God the Mother

by Cliff Williams

You cannot be God
Without being mother
To those you have birthed,
Whom you have held in your arms
And fed at your breasts.

If you are God,
You listen to the chatter
Of your children
Even if it is petty
And self-centered.
You pick them up
When they fall,
Wipe their noses
When they are sick,
Wash their clothes,
Give them baths.

So when the next time comes
To recite the Apostle’s Creed,
Say,
“I believe in God the mother
Who gave birth to the cosmos
And all that is in it,
Who nursed it and held it . . .”

It won’t fit the rhythm of
The other Apostle’s Creed,
But that won’t matter.
Say it to the rhythm
Of the God who,
By her constant nurturing,
Satisfies your craving for tenderness.

 

--Copyright, 2007 by Clifford Williams

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Cliff Williams teaches philosophy at Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois. His wife, Linda Williams, is a longtime member of EEWC. He is that author of The Life of the Mind: A Christian Perspective (Baker, 2002) and other books

© 2007 Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus