The Women in Jesus Life Ruth 4; Matthew 1 May 13, 2018 Please pray with me. God of enduring promise, you know our hearts and minds. Fill us with your thoughts and right action according to your design. Help us to be loving and kind. We know that you speak to us, and we listen for your wisdom now and in the days to come. Amen. Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother's Day is the early Christian festival known as Mothering Sunday..Julia Ward Howe, poet and activist and author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" first suggested the idea of Mothers' Day in 1870 as a day dedicated to peace. Anna Jarvis, another activist also promoted the idea of Mother s Day, wishing it could become a national holiday to honor mothers. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation naming the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country. It later went on to be commercialized by florists, restaurants, Hallmark and many others to the point that I don t believe many people, younger folks in particular, know the origin of the day. There were many women in the Bible, some peaceful and some not so peaceful, such as Deborah and Jael for instance. However, the women in Jesus life tended to be the peaceful ones and as I thought about Mother s Day I sensed a connection here. There were many women in Jesus life, mainly in a support role, 1
both financially and spiritually, and they were also disciples. I chose three to talk about today. Ruth, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. The story of Ruth is actually better known as the story of Ruth and Naomi. Naomi was an Israelite, a Jew, and because the family had travelled to Moab during the famine her sons married Moabite women a very different religion. Her husband and sons have died and Naomi decides to return to her birthplace. This could have been the end of the story except this was a very special relationship. It was a relationship where the greatest bond was faith in God, Naomi s faith and the faith she instilled in her daughter-in-law. It was a relationship of strong mutual commitment and a relationship in which each person tried to do what was best for the other. The lesson we learn here is that God s living presence in a relationship overcomes differences that might otherwise create division and disharmony. Two very different faiths, not mother and daughter, but mother-in-law and daughter-in-law what a combination for discord, but instead it was love and harmony. Naomi even helped arrange a marriage for Ruth with a kinsman of Ruth s late husband named Boaz, leading to the birth of their son, Obed, father of Jesse, who was father of King David, making Ruth the great, great, great, great grandmother of Jesus. Mary, the mother of Jesus was a happy, contented teenager who had recently become engaged to Joseph, a carpenter and was anticipating a happy married life. But God had other plans she was visited by the angel Gabriel who told her she would be mother to the Messiah. She had no idea how this would work out she wasn t even married. She became mother to the Messiah and the 2
one human who was with him from birth to death, teaching us that God s best servants are often ordinary people who make themselves available to him. Her character and her faith are revealed by the way she responds to the unexpected. She could have said no to Gabriel, no, I don t want to do that, I won t do that, but she didn t, she followed God s will. I find it interesting that her children are listed as Jesus, James, Joseph, Judas, Simon and daughters. Despite the strong character of many women in the Bible, most often they are never named. Mary suffered so much in her life, just living life was tough enough, but she saw her beloved son persecuted and crucified like a common criminal, yet she stayed by his side. Mary Magdalene. Now here is an interesting woman. For centuries she has been portrayed as a prostitute, a woman whom Jesus cast demons from, allowing her to then accompany him in his ministry around Galilee before witnessing his crucifixion, burial and resurrection in Jerusalem. Mary Magdalene was from a thriving fishing village on the Sea of Galilee named Magdala, hence her last name. This village has been excavated extensively by archaeologists in recent decades and modern scholars have adopted a different understanding of Mary Magdalene, now regarding her as one of Jesus most prominent disciples, who stood by him to the end while his most devoted apostles did not. Jennifer Ristine, director of the Magdalena Institute at Magdala states, Reanalyzing that reputation that she had, we can see she was probably a woman of greater social status, higher social status, a woman of wealth who accompanied Jesus as we see in Luke 8:2, helping Jesus and his disciples with her own resources. In 2016 Pope Francis took the biggest 3
step yet to rehabilitate Mary Magdalene s image by declaring a major feast day in her honor on June 22. This put her on par with the liturgical celebrations of the male apostles. Lucetta Scarrafia, editor of the Vatican-published Women Church World monthly magazine stated, By doing this, he established the absolute equality of Mary Magdalene to the apostles, something that has never been done before and is also a point of no return for women in the church. She was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection and has also been cast as Jesus wife based on the fact that in order to be a rabbi, one must be married, but there is little to back up that theory. Unlike Ruth and Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene apparently never had children, but she must have had many opportunities to be mother like as she followed Jesus and supported him financially and spiritually. There were numerous other women in the Bible who were strong, caring and compassionate women. Some of them were named as these three were, but some of them were not named because women were not considered important or equal to men in biblical times and for centuries after. I will admit there are still some glass ceilings, some poor treatment of women, especially in third world countries, but we are fortunate today to be loved, respected and treated equally for the most part. From these women we talked about today as well as women like Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis, we learn the lessons of caring for one another, respecting one another, loving one another, regardless of religious affiliation, skin color, language, physical ability or any other difference. It almost seems like too much to believe that we can all one day live together in peace, but I for sure will 4
continue to pray that we can eventually do that and try to do my part to bring it about. I urge us all, whether we are mothers or not, and yes, even you men, to pay special attention to those people, young or old, that we can be supportive of and helpful to in the coming weeks. We are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world we are the only hands and feet Jesus has in the world and it is up to us to spread his love and do his work. Amen 5