Luke 20:27-38
They don't see her. They want to name her as property, as something which is dead already. She does not exist without her husbands. And Jesus, as he always does, give an answer which reclaims her. God is a God of the living not the dead. In that one simple statement she does not belong to anyone. She is set free from the conventions that only make her worth in relation to the men who use her. She is what she was when she lived.
Because we are just coming away from a whole month dedicated to women we sometimes don't see I want us to look more deeply at these women and what is our call if we are a part of the God of the living. First are the women of domestic violence. They are mostly not seen, they are told to stay in marriages that kill them by the church. They are told they are exaggerating their stories when they come out because all anyone sees is a nice man. They are even being prosecuted by the laws which were created to protect them better. They die and we say things like, "I don't understand it, he was a wonderful man to everyone." That's exactly the point. Their true colors show to no one except behind closed doors.
The things we can do is to believe their stories when they tell them. Don't tell them they are telling impossible tales about someone who is respected. Believe them and give them the safe space to be able to come to when they are looking for help. Give them that spot of comfort and rest they need in order to make the decisions which will hopefully keep them safe.
The other women we don't see are those who deal with pregnancy loss. It is like we don't want to hear their stories because they bring the death of a child too close to us. I have heard people say things like it's unhealthy how they are mourning and holding onto the memory. They really should get over it. They need to let it go. Yet loss is loss and they need to grieve in their own ways. They have to embrace and lay to rest something precious and dear and our discomfort with it is not the answer. Listen, love, and let them show you what ways are healthy for them. They need to tell the story, even if the child was a miscarriage. Just remember how alive the babe was to you when you were carrying. This is a loss of all the hopes and dreams a new life brings. It is also very alive to those of us who carry, there is already a bond and the loss has to be grieved.
The other women we don't see are the women who have served our country. It has taken many years before a monument has ever been erected in memory of those who gave their lives. Many years ago they were only nurses, but they were the ones who risked everything to heal. To make sure some of our young men came home. They shouldn't have to fight to be remembered or recognized. Their sacrifice was just as important and just as meaningful as the men who served. The main issue now is for their health. VA hospitals were always set up for men, they were not meant to treat women and this has put a new crop of women at risk as they come home from serving and are frustrated in their attempts to receive care. We need to be sure these women are not forgotten when they come home.
God is a God of the living. The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. The God of Sarah and Hagar; Rebekah; Rachel, Leah and the unremembered concubines of theirs who were given to Jacob by Leah and Rachel. I can't remember their names, can you? Maybe its time we read again about their lives so we might remember them. The lives they shaped in our Biblical story, the lives they lived to show us the way of faith. So we see them at last as a part of what has shaped the story. Isaac wasn't given the name laughter because Abraham laughed, it was Sarah.
They don't see her. They want to name her as property, as something which is dead already. She does not exist without her husbands. And Jesus, as he always does, give an answer which reclaims her. God is a God of the living not the dead. In that one simple statement she does not belong to anyone. She is set free from the conventions that only make her worth in relation to the men who use her. She is what she was when she lived.
Because we are just coming away from a whole month dedicated to women we sometimes don't see I want us to look more deeply at these women and what is our call if we are a part of the God of the living. First are the women of domestic violence. They are mostly not seen, they are told to stay in marriages that kill them by the church. They are told they are exaggerating their stories when they come out because all anyone sees is a nice man. They are even being prosecuted by the laws which were created to protect them better. They die and we say things like, "I don't understand it, he was a wonderful man to everyone." That's exactly the point. Their true colors show to no one except behind closed doors.
The things we can do is to believe their stories when they tell them. Don't tell them they are telling impossible tales about someone who is respected. Believe them and give them the safe space to be able to come to when they are looking for help. Give them that spot of comfort and rest they need in order to make the decisions which will hopefully keep them safe.
The other women we don't see are those who deal with pregnancy loss. It is like we don't want to hear their stories because they bring the death of a child too close to us. I have heard people say things like it's unhealthy how they are mourning and holding onto the memory. They really should get over it. They need to let it go. Yet loss is loss and they need to grieve in their own ways. They have to embrace and lay to rest something precious and dear and our discomfort with it is not the answer. Listen, love, and let them show you what ways are healthy for them. They need to tell the story, even if the child was a miscarriage. Just remember how alive the babe was to you when you were carrying. This is a loss of all the hopes and dreams a new life brings. It is also very alive to those of us who carry, there is already a bond and the loss has to be grieved.
The other women we don't see are the women who have served our country. It has taken many years before a monument has ever been erected in memory of those who gave their lives. Many years ago they were only nurses, but they were the ones who risked everything to heal. To make sure some of our young men came home. They shouldn't have to fight to be remembered or recognized. Their sacrifice was just as important and just as meaningful as the men who served. The main issue now is for their health. VA hospitals were always set up for men, they were not meant to treat women and this has put a new crop of women at risk as they come home from serving and are frustrated in their attempts to receive care. We need to be sure these women are not forgotten when they come home.
God is a God of the living. The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. The God of Sarah and Hagar; Rebekah; Rachel, Leah and the unremembered concubines of theirs who were given to Jacob by Leah and Rachel. I can't remember their names, can you? Maybe its time we read again about their lives so we might remember them. The lives they shaped in our Biblical story, the lives they lived to show us the way of faith. So we see them at last as a part of what has shaped the story. Isaac wasn't given the name laughter because Abraham laughed, it was Sarah.
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