10.01.09
Jesus Sets the Widow Free
I’ve been reading an excellent book by Carolyn Curtis James titled “The Gospel of Ruth”. One of the issues addressed by this book is the effects of widowhood which Naomi and Ruth faced in a patriarchal culture.
In the patriarchal culture women derived their value and significance from their connection with men – through their husbands and in bearing a son to carry on the family name and lineage.
Widowhood threw Naomi and Ruth into membership with those who held the lowest position of this day’s society. They lived in a culture that swept widows aside. They were considered to be a ‘drain’ on the family and on society and as having little or no value.
The meaning of the Hebrew word for widow (almanah) voices the widows low rank in this culture. ‘Almanah’ is derived from the root word ‘alem’ which means, “unable to speak”. Widowhood made these women silent – without voice. Without a husband to speak and act on their behalf they had no voice, no legal rights, and no recourse against injustice. They faced a future which held frightening defenselessness and vulnerability.
Reading of the widow’s marginalization in the patriarchal culture caused me to stop and consider Jesus’ parable of the widow seeking justice from an unrighteous judge who did not fear God (Luke 18:2-5).
As I re-examined this parable my eyes were opened to how truly astonishing and radical this parable was to His hearers – how Jesus’ words shook the norm of their culture and contained the power to knock down their patriarchal traditions.
Jesus’ words in this parable radically flew “in the face” of this culture as He spoke of a widow who had a voice – she was not made silent by her widowhood. She did not lose her voice because she no longer had a connection through a man. I can see the mouths of His hearers drop open in amazement at His words as they elevated the widow from a place of no voice to her rightful place of “having voice”.
Jesus did not stop there. He went on to say this widow not only had a voice, she was able to use her voice to seek for justice for herself – she was not dependent upon a male protector to go before the judge on her behalf. I can hear His hearers gasping in astonishment. This statement was totally radical not only for widows but for all women. Jesus’ words contained the power to “rock” this society as they 1) allowed all women a voice on their own behalf and no longer be dependent upon a male protector to speak for them, and as they 2) elevated the testimony of women to a place of value and worth in a culture that held all “women’s testimony to be suspect”.
We miss so much truth because we do not understand the traditions of the culture to which Jesus spoke. We read the scripture through our cultural understanding. In doing so we do not see the radical statements being made by Jesus through His teaching and parables. We fail to see the “power of the gospel” at work to set free and liberate those held in bondage of religion and man’s traditions.
Jesus’ words in this parable radically loosed women who were held under the bondage of the rules of a patriarchal society. Jesus lifted women back to their original position at creation – equal value and equal position with men. That is the “power of the gospel” at work.
This parable still contains the “power of the gospel” to loose and set free women whose cultures still bind them to positions of value and significance based upon their connection to men. The radical “power of the gospel” is still at work in these nations elevating women to full and equal membership with men in all positions of society.
I can see the “power of the gospel” still at work in this parable as it is preached in the Middle East. I can see the women of these nations, who have traditionally had no voice, hear this parable and find their voice through the power of Jesus’ words. That’s the “power of the gospel” still at work.
I can see the men of these nations hearing this parable and stepping to the side to allow women to step beside them as equals. That’s the “power of the gospel’ still at work.
The astonishing and radical words of Jesus in this parable have not ceased to contain the power to loose and set free. The “power of the gospel” is still present and at work in them.
