to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, 
    to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, 
    to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and 
    to strive for justice and peace in all the earth? 

Each person responds: I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.

I love these promises. The ELCA asks some vital questions about these promises in their The Baptismal Covenant and the ELCA Faith Practices document.

"Then the question arises, 'How do we live out this lifelong journey with God?' In other words, what are the behaviors, disciplines, signposts, tools, activities, paths, or practices that demonstrate in our words and in our deeds our intention to live out this lifelong journey with God?"

For me, and for millions of students, campus ministry is one of the many ways we were and are empowered to demonstrate our intention to live out this journey with God. Yet, our congregations and the church as a whole often overlooks campus ministry as, at best supplementary, and at worse unnecessary for faith formation in young adults. By the end of Lent, I hope I will have a firmer grasp on how vital campus ministry is for students' faith formation during some of the most tumultuous years of their lives.

But campus ministry is not just important for students. In campus ministry, congregations have the opportunity to uphold the promises they made on a child's behalf in baptism. As Sarah Bowers of Columbia, South Carolina puts it:

"Those sitting in the pews are a part of those promises too and they can't go to college with each of the students, so campus ministry offers for our young adults, in some way, where the congregations have left off when they graduate high school. If you don't value campus ministry and the place it holds for those 4-6 years of a young adult's life, then what was all the work of faith formation when they were in 1st-12th grade for?"

This Lenten season, I will be reflecting a bit about each of these five promises that are made in baptism and expounding on how campus ministry can help us in the lifelong journey with God. I'll be engaging the experiences of some campus ministry leaders and students to help weave a story of how campus ministry truly is a vital part of faith formation for millions of students across the country.

I hope you will join me.

A Terrifyingly Beautiful Call

(Sermon at Luther House Chapel on April 10, 2016 - John 21:1-19)

Last year when I was working in a church, I was approached by a parishioner after preaching. He said, "Sarah, you should really stop starting your sermons with 'I love this story of Jesus.' Surely you don't love every story of Jesus. And anyway, you use the same beginning for every sermon."

At the time, I smiled sweetly and said, "Oh but I do love every story of Jesus. There is not a single story of Jesus and his disciples that does not bring me great joy. I love them. And I love telling them! But you're right - I should probably stop repeating myself."

And I do. I love every story of Jesus - but I understand his point. Sometimes saying I love every story of Jesus doesn't quite do every story justice. Take this story, for instance - I do love this story of Jesus and his disciples. The imagery is rich, Jesus nourished his friends - it is a beautiful scene. But I don't just love this story - this passage actually terrifies me.

Like the disciples, we really have no idea what we are getting ourselves into when we encounter God incarnate in Christ Jesus. We encounter God - or rather God comes crashing into our life - and suddenly things are turned upside down and inside out. It's terrifying.

My husband calls these "mountain-top experiences." And I would guess that many of you have had these experiences throughout your life. It could be while you are on a mission trip, it could be the moment you hold your newborn baby in your arms for the first time, it might be in the midst of great pain and sorrow... You can have these experiences throughout your entire life - in fact, for some of us, it is what brought us to church in the first place.

One of my mountain-top experiences happened in the Central American country of Honduras, literally on the side of a mountain in a small village.

It is the kind of experience that makes God feel so close. Suddenly and beautifully you know that you're walking on holy ground and the existence of God and the love of Christ are undeniable. And somehow, in some way, you know your whole life has changed. You know your identity has shifted and your goals and your mission in life are new and more important.

All of that happened to me on that side of the mountain in Honduras - everything change and all of a sudden I knew I wanted to do international mission work. I knew I wanted to travel the world and meet new people and fall in love with all of God's creation. I was so ready for the next adventure, I wanted to change my plans and change my life to go where God was leading me.

But ten days later, I was back in the United States and I decided not to quit seminary, I decided not to immediately become a missionary. I began classes again and I started work once more. And as I entered the usual drudgery of providing for myself and thinking of my own needs, I slowly forgot about all those powerful moments on the side of that mountain. The fire that had been blazing in Honduras started to diminish until it was just embers.

That's exactly where we meet the disciples in the passage this morning. They had been following Jesus for nearly three years - surely having mountain-top moments on a daily basis as Jesus healed people around him and taught them about scripture. Their lives had been changed, their hearts had been renewed and shifted in these moments. There was a fire lit in their hearts that was roaring for the mission that Christ had given them.

But then Jesus died, and the fire faded - they became scared and worried that maybe they couldn't live out this mission for Jesus. And then they witnessed him resurrected - another beautifully terrifying mountain-top experience.  But then he was gone again, and they were left with this mission that seemed too hard and too crazy.

And isn't that exactly where we are today? Two weeks ago, we came to church early (early early) and greeted one another with joy and thanksgiving that our redeemer lives! And we shouted "hallelujah!" And we sang songs and hymns with more energy than we should be able to muster at 6:30am.

And now, only a few weeks later we can barely drag ourselves out of bed to make it to church. We have forgotten that it is still Easter and we should still be shouting "hallelujah!" We have forgotten that Christ lives.

So the disciples are coming down off of all these mountain-top experiences and they know deep within their bones that everything has changed. They themselves have been changed but they are lost and they don't know where to go from here.

So they decided to go back to what they knew before Jesus had entered their lives and completely changed them. But if I know anything, it is that once Jesus enters your life, there is no going back to the way things used to be. You can try, but it will not be the same. So they went fishing. The disciples went back to the everyday drudgery of life. They did what they needed to do to provide for themselves and their families.

But I imagine that the reason they didn't catch any fish might be because they could feel that uneasiness, the restlessness, knowing everything had changed and that fishing was not what they were supposed to be doing. I imagine they felt something similar to what I felt when I came back from Honduras - I was restless and unsatisfied with life. Nothing seemed to be quite right because I tried so hard to go back to my old ways of living - before Jesus had come so close to me on that mountain.

And Jesus, as loving and persistent as he is, and wanting to make sure his disciples completely "get it" before he leaves them, he comes back and reminds them again. He reminds them who he is and what his mission is. He reminds them of whose they are and what their mission is.

And this is the terrifyingly beautiful part - Jesus doesn't just leave the disciples with a new job or a check list of things they need to get done as his disciples. He says, "feed my lambs, provide for my lambs, feed my sheep." He commands them to become shepherds. And if you know anything about being a shepherd, you know that "shepherd" is not a job title, it is an identity.

You can't take your "shepherd hat" on and off as you please. You cannot go out to the fields and throw food out to the sheep and lambs twice a day and call yourself a shepherd. Being a shepherd is 100% effort, 100% of the time. It is our new identity, it is our new mission and our new life. That is what it means to be a disciples of Christ.

Following Jesus is not easy and it is certainly not a list of things that we can check off our to do list every day. And that's why this passage is so terrifying to me. That is why mountain-top experiences are so terrifying and beautiful - because when God comes so close that we can no longer deny God,  we are in for real change. Our lives are no longer about taking care of ourselves. All of a sudden we are given all of these sheep in the form of our brothers and sisters in this world - our loved ones, our friends, our enemies, people in foreign lands we have never met - for whom we are called to lay down our lives. Just as Jesus laid down his life for all.

So this morning and throughout this season I pray that we take these mountain-top experiences, these moments when God comes so close that we suddenly feel changed and re-created, and we do not back away. When Jesus call us to feed his sheep and follow him, I pray that we understand the terrifyingly beautiful call to be his disciples and accept it - empowered by the Holy Spirit and renewed by the promise of our risen Christ and of the coming Kingdom. Amen.

Christian First

Like many Americans, and people all over the world, my faith is a huge determining factor in my decision-making. Although I'm not as "good" at it as I would like to imagine, I try to handle most situations in an ethical, theological, and Christo-centric way.

I am certainly an American, but I must confess, as I have confessed before - I am a Christian first. "Christ follower," "Christian," "disciple" - however you wish to put it - is my first and most important label. In fact, it is my only label. Many people will try to give me other labels first: liberal, feminist, American, millennial, Army brat, regular brat... whatever. But the reality of it is this: my identity in Christ, the fact that God has claimed me as God's child, makes all of those other labels fall away (Colossians 3:11; Galatians 3:28). 

That is why my decision-making comes from the deep reality of my identity as a Christian. That is why my Christianity deeply influences who I will vote for in the coming presidential election. It is, in fact, the only thing that will influence me in the upcoming election. Call me ignorant to economics, call me a pseudo political scientist (although my bachelor's degree says I'm a real one), but it will be my faith that influences me most in this election, not my fragile identity as an American or liberal or millennial.

My top five "issues" as a Christian: 

1) Mercy (Psalm 145:9; Hebrew 4:16; see also Jesus on the cross)
2) Equity (Romans 2:11; Galatians 3:28; 1 Corinthians 12)
3) Care (Philippians 2:4; Galatians 6:2; Proverbs 21:13; John 13:34-35)
4) Justice (Romans 12:19; Isaiah 1:17, 30:18-19; Micah 6:8)
5) Wholeness/Reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19; also see every healing passage)


These are the top five things I look for in a candidate's policies, in his or her character, and in his or her history. These are obviously biblically driven and things that Jesus found to be incredibly important.

2 Corinthians tells us that as God's children, we have the responsibility, the privilege, and opportunity to proclaim the message of reconciliation.

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Reconciliation was Jesus' purpose on this earth, therefore as one of his followers, it is my purpose on this earth. As presidential candidates, I will look for the candidate whose policies allow for these qualities to shine in this nation and throughout the world. I will look for a candidate who seems to have a heart that aligns with the gospel of Christ Jesus, regardless of what his or her religious beliefs might be. I will look for a candidate who speaks, acts, and loves most like Jesus - one who has high hopes of bringing mercy, equity, care, justice, and reconciliation into this broken nation and throughout the world.

I invite you to join me in digging deep this political season and discern Jesus' platform on each of these hot button issues. There is no doubt our conclusions will vary, but if we direct our eyes and hearts toward God and Christ's work of reconciliation, I hope we can begin to find common ground.

Stumbling Blocks

Two Sundays ago, I preached (admittedly not very well) on Jesus’ teaching about chopping off limbs and hanging a millstone around your neck.  I’m sure you’ve heard it before. I usually try to ignore it as I’m leisurely reading through Mark’s Gospel. 

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea." (Mark 9:42)

I can understand Jesus telling us not to purposely put a stumbling block before others.  That seems like a pretty good thing to tell people - don’t purposely cause people to question their faith or turn away from God. 

But what happens when we unintentionally put a stumbling block before someone? What if we had always been taught something that we never knew could be harmful to some people’s faith? What if everyone else does it? Does Jesus think that deserves a millstone around the neck too? 

I don’t know. But if Jesus thinks that any stumbling block we place before others - intentionally or unintentionally - is harmful enough to deserve a millstone around our necks, maybe we should start thinking about the unintentional stumbling blocks as well. 

So that’s what I’ve been doing these past two weeks. What are some of the unintentional stumbling blocks I have put in front of people? Whether I had good intentions at the time, or I simply wanted to hear myself speak, I know I have put stumbling blocks in other people’s “faith way.” 

I think as Christians, we put stumbling blocks in front of people more often than we realize. And we can’t always avoid it because we don’t know people’s situations and we don’t know what might be a stumbling block for one person and might be helpful for another. 

But there is one thing that we do all too often, and it is causing people to stumble more than we realize.   

Gendering God is something we do without even thinking about it.  

We pray to “Father God.” 

We refer to God as “he” in worship, prayers, and hymns. 

We talk about God as a masculine being. 

We reject (openly or unconsciously) the feminine aspects of God. 

It might be that I am more sensitive to this type of stumbling block because I have experienced its effects to many times throughout my life. But I believe that we have the opportunity to actually remove this stumbling block from in front of the entire Body of Christ, just by changing the way we talk about God. 

The way we talk about God influences what we believe about God. And what we believe about God is important because it influences what we believe about God's creatures, God's relationship with us, salvation, evangelism, our relationship with one another (and basically everything else theologically). Gendering God is dangerous because it inherently has the ability to change our vision of and relationship with God. Gendering God can actually cause people to turn away from God and put a stumbling block in front of them. By gendering God, we can inadvertently lead people away from God.

Gendering God is a dangerous stumbling block in front of many Christians and non Christians all over the world, from various backgrounds, and in various contexts. 

But I have found that it is an especially dangerous stumbling block here in Southeast Asia. 

I will start by giving you an example of how gendering God as male is particularly dangerous because this the gender assigned to God most often. But please be assured that in other contexts and cultures, gendering God as female can also be dangerous.

A fellow pastor explained a little bit about child-parent relationships and gender roles in Chinese culture. "Relationships with fathers are very often closed off," he explained, "we cannot call our fathers by name when we are young out of respect, so we call them 'papa.'"  Even when children become adults, there is a very real reverence for older men in the family.  Older men in my congregation are never called by their Chinese name, but called, "uncle" or people who are particularly close use their English names.

Fathers are described as stern disciplinarians who discourage dependence and emotional indulgence in their children.  Of course, fathers still very much care for their children, but there is often no outward manifestation of this care and affection for fathers like there might be between children and mothers. Fathers often remain aloof in the "hands-on" portion of parenting (dressing, changing, bathing, feeding children), unless there is severe discipline needed.

Mothers, on the other hand, are described as "intimate nurturers," who often "baby" their children until they are older.  The relationship children share with their mothers is one of provision, compassion, warmth, and love.

These gender roles regarding parenting often lead to a close, intimate relationship between a mother and her child, while the relationship between a father and a child may be more distant, strained, or cause anxiety and even fear for the child later in life.

When we exclusively call God "father," and describe God as masculine, this affects our relationship with God as well as other people's relationship with God. 

If a person cannot imagine an intimate, warm, caring, personal relationship with his or her earthly father, how will he or she imagine his or her relationship with a heavenly "father?" Chances are, he or she will imagine God as a distant disciplinarian who should be feared, someone who will only step in when we need punishment. This image of God does not foster a close, deep, personal relationship with God. In fact, people may even reject God and be completely uninterested in a relationship with such a distant, impersonal God such as this.  

We must continue to look for ways to describe God and imagine God in comparison and contrast to our earthly relationships - but never prescribing God a gender. Granted, we will never be able to fully grasp all of God, but we can combat harmful images of God, the blocks that cause our brothers and sisters to stumble. Especially when certain images of God are so nonchalantly used and so obviously harmful to people's faith because of the dominant culture. 

By allowing and encouraging people to envision God as something other than their "father" or a "male," we offer a new vision, a more inclusive and relational vision of God's redeeming love and mercy. And we start to pick up those stumbling blocks from amongst our sisters’ and brothers’ feet.