Rev. George
Miller
Aug 2, 2020
Genesis 31:26-28,
30-35
It’s finally here- after
years of waiting, it’s Women’s Equality Month, a time to celebrate the 100th
Anniversary of Women getting the right to vote.
To commemorate this historic
event, we’re studying female-focused scriptures that deal with issues of family,
abuse, and discrimination.
Today we start by celebrating
the strength of women. Recently, there’s
been a lot of examples to pull from.
The Wall of Mothers, boldly standing
before the protestors, linking arms, creating a maternal shield for the children,
grandchildren, nieces, and nephews who stood behind them.
Naked Aphrodite who danced before
armed men, using nothing more than her body and her poise to disarm and cause them
to scatter.
Then there’s rapper Rubi
Rose. She created an OnlyFans page, an
on-line service in which men paid $49 a month, assuming they’d see intimate photos
of the most private kind.
They were private alright- Rubi
posted photos of her folded laundry; making $100,000 in just 2 days, using men’s
most basic desire to her advantage.
These stories feature women
who faced the system using who they are and what they have to protect, to speak
out, and to earn a living.
After all, who’s going to face
a wall of wooden spoons and chanclas? Who’s
going to arrest a naked woman while she’s doing pirouettes?
Who’s going to ask for their
money back because they got tricked into seeing photos of shorts and shirts?
These women join a long lineage
of other women who know how to play the game and do what is needed.
Think of those we have
already studied. Queen Esther who speaks
up and saves her people from annihilation.
Lydia who meets Paul at the
river and sets up one of the 1st churches.
Today we explore one of my favorite
archetype- the “Trickster”.
Tricksters are characters who
do what they need to do in order to preserve life.
They are often the oppressed
and ignored who may appear helpless, but have been watching the rules of the
game, figuring out their next move.
Tricksters may not have guns
or money or judges in their back pocket, but they have something else- smarts
and wit.
The Old Testament is full of
these bold and brave women. There’s Shiprah
and Puah who ignore pharaoh’s order to kill the Hebrew babies.
When asked why they play up his
prejudice, saying “Oh these foreign women are so unlike us, they’re strong and
give birth before we can get there!”
When pharaoh later tells the
Hebrews to toss their male children into the river, Moses’ mother does just
that, but not before placing him into a basket!
Then there is Rachel- the OG
Trickster.
Some back story- Jacob has
run away from his family after doing a very bad thing. He comes to Haran where he meets the beautiful
Rachel.
They fall in love, but on
the night of their marriage, Rachel’s father fools Jacob into marrying her
older sister.
After the deceit is discovered,
Jacob and Rachel do get married, but Rachel never forgets how her father
treated her like an object.
20 years later, Jacob and Rachel
have had it up to here with her dad’s actions.
Rachel says to Jacob “Our father
has treated us like foreigners. He’s
sold us like things. He’s used up all
the money due to us and our children.”
So they pack up and flee, but
not before Rachel does something daring- she steals her father’s household gods,
objects that signify power and prestige.
It was thought that whoever had
the household gods had a claim on the family inheritance.
Rachel is sick and tired of
being sick and tired, so she sits right on top of them.
When her father catches them
he is enraged. “Who stole my gods?” he
asks. He searches every tent with no luck.
When he comes to Rachel, she
sits there, cool, calm. She doesn’t budge,
or raise her voice, or point a weapon.
She simply says, “Pardon me,
my lord, but it’s that time of the month and I simply can’t stand up.”
Mission accomplished.
This humorous tale of Rachel
using her wits is a marvelous story, meant to give the readers delight. No doubt women shared it with friends and
daughters when they were around campfires, or when they hit hard times like the
exodus or exile.
This story celebrates the
human will to survive. It celebrates female
strength.
It’s a simple story with so
many levels.
1st, it acknowledges
the very thing women can do that no man can- bring forth life.
This is a story that says
that the strongest power in the world is the ability to give birth.
There’s the pun taking place. Rachel’s dad thinks the household gods are powerful.
What does Rachel do? She sits on them. In doing so she now has all the strength.
Rachel is reclaiming what is
rightfully hers. Her father treated her
like an object, so she takes his objects; she takes back her inheritance.
Rachel does all these things
not by raising her voice or resorting to name calling, but simply playing upon
the sexism and ignorance of her day.
If her father is afraid of
her ability to give life; then she’s going to use that fear to her advantage.
Here Rachel is, seemingly
powerless-
-she is not the father
-she is not the husband
-she’s not even the oldest
sister.
Rachel is a daughter and a
wife and the second born. All the things
used by society to say “You’re no one.”
Rachel was supposed to be
powerless; she was supposed to be property; she was supposed to be subservient.
Instead, she bucks the
social norms, she acts, she’s independent, she’s cunning.
Without having to move at
all, Rachel takes back her legacy.
She stands up to the most
powerful man in her life by sitting down.
Rachel becomes the most powerful
person in today’s story.
Rachel is Rubi Rose, she is
Naked Athena, she is the Wall of Mothers.
No weapon. No lawsuits.
No threat of physical violence.
By staying still and embracing
the most powerful source of life, Rachel finds a way to change her world, face
injustice, and continue her family’s journey with the one true God.
Thanks to those who wrote
these stories down, Rachel’s spirit dwells within each of us, even today.
For that we can say “Amen.”
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