No human being in the New Testament -- besides Jesus -- listens better than Mary of Bethany. As we go deeper into Holy Week and come closer to the cross, consider the unmatched gift she gave him: the deep and profound gift of listening. And it’s not just a gift for him --for through her endeavor, we learn how profoundly active real listening...
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Bible women aren’t the only heroic women in our life of faith. Today, March 7, we celebrate Perpetua, a young mother who gave up her life rather than deny her love for Christ. Her story reminds me of brave women across the world who are making life and death decisions—often putting their very lives on the line—so that their children...
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Throughout history, especially on dark nights, women have protected and nurtured their own: nursing, loving, comforting, or fighting off intruders. Deep in the pages of Exodus, a mysterious story picks up on that same theme, but is a narrative unlike any other in the Bible. There, a woman named Zipporah, Moses’ first wife, rises up like a Minnesota wolf on...
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Book Review, Common English Women's Bible by Lindsay Hardin Freeman Jewish tradition offers a dynamic tool for interpreting the Bible: black fire and white fire. The words themselves are black fire, handed down from generation to generation. White fire is the space between words, the place where readers use their intellect, creativity and personal experience to better understand and assimilate the text. In...
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Don’t know about you, but I’m tired of women being passed over, especially those who stand up and tell the truth, whether it be at the workplace, in our communities, or at home. And there’s many women in the Bible who have been overlooked—among them, Huldah, the prophet. That’s right. Huldah, the prophet (2 Kings 22:14-20 and 2 Chronicles 2 34:22-33)....
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Political divisions. Strife. Grief. Unfortunately, all seem common these days. On this election day, I hope our country begins to heal. Sadly, it will take time. But there’s much to be said for the theme, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Thousands of years ago, five girls faced similar grief and division that would have taken down most of their peers....
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One of my great-grandmothers was named Achsah Jane Curry. I don’t know much more about her than this: she was Scotch-Irish, blind, and smoked a corn cob pipe (or so it says on the back of an old family picture). I like her already just hearing that, even though smoking is a terrible habit. (Yikes...
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Last in the series: “Women and War” Sometimes there are stories in your mind and heart that will not go away—and this is one. The biblical narrative of the woman who ate her son turned the stomachs of our research group when we came upon it, deep in 2 Kings. Here, amidst the horrors of war (8th century BCE), in a terrible bargain,...
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I come to this week with a heavy heart. My lifelong friend Michelle died two weeks ago, unexpectedly and without warning. In the Great Litany (1549), Thomas Cranmer prays that we might be saved from dying "suddenly and unprepared." Michelle was an international judo champion, a strong and independent soul. I suspect that forensic tests will show that she experienced significant...
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