This is a photograph of a postcard of a huge stained glass window I found myself sat before this afternoon. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take your own photographs of the window. I have always found this enormous vibrantly coloured image of Jesus an impressive sight. When I visit Buckfast Abbey I am often drawn to the quiet room at the far end of the main building to sit in front of this window.
Today I am reminded of a presentation by Sean Kelly given at Schumacher College in 2010. I remember asking Sean why Jesus was born a man and not a woman? His reply, which to this day still startles me, was, 'No one would have listen to what he came to say if he was born a woman'.
What Sean seemed to be saying is that great thinkers, philosophers, theologians and spiritual teachers come in the male form so that we will pay them more credence.
I know we live in a patriarchal world, but nevertheless, OUCH!
As one half of the world that happens to be born into a woman's body, to be told by someone purporting to be a liberal progressive thinker, that by being a woman the world will not listen to what you have to say no matter how wise - these are harsh and demoralising if not offensive words indeed. And when I stop to reflect I can name woman whose words have made a difference; Mother Theresa, Hildegarde of Bingen, Maya Angelou, Joan of Arc to name a few. But that's simply it, they are a few when balanced against the predominant avalanche of patriarchal voices history and contemporaneous times presents us.
When will the human species be ready for Shesus?
At the centre of the modern story is the idea of Gaia, a whole system supporting life on planet Earth. No Gaia, no life and more specifically no human beings. Gaia is a female goddess. Thus we are presenting Earth and her life supporting systems as generative, life giving and female. Gaia is speaking to us constantly and whether we be a listening scientist, consumer, gardener, nurse, priest or poet many of us are hearing a similar message ... "our ecological systems are changing to such an extent that temperatures will rise to levels that will no longer support human life (and many other forms of life hence the 6th mass extinction we are now experiencing), as temperatures rise we will experience sea levels rising, floods, droughts and other climatic events. All of which add up to a big ole hollering from Mama Gaia to say mind your ways homo sapiens, if you're not carefully you'll unwittingly dismantle the conditions that support life on earth.
Granted this earthly message from Gaia is not coming in a readily digestible movie, TV broadcast or book. It is coming through in more naturalistic languages.
My question to Sean Kelly and his like is, will we hear her voice in the babbling brooks and the reshaping of rocks, in the cries of the animals, birds and fish, in the shifting and swaying seasons, will we hear it this time when it comes in non-human form and yet in a projected feminine voice?
I ask because it would appear we humans don't listen to woman, human or otherwise?
Can we change?
Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that the Dalai Lama will not be reincarnated as a person but as a community. Now that is a radical thought. When you think that all, if not most, of the primary spiritual and religious leaders of the last 3000 years have been male would it not be as radical if the next spiritual voice was female and non-human. Gaia. Now that is possibly even more radical. Not only is she here and speaking to us, she has always been here and always been speaking to us. We are born of her and go back to her in our death. You could say the bigger body is trying to communicate with her billions of little bodies.
Can we hear her speak to us?
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