I like this narrative because two men, Jesus and Nicodemus, are talking about something they do not have and an experience they never go through: wombs and birthing. When Nicodemus asks Jesus if being being born anew meant going back into his mother's womb, Jesus says no. It is being born from God's womb.
Female imagery for God is rare in the New Testament. Many among us learned about the Yahwist tradition in the Torah (the Pentateuch) which describes God in anthropomorphic terms: God forming Adam from the dust of the ground; God breathing into Adam's nostrils; God planting a garden; God walking in that garden; and God making garments for Adam and Eve.
Sunday's lection challenges us to imagine God as a woman. Sunday's lection challenges us to imagine God giving birth. Sunday's lection challenges us to imagine God beyond the boxes we have created to contain God.
#IAmWithJesus
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#StopTheKillingsPH
#JusticeForMyanmar
*art, "Nicodemus," JESUS MAFA, 1973, from vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.
