Rremembering that both Mary and Elizabeth are integral to the stories of Jesus and John the Baptist, helps to shed some light on how important community and relationship is to God. Neither Jesus nor John the Baptist came into existence completely on their own. They came into existence through the limitations and wonder of very human bodies, relying on families and larger communities to raise and form them into the people they were called to be, who would disrupt the religious and political systems of that time. Communities of support have the blessing and burden of helping to form each member of the community - we see this in our world now, through families, chosen families, faith communities, service organizations, schools, and every group that we join. I wonder what lessons or phrases echoed in Jesus’ and John the Baptist’s minds as they began and led their ministries. And, which of those did they learn from their mothers? Which of those were recorded and continue to nurture our faith development today?

CW: infertility, pregnancy, childbirth

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Each of these stories shows how the definition of who is included as part of God’s people continues to expand throughout the generations, pointing us ahead to the New Testament where people across the world are included in God’s people. Including these women in the genealogy of Jesus means that their entire identities and story is included, even the parts that make our stomachs churn. This points to God’s presence in the midst of hard and awful things and in the events that follow. It reminds us that there is nothing God’s people can do that will sever the relationship between God and God’s people. Their stories invite us into a practice of remembering the history of our ancestors of faith, locating ourselves and the events of our time within these ancient stories, and discerning how God is calling us to be faithful in loving, caring for, and serving our neighbors now.

CW: genocide, sex trafficking, rape, and child loss

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This entire book uses the marriage between Hosea and Gomer as an extended metaphor for God’s relationship with God’s people. This doesn’t mean that we strive for infidelity in our relationships or that we force ourselves to stay in relationships where infidelity is happening.

This is a book that draws out the reality that God’s people, even today, continue to be unfaithful in how we tend our side of our relationship with God, how we worship, how we live with one another, and how we care for and serve our neighbors. Absolutely none of us get it right all of the time.

Using this as a metaphor I think does point to the persistent and relentless love of God, that seeks us out no matter how far we move away from or try to move away from God.

Gomer is a reminder that there is no place we can go where God’s love will not find us and call us back; that there is no amount we can mess up that will fully sever God’s love and relationship with us. It is never ending and irrevocable.

CW: infidelity in marriage, sexual shaming

Sharing these stories together highlights several things:

the necessity of consent in relationships,

the importance of voices from the margin having access to individuals in power,

the reality of treating humans as resources and commodities, a practice that continues today,

the power of using your influence to advocate for marginalized people, and

the importance of honesty and truth-telling in the face of abuses of power.

This isn’t a story of two meek women, pushed to the side. In this book, they are lifted up for their uses of power, one met with hostility and one met with acceptance. There are themes that are still prevalent in our world today, which means these ancient stories are still relevant, helping guide us in how we interact with and treat one another.

CW: sex trafficking, slavery

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This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Hannah.

Hannah’s story is a brief one, but an important part of the story of God’s people. Samuel was integral in spiritual leadership as God’s people transitioned from being led by judges to being governed by a monarchy. Her faithfulness in prayer and in honoring commitments and promises to God had used to point to God’s faithfulness even when it seems like hope should not exist. Hannah shows up in congregations and hearts across the world, through those who are bearing things that are simply too heavy to be spoken out loud, but they have the ability to show up in spaces and offer silent prayers. These are the people who appear as though they are put together, but who do not speak during worship services; it’s too hard. This is where the gift of a community steps in - the community participates in worship and prays the words out loud on behalf of the ones who simply CANNOT, until the day comes when they are able to rejoin. Hannah is a reminder that all prayer is valid and every person is welcome in God’s presence, even when religious leaders may think or say otherwise. Hannah is proof that when it feels like God is absent, God is still present.

CW: infertility

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Jael, Deborah, and Huldah.

Each of these women show up in the story of God’s people in surprising ways: Deborah as the only female judge recorded in scripture, Jael as an unexpected warrior and hero, Huldah as a female prophet within the temple. All of their stories, when added together, only make up a very small portion of the story of God’s people. And yet, their stories are included; without them the story of how God acted in the world and was present with God’s people would look different. They are reminders that even if their stories take up less space on the printed page than their male contemporaries, God will call and work through anyone, regardless of their gender and entirely because God has given them the gifts needed to lead in that particular moment.

CW: war, murder

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This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of the Women in Exodus.

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Dinah and Tamar.

These stories are hard. They remind us that life in ancient Mesopotamia was violent. Families united against family, sometimes resulting in fighting, sometimes resulting in death. The use of force, especially against women was common. Women did not have full authority to approve or deny who they would marry. These stories grate against most of our understanding of how the world should work, this sounds so different from how we treat one another now.

But, my friends, we know this story also tells us some truths about how little progress we have made in how we treat one another. Violence and sexual violence against women still occurs and is still a method of warfare. Countries are still seeking to have more land and more resources, invading another area once they have the strength they need. Families still have generations-long feuds with one another, that though they are not as violent as what happened in Shechem in these stories, are still passed on through the generations.

In the midst of a portion of scripture that tends to focus on the patriarchs of our faith, the stories of these two women were recorded and discerned to be integral to the entire story of God’s people that they have remained part of scripture. They are reminders of how power and control can quickly cause us to harm others, when we exploit them for our own gains and desires. May their stories call us back to who God has called us to be - co-workers seeking to restore peace and wholeness in the world.

CW: infertility, rape/sexual violence, and genocide

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This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Rebekah and Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, and Rachel.

This story that stretches across a large portion of the book of Genesis is not one that is easy to read. There is deep brokenness present within this family, divides so deep that set the stage for the narrative that will come next and will shape the identity of God’s people and influences how God’s people relate to one another today.

These are stories that seem to simultaneously buck against the patriarchal systems of the time through Rachel working as a shepherd, side-by-side in the wilderness with other male shepherds, with no one being scandalized. But, then the patriarchy shows up again in how Laban uses Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, and Rachel as pawns in attempts to earn more wealth and status for himself, along with years of free service from Jacob.

There is abuse and sexual abuse throughout these stories. Even though they were abiding by common practices at the time, these practices stripped Zilpah and Bilhah of agency over their own bodies; they could not grant or deny access. And, at least in the case of Bilhah, this spanned male members of multiple generations of the same family.

In the midst of this, God claims this family to be the origin of God’s people. It is through Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, Rachel, and Jacob that generations of God’s people trace their genetic and spiritual lineage. It is through this broken family that God’s promise made with Abraham and Sarah is fulfilled; this is the beginning of those generations that would be so large that they would be impossible to count. This is a sign of God’s faithfulness, but there is also cost to those involved.

CW: infertility, rape and sexual violence, slavery

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Hagar & Sarai/Sarah.

The intertwined stories of Hagar and Sarah can call us to examine things like how those in power, either willingly or unknowingly, cause harm to those without that same power and privilege. These stories can call us to work toward an end to sex trafficking and creating a culture of consent surrounding how our bodies are used by others. This has implications for intimate sexual relationships as well as how individuals with disabilities receive care and are included in decision-making processes.

These stories can call us to examine how people with various intersecting identities and varying amounts of power currently treat others and how we can work toward equity. Learning these stories may uncover the church’s tendency toward hiding abuse that happens within its structure and calling us to rehumanize those who have been harmed and work toward justice. These stories can be models of how to talk with God, being honest with where we are struggling to be faithful, and God’s continual presence in the midst of heartache.

These stories are reminders that we simply cannot take them at face value; we are called to look more deeply, to notice the small details that humanize the characters, and to wonder about the pieces that are missing so that we can work toward a more wholistic understanding of God and God’s presence from the time these individuals lived all the way to us today.

CW: infertility, rape and sexual violence, slavery, child abuse, and domestic abuse