Jesus Loves Women

Happy first Sunday of Advent!

Today we are going to talk about women. That's right, women: the role they play in the birth narrative of Jesus and the significance of their inclusion.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, if you have not already figured that out.
So much so that this semester I wrote a paper entitled:

Jesus and Feminism:

Putting Women in Their Place

(I hope you can appreciate the note of sarcasm.)

In this paper I conducted a close exegesis of four passages throughout the Gospels that recount interactions Jesus had with women. In noting the cultural significance, I argued Jesus was in fact a feminist. Yay! 

DISCLAIMER: Everyone in the world has different experiences with feminism: some good, some not so good. So when I say "Jesus was a feminist," I am using the following definition from Sandra M. Schneiders:

A comprehensive ideology, rooted in women's experience of sexually-based oppression,

that engages in a critique of patriarchy as an essentially dysfunctional system,

embraces an alternative vision for humanity and the earth,

and actively seeks to bring this vision to realization.

Not all feminists are angry women who burn bras, just like not all Christians are conservative racists who love guns. 

(Stereotypes, am I right?)

So, for this post, and for posts to follow, please read with an open mind. Who knows, perhaps you might even learn something! 

.....

  O N  T H E  I N C A R N A T I O N

Ah yes, the incarnation. What does this intricate concept mean? Well, as always, let's begin with the dictionary definition.

In-car-na-tion:

noun

a person who embodies the flesh of a deity, spirit, or abstract quality.

Thanks again, Google. We could not do this without you.

In the context of Christian faith, this word incarnation bears great significance. From the reign of King David around 1000 BCE, Israel expectantly awaited a king to reign forever, a Messiah.

When your time comes and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up after you your descendant, 

who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 

He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 

I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me...

Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, 

and your throne will be established forever. 

II Samuel 7:12-14; 16

Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him–

He will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land...

On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. 

The nations will seek Him, and His resting place will be glorious.

Isaiah 11:1-2; 4; 10

After centuries of awaiting the Messiah, the incarnation of the God of Israel is easily the pinnacle of Christian history. Yet instead of being born into riches and power, like most rulers of that time who claimed divinity, YHWH takes on flesh in a most scandalous way: through a poor teenage girl.

 Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you...Do not be afraid Mary...

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. 

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

Luke 1:28, 30, 31-33 

The Son of the Most High chose a lowly, humble birth through a young, unmarried woman. The all powerful God could have chosen any other miraculous way to enter the earth, yet God chose vulnerability through a messy and risky birth.

God became entirely dependent upon a WOMAN for life.

And this woman, Mary, responded with exuberant gratitude:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

because He has looked with favor on the humble condition of His servant. 

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed

because the Mighty One has done great things for me, 

and His name is holy.

Luke 2:46-49 

In a religious society that hinges on honor and shame, this was a bold act by Mary. She viewed the cultural shame that would be placed upon her and her family as far less than the honor of this invitation to participate in God's mission of redemption.

Because she was already in a position of powerlessness, she was more willing to accept the honor of carrying the Messiah. And by choosing natural birth through a woman, God chose humility so that all women may be dignified as worthy of inclusion.

.....

T H E  S I G N I F I C A N C E

Often the incarnation has been used to argue that God is a male, thankfully that is hardly the case! 

Jesus took on the male gender not to reveal the sex of God, 

rather to subvert the patriarchy and heal the divide 

between men and women. 

Within a patriarchal society, a man is granted greater privilege, authority, and opportunity than a woman. Knowing this, God took on the male gender as the most effective denunciation of justice.

Unfortunately, if Jesus came as a WOMAN, she would not have been taken seriously and perhaps her ministry might not have been as effective. Not because God is limited, but because of the confines of a fallen human society. 

If we look at the ministry of Jesus, he continually went out of his way to include the marginalized and lay down his privilege to the lift up the oppressed. 

He humanized the Samaritan woman by giving her a voice and credibility to testify.
He humanized the woman caught in adultery and treated her equal to the religious leaders. 
He humanized the hemorrhaging woman by seeing her not as "unclean," rather as a human in need healing.  

The list could go on! Each and every way Jesus includes women in his narrative speaks not only to God’s heart for the marginalized, but the necessity for women and men to fight for gender equality together. 

For all of humanity was created in the image of God: male and female. Therefore, humanity is not whole if one oppresses the other. Rather, we must learn to lift up, respect, and encourage one another.

.....

T H E  T A K E A W A Y 

It cannot be one sex versus the other. 

Those who benefit from an oppressive system must lay down their privilege to 

provide opportunities for those whom the system oppresses. 

Men and women need to work together.

Man cannot seek justice without woman, 

just as woman cannot seek justice without man. 

May we humble ourselves to say to the other, I need you as my equal partner. 

And may we see the other as created in the image of God. 

Together, woman and man reflect the likeness of God. 

Thank you for reading, and as always, I would love to engage in conversation if you have any questions on this topic. 

- - O V E R  A N D  O U T .

Jesus Loves the Marginalized

Turn on any news channel or social media feed and see the inescapable aches and pains of this world. Mothers losing daughters, fathers losing sons, peaceful protestors maced and attacked. Thousands of lives lost this week.

Our brothers and sisters in this world are being murdered, oppressed, and marginalized, and what are we light-skinned, privileged humans doing about it?

Themes of justice and equality have weighed heavily on heart as lately I have been coming to terms with my privileges and biases. I watch my brothers and sisters endure so much heartache and pain from the oppressors of this world and I only wonder what I can do to help.

For starters, be an advocate. 

I am slowly and humbly learning how to be a voice for those whose voices are ignored or silenced. In this day of technology and social media this presents an incredible opportunity.

As many of you know already, this blog was created for the intent of making a woman's voice and experience known as I journeyed through seminary. But I feel it is time to broaden the horizon.

I have recently changed programs, from Old Testament to Justice and Mission– for the reasons stated above. And as the next three years of my life will be focused on pursuing, knowing, and doing justice, I figured it would be appropriate (and necessary) to broaden the voices heard through this blog.

And what a brilliant way to kick off this new chapter with Advent beginning next week.

For those who do not know, Advent is part of the Christian tradition. It includes the four weeks leading up to Christmas and is meant to create space to contemplate the Divine, recount the birth narrative of the Messiah, and wait expectantly for the Deliverer of Justice.

As our friend Google defines it:

Ad-vent:

noun

the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.

The reality is, Jesus entered into a violent world not as a privileged king, but as a lowly Jewish boy born to lowly Jewish parents.

We can learn so much of the heart and character of God through the narrative of the incarnation. So as the season of Advent begins next Sunday, I am beginning a series which focus on a different marginalized groups Jesus chose to include in his birth.

This series is entitled:

Jesus Loves the Marginalized

Jesus loves the marginalized, the oppressed, the refugees, the outcasts, and the privileged. And I hope this study will help us all to love each other a little bit more, and grow in compassion for those in need.

Come thou long expected Jesus

Born to set thy people free

From our fears and sins release us

Let us find our rest in thee

Born thy people to deliver

Born a child and yet a king

Born to reign forever

Now thy gracious kingdom bring

UNTIL NEXT SUNDAY

- - O V E R  A N D  O U T .

F is for Feminism and Foreskins

I am now officially over a month into my seminary career, and it has been quite the ride already. 

I have learned some stuff, met some people, and read a million pages of various books.

For anyone who knows me, you know I have mastered the skill of doing as little as possible to still pass a class. That means: almost never reading, writing papers the night before, and showing up to class at least 75% of the time. 

Well, I decided this time around I would be more responsible...which means I actually have to contribute to my education and put forth effort to learn. WHAT. 

However, I am finding reading for class makes learning much easier! Imagine that. 

I am also discovering some really funny and empowering stories tucked away in the Hebrew Bible. 

L I K E  T H E  F O L L O W I N G . . .

(This picture is not entirely relevant to the rest of the post, I just like pictures)

In reading through Exodus for my Old Testament class, I came upon a gem of a passage. It includes drama, a death threat, feminism, and forced circumcision. Everything needed for a great story.

B U T  F I R S T : a quick narrative background. 

Background: Moses was a Hebrew boy born in Egypt during a time when the Pharaoh had ordered the death of every newborn Hebrew boy– the Hebrew population was growing too numerous. Being the sneaky mom she was, Moses' mother placed him in a basket and floated him along the banks of the nile. Luckily, the Pharaoh's daughter found him while bathing, raised him, and he became a prominent member in Egyptian society. 
One day Moses witnessed an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, out of anger he killed the Egyptian. When word had spread of this incident, Moses fled to the land of Midian where he gallantly saved seven sisters from creepy shepherds who tried to assert their authority over the women and steal all the water from the well. The father of the sisters was so happy he gave his daughter Zipporah in marriage to Moses. Classic patriarchy. 
He lived in Midian with his new family for quite a long time, until the famous burning bush incident- where God spoke to Moses through a burning bush telling him to leave Midian and return to Egypt to save Israel. 
So Moses, Zipporah, and their son took off for Egypt and this is where our story begins.

On the trip, at an overnight campsite, it happened that the LORD confronted
 [Moses] and sought to put him to death. So Zipporah took a flint,

cut off her son's foreskin, and threw it at Moses' feet. 

Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood to me!"

So the LORD let him alone.

(Exodus 4:24-25)

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD. 

When I first read this, my reaction was:

"What the crap is this?"

Which slowly turned into:

"Haha, foreskins."

Which eventually became:

"FEMINISM!"

Let me give you a little more background. CIRCUMCISION was the sign of the Covenant YHWH created with Abraham – the Father of Israel. This was an outward sign of one's faithfulness to the God of Israel, so every man in the tribe was to be circumcised or be cast out. For Israel, circumcision happened on the 8th day after a boy was born to symbolize one's willingness to submit himself to YHWH. For Egypt, circumcision happened (if at all) at the age of fourteen to symbolize coming into manhood. 

If Moses was to deliver a nation who is in covenant with YHWH, and he was not practicing the commands of that covenant with his own son, that would be awkward. And if Moses was to lead the nation of Israel, he learned the hard way that he would be held under strict discipline to be an example for YHWH's people.

Now, scholars debate whether or not it was actually YHWH who threatened to kill Moses, but that is not what is important in this passage. What is important is that Moses' life was at stake and Zipporah did something about it.

Take a moment and picture what went down. Let your imagination go wild. 

What would you do if you were traveling with your family and your husband's (or your) life was threatened because your son was not circumcised? Would you have the chutzpah to circumcise your son and throw it at your spouse's feet?

Zipporah delivered Moses so Moses could deliver Israel. 

I was going to end this study here. I was going to make a claim for women empowerment and note the significance of how Zipporah appeased YHWH on Moses' behalf. However, I realized there is much more to the story.

As I reflected upon Moses' life, I realized he had a habit of being saved by women.

The Hebrew midwives honoring life when Pharaoh ordered the death of all Hebrew baby boys:

"The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,

for they are vigorous and give birth before the 

midwife can get to them"

(Exodus 1:19)

His mother bravely defying Pharaoh's commands to keep her son alive:

The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son;
when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him
for three months. But when she could
no longer hid him, she got a papyrus basket...
She placed the child in it and set it among
the reeds by the bank of the Nile.
(Exodus 2:2-3)

The Pharaoh's daughter graciously taking Moses in as her own:

Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe at the Nile
while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. 
Seeing the basket among the reeds, she sent her slave girl to get it. 
When she opened it, she saw the child –
a little boy, crying. 
She felt sorry for him and said,
"This is one of the Hebrew boys."


W H A T  I S  T H E  S I G N I F I C A N C E ?

In this, we see YHWH including women in the narrative of Israel's deliverance from Egypt. In the midst of Patriarchy, Moses could not have been a woman, she would not have been taken seriously or allowed the same opportunities as a man. YHWH knew this, YHWH understood the culture with which YHWH was interacting. So YHWH used women in multiple instances to save Moses' life as a means to honor them. Without the courage and resourcefulness of all these women, Israel's history might have looked different. 

From this we understand that YHWH's heart has always been and will always be for the outcasts. YHWH could have easily chosen men to save Moses' life, yet women were chosen instead. YHWH chose to include women in the Exodus narrative as a way of saying:

You are worthy enough to be in My story. 

I see value in your gifts and character. 
Even though society pushes you down, I will lift you up. 

T H E  T A K E A W A Y :

Women, be encouraged that our voices are present in the Bible. 

We just need to shift the frame through which we read in order to hear. 

Do not be ashamed if you notice something patriarchy glances over or belittles. 

Your voice and your experience matters when you read Scripture, in fact, it is valued. 

We need more women and other minorities to speak up about your experiences when reading the Bible. 

Do not let the patriarchy bring you down. 

Thank you for reading. I would love to continue in conversation if you have questions. 

- - O V E R  A N D  O U T .

The (S)Hebrew Bible

As promised, I am writing a bit about my passion, fascination, and wonder of the Hebrew Bible. Or the (S)Hebrew Bible. I just made that up. Feminism. 

Raise your hand if you find the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) boring and confusing. 

Don't be shy, no one's looking. 

I'll admit, for the majority of my life I thought the Hebrew Bible pointless and annoying. Sure, Song of Songs made me giggle, and I guess the story of Moses was cool. But the rest of the stories did not excite me. It was just a bunch of weird names I could not pronounce of people who lived a ridiculously long time. 

Now, raise your hand if you find the Hebrew Bible violent and immoral. 

Incest, polygamy, genocide, deceit. Yikes. Those are some very mature themes the people of God decided to include in the holy scriptures. I know many a person who has either lost faith or dramatically stumbled over these themes, and rightly so. At first glance, they seem to portray the God of love and mercy as a God of anger and wrath. 

Finally, raise your hand if the Hebrew Bible has ever been used to oppress you.

A collection of books that is meant for freedom, equality, and justice is being used for oppression and injustice, what? Classic human nature. Women, it is unfortunate that this is all too real of a statement. Men, I'm sure you've been oppressed too, but it does not seem fair the entirety of scripture was written and pieced together in an incredibly patriarchal society. Without proper exegesis, these stories simply do not translate into our modern society. Along with gender inequality comes racial, socio-economic, and religious oppression. How do you think our Native American brothers and sisters feel when they read how God's people committed genocide on the Canaanites simply to take the land that was promised to them? Sounds a little too familiar to our American history.

This is precisely what I love about the Hebrew Bible. 

I T ' S  M E S S Y .

The Hebrew Bible undeniably does a great job at capturing the messiness of humanity. It is multifaceted. Everyone who comes to the Scriptures brings their own life experience,  and sometimes the outcome can be less than favorable. 

This collection of books is richly steeped in its culture. In order to understand the Hebrew Bible, we must understand the cultural world in which it was created. 

As good old Fee and Stuart once said, 

A text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or his or her readers. 

The key to understanding the Hebrew Bible is solid exegesis.

Ex-e-ge-sis:

noun

critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.

Thank you Google for that enlightening definition. 

--------

Now let's practice exegesis. 

This exegesis comes from one of the best podcasts I have every heard:

RobCast Episode 8: The Enduring Relevance, Astonishing Power, and Unexpected Brilliance of the Bible

T O  C L E A R  T H E  A I R :

Yes I listen to Rob Bell, and yes I think he is an incredibly gifted teacher. Regardless of where you stand with the whole, LOVE WINS debacle, Rob Bell still has many insightful and relevant teachings. 

So for a moment, let us lay down our pride and prejudices– not the novel by Jane Austen, rather the character traits we all have– and continue reading with an open hand as we delve right into one of the most offensive passages in the Hebrew Bible. 

Deuteronomy 21:10-14

When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God hands them over to you and you take some of them prisoner, and if you see a beautiful woman among the captives, desire her, and want to take her as your wife, you are to bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails, remove the clothes she was wearing when she was taken prisoner, live in your house, and mourn for her father and mother a full month. After that, you may have sexual relations with her and be her husband, and she will be your wife. Then if you are not satisfied with her, you are to let her go where she wants, but you must not sell her for money or treat her as merchandise, because you have humiliated her. 

Y I K E S . 

How is this allowed in our holy Scriptures? 

I'm sure all you women (and men) out there are incredibly offended. I know when I first read this passage I was! It is passages like this that enrage me and only add kindle to the fire of disliking the Old Testament. 

But what was it saying in its time?

Let us take a look into Ancient Near Eastern culture regarding the rules of war. 

In the ANE, if you crush an army, everything that was once theirs becomes yours and is treated like objects to do whatever you want with. 

That includes women. If you kill a man and find his wife attractive, you can take her home with you to be your wife and do whatever you want with. 

We see this concept in the Deuteronomy passage, yet something is different. 

1. She must shave her head, trim her nails, remove the clothes she was wearing when she was taken prisoner, live in your house, and mourn for her father and mother a full month.

This is humanizing the woman! By allowing her to mourn, the Israelites acknowledged her as a human being with emotions and gave her time to process losing her husband, family, and everything she once knew. 

Believe it or not, this was a radical step forward for women's rights in its time. To treat a woman like a human being, not a piece of property to do whatever you wanted with? The audacity! 

2.  Then if you are not satisfied with her, you are to let her go where she wants, but you must not sell her for money or treat her as merchandise, because you have humiliated her.

In the ANE, women had no rights. So, it was lawful to cast her out, or even sell her for money, if you were not pleased with her sexually. However, with no where to go, women often turned to prostitution in order to survive. 

Israel, however, was commanded to let her go free, which included giving her a certificate of divorce so she would have legal standing and a greater chance of survival without prostituting herself. 

Again, a radical step forward for women's rights!

When we read this in 2015 with no contextual understanding, this passage seems like an offensive, oppressive, and revolting text. But when we look at it through the lens of ANE culture, we see it is ruffling the feathers of patriarchy with the daring notion women are human beings and not objects. 

Now, have we come a long way in regards to women's rights since Deuteronomy 21? YES. 

Do we still have a long ways to go today in the quest for women's rights? YES. 

Society is still run by men. Prostitution still exists. Women are still raped. Women are still paid less.

It is important to understand that, 

The Bible exists on a continuum of human growth and consciousness. 

Through the entirety of Scripture, we see humanity growing and maturing on matters of human rights, justice, and equality. We have come a long ways, but we still have far to go. 

Let us read the Bible with grace, patience, and understanding– 

humanity and culture are in an entirely different place 

than we were thousands of years ago. 

Let us take the time to understand the cultural context of the passage we read 

instead of jumping to conclusions and casting it off. 

Let us remember the messiness of humanity, 

where we were and how far we have come. 

Let us treat the word of God with respect.

Thank you for reading. I would love to continue in conversation if you have questions. 

- - O V E R  A N D  O U T .

The Feminarian

You might be asking yourself, 

What's this blog about anyways?

Well, it is exactly as you might think it is based on the title.

I  a m  a  f e m i n i s t  g o i n g  t o  s e m i n a r y . 

Disclaimer: I haven't actually started classes yet. So come August 24, the above statement will be entirely true. For now, the sentiment will have to suffice as truth. 

                                                     

This is a picture of me (left), my husband Will (right), and our friend Molly (center) on the day my husband and I tied the ol' covenant knot. In a few short weeks, the three of us will begin our journeys in even higher education at Denver Seminary. 

In approximately three years, each of us should have the following degrees:

• Me: MA in Old Testament
• Molly: MDiv, concentration in Christian Formation and Soul Care
• Will: MDiv, concentration in Justice and Mission 

And here's why I am so excited.

I get to go to seminary with two of my best friends. 

We all graduated from Bethel University together and received degrees from the Biblical and Theological Studies department. So we already know everything there is to know about the Bible and theology. Joking. Plus, we've been through a lot together, like entire deconstructions of faith. Now we get to walk together as we pick up the pieces of what we once thought we knew and add it to all this new knowledge and experience we will encounter on our journey through seminary. Having friends is the best.

I get to study the Hebrew Bible. 

This is only my favorite of the two parts of the Bible! I will write a lengthy post later explaining my passion for the Hebrew Bible. In a nutshell, I am excited to learn how the Hebrew Bible speaks towards justice, gender and racial equality, and its relevancy in our lives today. Oh, and the Hebrew Bible is the same as the Old Testament, it is the bible of the Hebrew people. As Christians, they are seemingly interchangeable, but I prefer 'Hebrew Bible' as it is not offensive to our Jewish sisters and brothers. 

I get to live in Colorado again.

I spent the first 18 years of my life in 'The Mile High City.' Well, Aurora to be more exact. After spending the last four years in 'The Great White North' of Minneapolis, I am more than excited to live in Colorado again. Sunshine, not as many bugs, no humidity, mild winters, MOUNTAINS, Chick Fil A's on every corner...I could go on and on about my love for this state, but I shan't. I love Minnesota, but I will always love Colorado. 


So, stay tuned for more fun, theology, exegesis, and personal stories.

- - O V E R  A N D  O U T .