Rev. George
Miller
August 15,
2021
Judith
9:7-12
Growing up in the 70’s there
was a television tradition that many people participated in- the yearly viewing
of “The Sound Of Music.”
Every year, you could count
on Maria to take us to the mountaintop and the Von Trapp family to liven our
hearts.
There’s a scene that’s stayed
with me, forever shaping my philosophical view.
Towards the end of the film the
Von Trapp’s at a convent, about to escape.
The enemy goes to start his car to pursue them, but it won’t start.
A nun dressed in full habit,
slyly shows her sister the carburetor, and gleefully gives a shrug of “Oh well.”
The idea that a nun would take
a carburetor from a car seemed so delightfully naughty…and yet so right.
Because of her sneaky act,
she assisted in saving the family.
So….years later in college, while
taking philosophy classes that discussed truth, lies, greater good etc., this
was the image that always lingered.
When is telling a lie a good
thing? When is deceit the noble thing to
do?
For me, there is no doubt,
that the carburetor snatching sister did the right thing and God would approve.
That’s my opinion; you are free
to have yours.
What we discussing today is
the character of the Trickster.
We have talked about this
before- the Trickster is a common character in many stories that are told by
people who are, at the moment, powerless.
The Trickster is the one who
finds a way to fool their enemy or use sneaky tactics to get what’s been withheld.
Bugs Bunny and the Road
Runner are tricksters as they outwit Elmer Fudd and Wiley Coyote.
Lucy and Ethel are
tricksters as they find ways to circumvent the controlling hand of Ricky.
The Fast and
Furious
franchise is all about tricksters using cars and modern technology to thwart
their opponent.
You will find the Trickster in
stories that feature black, brown, poor, enslaved and female characters.
The Bible is full of Trickster
moments.
Jacob who convinces his
father-in-law to give him all the imperfect sheep, knowing that overtime he
will get the bigger flock.
Rachel, who hides her abusive
father’s family idols by sitting on them and saying “But Dad, I simply can’t
stand up because it’s my time of the month.”
Shiphrah and Puah who
disobey the pharaohs command to kill the babies, and have the audacity to stand
before him saying “But your highness, these Hebrew women are so hearty that they
give birth before we can get there!”
Jesus had his own trickster moments. He uses parables as a reply, answers
questions with other questions. His way
of saying “If you say so,” when standing before the court.
The Trickster is a beloved
trope in the Bible, further challenging our faith, understanding of God, and
when is it right to blur the lines of reality.
The Commandments say that we
are not to bear false witness against our neighbor…but is it ok to bear false
witness if it means saving a neighbor?
Here is where our study of
Judith continues. We have this sensual,
powerful woman who knows how to use her assets to play into the weaknesses of ego-driven
men…
…and she appears to do so
with God’s guidance and consent.
But first- a recap. The people of Judea are back from exile and have
resumed in-person worship.
The Big Bad King
Nebuchadnezzar is having a hissy fit, killing all the nations who would not
play with him.
His general, Holofernes has
132,000 soldiers surrounding Judea.
The people of Judea have
prayed and prepared, and are ready to fight, but their water supply has been cut
off, and if it doesn’t rain in 5 days, they will either have to surrender or
die of thirst.
Judith, a widow with beauty,
wit, and charm, harnesses her knowledge and faith of God, goes to the men to tell
them she is about to get things done.
The guys say “That’s nice,
little lady. Now go home and pray for rain.”
But Judith, with a bravery
based on God, refuses to be put in the corner.
She goes to her estate, lays
on the ground, puts ashes on her head and cries out to God.
She recounts how God fought
with her ancestor Simeon who avenged his sister’s rape.
She asks God for strength to
do what she has planned- to use the cunning words of her lips to destroy the
General. Judith says-
“For your strength does not
depend on numbers, nor your might on the powerful. You are God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed,
upholder of the weak, protector of the forsaken, savior of those without hope.”
“Please, please, please, God
of our ancestors, Lord of heaven and earth, King of Creation, hear my prayer.”
Listen to those words! Her strength!
Hear her willingness to do whatever it takes to keep God’s people safe!
Listen to how she asks God
to allow her deceit to defeat the enemy.
Hear the audacity of a woman
who knows the stories of her people- of Jacob, Rachel, of Shiphrah and Puah.
Hear how her clever use of words
continues the theme of “Who is God?” When
you are in the wilderness, who is the beloved you lean upon?
There is no doubt that YAHWEH
is her Lord, her King, her savior.
Observe how prayer is used
to create possibilities. Judith is a
woman of action and planning, a person who turns to prayer as the foundation of
who she is and how she interacts with God.
Laying down, ashes, sackcloth,
crying, recalling, requesting, praising.
And when she is done…
…Judith stands up, washes
her body, anoints her skin, does herself up, affixes a tiara upon her head.
She gathers the tools she
will use to destroy the enemy-
A skin of wine, a flask of
oil, a bag of grain, fine bread, dried fig cakes, and her best China.
Looking like the most
beautiful person on the face of the earth, Judith and her maid strut to the
edge of the city. She commands the men “Order
the gates to be opened to me so that I may do what none of ya’ll have been able
to do.”
The men watch as Judith and
her maid go down the mountain, pass through the valley, and disappear from
sight….
Oh, weee! Have we got a story here!
5 days away from defeat, an
entire city dying of thirst, an army of 132,000 soldiers and one very amorous
general surrounding them, Judith and her maid enter into the wilderness with
only
Her wit
Her God
Her supplies
Her beauty.
How can a fig possibly win against
a sword?
How can a tiara possibly
overcome a tyrant?
How can wit prove victorious
in a war?
How can an invisible God who
cares about the weak and lowly win against a king with 132,000 soldiers at his
command?
And what do we think of Judith
praying to God, asking God to bless the deceit of her lips?
How do we feel knowing that
a righteous, religiously upright woman has asked God to help her lie?
What do we do with this
information that God may be Ok with a woman using beauty, charm, sex, and wine
to save her people?
Is there any wonder that
this book was not included in the Bible?
Could you imagine how different things might have been if it was?
Judith, like the nun in “The
Sound Of Music” is going to do what is needed to preserve life and to stop injustice.
Judith, like Shiphrah and
Puah, like Bugs Bunny and the Roadrunner, is going to mock the very one who
wanted to hurt her and her people.
Judith, like Lucy and Ethel,
is about to put on a show that no one ever expected to see.
Judith, like Jesus, is going
to become a savior for her people. And
how she does it will surprise us.
Here ends today’s
message. But may our thoughts continue to
ask-
-What’s the difference between
fact and truth?
-
Who is God?
-
Why do we pray?
And now, in addition, we also
ask
-
What would we do to save the lives of others, and would God approve?
Though we are left with more
questions than answers, let us say “Amen.”
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