It was said, in passing, in casual conversation, leaving me winded by the kick it dealt to my stomach. Augustine and Dorothy Day. But whores rarely create themselves. We have made her into an army, an institution, a corporation, a factory. We have boxed her in buildings and brands.
We have forced her to produce, made her a slave to our ambitions. Our beautiful Ecclesia is both timeless and childlike, always hoping, dancing into new places, longing for life. She is pure and spotless and lovely, knowing she has been made whole. She will not force herself on anyone but her joy is winsome. Her dance is inviting and her laughter has gravity. She is a healer, a creator, a comforter, singing new things into being, drawing many into her song.
She knows pain but it has not made her bitter, poverty but it has not made her miserly. She feeds multitudesβnourishing the broken, sending them out rejoicing. She will not be measured or caged, but takes on many surprising forms, all true to her nature. Her gracious speech shapes new stories, describing places we long to visit, ways we long to be. She is never reduced by giving herself away, never emptied from pouring herself out.
She is many things brought together, every color woven into a rich fabric, each part with its purpose. But she is exhausted from being ravished by the egos, appetites and anxieties of men. She longs to run free, hair wild, skirts flying, to fulfill her calling.
This article was written for Missio Alliance and is republished with permission. Is the Church a Whore? Oct 3 Written By Mandy Smith. She is quietly fearless, humbly courageous. We cannot look away. She is gifted and multi-lingual. She is a tree, bearing many kinds of fruit. She is a symphony, played on instruments of many timbres. She is All and she is One, a whole household in one Body. And her heart has never turned from her Beloved. Will we let her? Mandy Smith.
