The Spirit of Gender

Traditionally, the Holy Spirit has been identified as the "feminine" aspect of the triune God because of its possession of what we understand to be "feminine" characteristics. Recently, with questions of gendered language, this appropriation has been questioned also. It is my contention that the Holy Spirit can be seen that both "feminine" and "masculine" characteristics abound. However, rather than advocating a new androgenous member of the Trinity, I argue for the Holy Spirit's ability to provide a model for our own living in communion with one another as creatures of God.

The contemporary theologian John J. O'Donnell believes there are several important reasons for designating the Holy Spirit with the feminine dimension of God. One involves the definition of the Holy Spirit as pure receptivity in relation to the Father and the Son. Another is the understanding of the Holy Spirit as a gift of God. And finally, the Holy Spirit understood as the "fruitfulness" of the love of the Father and Son (I will use the traditional names for the other two members of the Trinity in this reflection in order to place the argument for a feminine Spirit in its proper context).

By identifying the Holy Spirit as "pure receptivity," the Spirit's primary function within the Trinity is defined not as giving but as receiving. The Spirit's identity is understood through her relation to the Father and Son. It is not difficult to see how our own cultural ideas and gender stereotypes get in the way of our seeing the Spirit as it really is. In a culture so bound by women's labels which only classify them in relation to the men in their lives (e.g. Miss, Ms., Mrs.), it is difficult to escape its effects in our attempts to understand the divine relationship. However, it must be made clear that although the Spirit may gain its identity through its relationship with the Father and Son, the other aspects of the Trinity also receive their identities because of the others. Why is there a Father and Son? Because of their relation to the other. Without any one of the Trinitarian persons, God as we understand God would not exist. Each person receives its life from another and at the same time gives life in return. Rather than claiming the Spirit's receptivity as a sign of pure dependence on the other (male) members of the Trinity, it should be seen as a divine blessing among a company of mutually giving and receiving members.
The Holy Spirit as the divine gift of God continues the defining principle of dependence by making the Spirit an object under the discretion of another. However, it is important to consider the function of the gift once it is given. The Spirit as a gift sent forth from God to the world does not merely end at the presentation, like a wrapped Christmas package (no pun intended) that is never opened, but the Spirit also functions in the world. The Spirit, once given to the world, is an active agent in the lives of all of God's creatures. In order for the eschatological event to be realized, the Spirit must work intensely in God's world...The Spirit is much more than a passive gift--it is a vibrant, living piece of God in the world.

Lastly, the Spirit's "fruitfulness" has been understood in two ways that identify it as "feminine." The first is as one member of the divine marriage who comes together to produce a Son. The other is the Spirit as the natural outgrowth of the divine love between the Father and Son that is extended to humanity. O'Donnell states that the Holy Spirit "not only perfects the divine love but is the opening of the divine love outward to the world, to time and to history." The Spirit enables the bond of love between Father and Son to be perfected, the Spirit enables humanity to participate in this divine love. Again, the Spirit is not only sent on an errand but plays the necessary role in opening the triune relationship of love to the world.
The characteristics associated with receptivity, gift and fruitfulness might be those traditionally associated with femininity. However, as we have seen, the Holy Spirit also manifests many other traits of humanity--traits that are normally associated with men. The Spirit works actively within the bond of the Trinity and especially within the community of believers to offer the experience of the Trinitarian God to all. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be seen as a harmonious combination of all of the human traits of femininity and masculinity in order for its true role within the Trinity to be realized.

The combination of masculine and feminine traits within the Holy Spirit has been established not for the purpose of advocating a gender-neutral Spirit. Instead, these connections have been made in order to show the way in which humanity has placed its own gender constructions of femininity onto the divine being when in reality all aspects of the human life (that we have come to label "masculine" and "feminine") can be seen working in the Spirit. By examining the cooperation of masculine and feminine traits in the life of the Spirit, we see the way in which we, women and men, are called to participate in the divine life. Rather than assigning the Trinity human characteristics in order to interpret our experience, let us allow the Trinity and its divine relationship speak to us about what living a life of receptivity, gift, fruitfulness, activity, and faith is all about.

Cynthia Weems
Voice, 1996