Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today - Commentary

Rebekah: Playing Favorites pg. 51 into 52: "When God calls, or "chooses" us, He sends His Holy Spirit to woo us..." This is an interesting idea, this idea of being "betrothed or engaged" to God. Do you have a sense that you have been chosen by God? What does that mean to you? God chooses each and every one of us as His children and considers us special and unique for who we are. The Holy Spirit, the source or faith, touches our inner most being, like a sacred matchmaker, and draws us into relationship with Jesus. Where that relationship goes from there is not scripted and it is filled with its up's and down's as any relationship is. But unlike our human relationships, where we have a tendency to learn the hard way that we dare not set ourselves up for failure by expecting to change the other person, God, through Jesus, fully expects to change us, to make us worthy of the relationship simply through the gift of love and forgiveness, and to send us as changed people into a challenging world to share that good news. It's worth spending some time thinking about, this idea of being "joined" with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, Jesus as the "bridegroom". This very idea was the source of much of early Christian mysticism, and there were many women mystics, mostly nuns, who were prominent spiritual advisors, even to men, in the early church. pg. 52: Saying "yes" to Jesus. This is an on-going, lifelong process. Some of us can distinctly remember a time in our lives when we essentially said yes to faith in Christ. But for many of us it seems as if that faith has always been there. As Lutheran believers we don't believe in a one-time all consuming and all powerful lightning bolt experience or decision making process. Yes, it does happen for some people that way and when it does it's really cool, but for most of us, and even for those who have such experiences, the reality of life and our own nature have a tendency to pull us away at times. Our saying "yes" to Jesus will happen over and over again as we live into a life of faith and partner with the Holy Spirit to lead us there. It is not a "once and done" thing! Not on our side of the relationship anyway. For Jesus it was indeed "once and done" - His death and resurrection our evidence of God's grand plan to save us from ourselves. But for us, we need to be reminded and claim that grace and forgiveness over and over and over again. So go ahead, say YES again, and keep saying it for the rest of your life! pg 54: Ok, so I need to stop here and take us in a slightly tangential direction to touch on something I think is important... I'm enjoying this chapter. And I enjoyed the chapter before it as well. But both of these stories have me thinking about the challenges of being a woman unable to have a child. For both Sarah and Rebekah and their husbands it must have been horrible. In their day it was often thought that if someone was unable to have a child it was because God was punishing them for sin; theirs or someone else related to them. Ever hear the expression "The sins of the fathers are visited on the sons."? It has its roots in several verses in the Old Testament. But this whole idea of women who are unable to have children and how they are viewed within the culture of their day, and especially by other women, begs the question of how do we see motherhood in our society even today? So... here are some questions for you - How do you view women who are unable for one reason or another to become moms? How do you view women who choose never to have children? How do women who choose to have a career, or to juggle career and family, view those who make the choice to stay home and raise their children, and vice versa? How do you view women who give birth to children but make really lousy Rev. Susan S. Jones 1

Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today - Commentary

"moms"? Is someone who is unable to have children of their own but who chooses to adopt a "real" mom? I am not a mom. For a number of reasons. It's one of the greatest disappointments and losses of my life. I have and continue to grieve that loss from time to time. So I can relate to both Sarah and Rebekah and their situation in a profound way. And I've lived with a certain degree of additional pain when people have actually said things to me like "Well, you really can't understand because you're not a mother." Can I just say OUCH! So what does it mean to be a mom? Most of us at least intellectually understand that the reality is that the ability to be a nurturing, caring, concerned, and empathetic person is not dependent on whether or not you have physically borne a child. Those traits are given to us by a God who is often described in the bible as behaving in ways that we human beings would define as maternal. And we are created in God's image - male and female. Being a mom in the physical sense is an amazing and wonderful gift. And the relationship between a mom who has given birth to her children is indeed unique. But someone does not have to actually give birth to experience what it means to be a mom in every way that matters. So how do you view other moms who may have different experiences and have made different choices? Has someone viewed you in a less than positive light because of your experiences and choices? And how do you feel about someone who is unable to, or chooses not to, have children? Just thought all this was worthy of some discussion... pg. 54 cont.: So given what I have written above you can understand why I now take exception to the comment in the middle of the page that says, "Until a woman feels life inside her womb, everything is about her." I'll leave it at that. pg. 57 - top of 58: This is a REALLY good interpretation of Luke 14:26. People have struggled with the verse at first glance probably since it was first written. pg. 60: "Where she made her mistake and her faith wavered..." And herein lies the moral of the story, at least as far as this chapter is concerned. The lesson learned here has to do with what influences our priorities and passions in life. Are we motivated by our own desires in a way that shuts God out or in a way that allows God to shape even our selfishness into greater good? Especially when it comes to what we want and expect for our children. pg. 60: And just exactly what makes us think we know God's will anyway? Rebekah felt she knew God's will and inappropriately tried to help it come to pass. What resources and tools are at your disposal for learning what God's will is for your life and for the lives of those you love? And are you aware of where your own personal biases come into play when dealing with those you love? Last but not least, who do you trust to be part of helping you discern God's will? It's always best to have a reality check before acting on our own, especially when it comes to anything that may impact relationships between others. The greatest tools at our disposal for discernment are prayer and study. When we immerse ourselves in the word of God and when we are in conversation with God on a regular basis, not just when we feel a sense of urgency or desperation, we have a better shot at avoiding Rebekah's mistakes. And one of the greatest tools we have at our disposal is to be in prayer both with and for our spouse as well as our children. Can you imagine what might have happened if Isaac and Rebekah had worked together regarding the fate of their children rather than playing favorites? Rev. Susan S. Jones 2