A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
Revelation 12:1-6
There is an urgency, a quickening of the spirit, pulsating through the world today. It is a kind of drumming, a heartbeat, an expectancy. The very pervasiveness of it, inclusiveness of it, and power of it is terrifying to those who have the eyes to see and ears to hear what is coming. The shifting of the ages is on our doorstep.
And yet, does humankind welcome change? Wouldn't we rather stay in a danger zone than move? It is denial, I guess, and somehow sounds a bit like the ancient Hebrews who failed to listen to the prophetic warnings. I can't help thinking our denial, reluctance to listen to the times and wake up, is like the Hebrew story about an ancient city destroyed for its exploitation and rape of the innocent. Today scholars are clear the story is about God's disgust at the exploitation of the innocence and the heinous abuse of life for its selfish pleasure, greed and gluttony. Aren't we in so many ways, doing that to our Earth, animals, environment?
In Genesis, we're given dominion over the animals (and Earth) not to rape and use, but to support, nurture and honor.
In Genesis, we're given dominion over the animals (and Earth) not to rape and use, but to support, nurture and honor.
It's so hard to write those words. It's hard to see that we haven't changed much in the thousands of years since that event. I wish we would all wake up and not argue over whether or not it's global warming because the radiation in our water and pollution in the oceans and toxic chemicals in our food, the extinction of so many animals species, is NOT natural.
Even if the planet might be warming due to the solar systems rotation in the galaxy, that position isn't polluting the rivers, oceans and land. We all think government is responsible for everything. We shirk responsibility. We can embrace simplicity of living, which is an ongoing consciousness that prioritizes the natural world and sees our place within it, as part of it, dependent on it, and vitally important to its preservation. That idea might be considered "feminine" which is to flow with, rather than the "masculine" which is to power over. As God is both, God's creation is both as well. The exploitation of the powerless is exploitation of life itself. Empowerment releases the balance of both forces. Today, we are in a state of gross imbalance and nature cannot sustain such imbalance. It is failing badly, in critical condition, even dying.
Even if the planet might be warming due to the solar systems rotation in the galaxy, that position isn't polluting the rivers, oceans and land. We all think government is responsible for everything. We shirk responsibility. We can embrace simplicity of living, which is an ongoing consciousness that prioritizes the natural world and sees our place within it, as part of it, dependent on it, and vitally important to its preservation. That idea might be considered "feminine" which is to flow with, rather than the "masculine" which is to power over. As God is both, God's creation is both as well. The exploitation of the powerless is exploitation of life itself. Empowerment releases the balance of both forces. Today, we are in a state of gross imbalance and nature cannot sustain such imbalance. It is failing badly, in critical condition, even dying.
Maybe we are already in the desert of the spirit, Jeremiah's desert of dry bones. When will we have the courage to step out of our collective denial and awaken to the spirit that waits within our hearts? That spirit calls for balance, healing, nurturing, growth and on-going awakening to the presence of God among us in nature and in our relationships - with ourselves, each other and the larger global community.
The woman of Revelation may be she who will give birth to a spiritual awakening, which will have many aspects - from a personal rebirth to a global rebirth of what is essential to life and the elimination of what is destructive.
As today is the feast day of St. Mary Magdalene who was the one to whom Jesus entrusted his mission, who was the very representative of His ministry rather than Peter, she may very well be the woman in the desert. Her life is evidence of His promise that the Holy Spirit would return and bring His words again to lead us into a new life, a life of spiritual empowerment which will support, honor and embrace life which includes a call for the balance between the masculine (solar or external) and feminine (lunar or internal) principles.
She is the archetypal Divine Feminine who carries the Holy Spirit and perseveres throughout time and tragedy until the time to birth that light of life within her. She is the human chalice into which the Divine has poured His Spirit for the world. She is the expectant mother of our new world. It surely seems the world is in some kind of birth pains presently.
She is the archetypal Divine Feminine who carries the Holy Spirit and perseveres throughout time and tragedy until the time to birth that light of life within her. She is the human chalice into which the Divine has poured His Spirit for the world. She is the expectant mother of our new world. It surely seems the world is in some kind of birth pains presently.
While these lines from Revelation could be about our current time and circumstances, they may be just as much about the hoped for birth of the Divine presence into the world. It is time that what was hidden will be brought into the light. Until then, the Spirit waits expectantly for us to awaken and birth a new world among us.
