"Jesus died and rose from the dead." While not exactly a ho-hum expression, we often take it for granted. Think then, of the resurrection from another angle: What if no one had been there when Jesus walked out of that tomb? Would he have slogged through the streets of Jerusalem, perhaps winding up at Peter’s house? Would he have made his way to...
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You don’t expect it to happen at “Gentle Yoga,” of all places. But the other day, as I was standing in line at the YMCA, mat in hand, a white-haired woman in sweatpants, built like a truck, walked up to me. “Get out of the way,” she said. “I always go in first.” She’d done the same thing before. I’d moved over...
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It seems that the world has been filled with purple this week in memory of Prince…but for those of us who love stories of women in the Bible, the color purple also belongs to Lydia. And Lydia comes up this Sunday, in the RSV lectionary. Lydia’s biblical story, recounted in Acts 16:13-15, begins near water outside the town of Philippi, where...
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Why does Martha of Bethany have such a bad reputation? Because she’s so organized? Because she complained to Jesus? (I like that about her; it takes some chops to complain to The Guy.) Here’s the well-known part of her story (Luke 10:38-42): Martha is cooking dinner for Jesus and the disciples. Sister Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening. Martha needs...
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My goodness. Dreams in scripture are a big deal. They’re all over the place in the Old and New Testaments…twenty-one of them to be exact,* not including various visions…and only one is reported by a woman. The woman is, of course, Pontius Pilate’s wife. Remembered as a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church, she is also seen as a possible secret...
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This Saturday, on August 15th, Christians around the world will celebrate the life and witness of Mary. What do we know about her? Why does she matter? She is Jesus’ mother. Everything we know about her springs from that relationship. Well known are her life events: her encounter with the angel Gabriel; the haste with which she fled to see Elizabeth; the birth of Jesus...
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Sensual. Tender. Loving. Discerning. Clearly Mary of Bethany was Jesus' soulmate. How else might we describe a woman who sits at Jesus’ feet, listens carefully to his every word, pours expensive oil over said feet, then dries them with her hair? Jesus has no better friend; no better listener; no better soul partner. The setting: Martha’s small home in Bethany. A scant two...
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There was a hidden woman in last Sunday’s readings, one who dances through three of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark and John), and one who challenges us to link the dots to connect her story. She’s behind the scenes, probably at home, as the familiar "I will teach you how to fish for people" story opens in Mark: “Jesus saw James the son...
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Movie stars have the Oscar awards, world leaders the Nobel prizes, TV the Emmy awards...
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