Worship January 19th
Twenty-fifth Week after Pentecost
Women are in the house today!
Both in the House of Representatives and Senate in unprecedented numbers
And in these 2 texts about widows and economic justice.
The last couple of weeks the widow of Zeraphath
has been getting Johnny off to school
and trying everything she can think of
to turn around her lack-of-money issues.
She went to her neighbor who interrupted her midsentence saying,
“You’re so angry, it’ll be hard to get a new husband.”
She went to a counselor who said
he could help her work on her attitude.
She went to the priest, who reminded her
that the way the economic system works is that she needs to
marry someone of means or
wait till her son grows up—in the meantime, stop being so serious.
She went to the magistrate, but couldn’t get a hearing because the clerks said
she was aggressive and pushy, with a shrill voice.
Silenced
Dismissed
Silenced
Stuck in systems of propriety that don’t work for her real life
Silenced
Disempowered
Silenced.
She’s got one last supper.
She’s out grabbing the kindling and
Elijah shows up asking her for food.
Can’t you hear her mirthful laugh?
“I have nothing baked,
only a handful of meal in a jar,
and a little oil in a jug;
I am now gathering a couple of sticks,
so that I may go home and
prepare it for myself and my son,
that we may eat it, and die.”
The Widow of Zeraphath was assaulted by an economic system that valued men as money earners.
The widow of zeraphath had two options—a wage-earning husband or a grown son
-neither were possible—her husband was gone; her son was young
the clock was ticking—meaning,
the jar of meal was dwindling,
the jug of oil draining
and no one had married her
Options are up—an oppressive system didn’t have room for her—she was making their last supper
An oppressive system, a system of assault, a harassing system that limits options has caught other women in withering webs.
The #MeToo Movement
exposes the prevalence
of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
In the first 2 days, 12 million comments were posted to Facebook
In the first 3 months after this hashtag appeared, 25,000 women tweeted confirming they’d been assaulted.
The #MeToo Movement offers a major critique of culture and the imbedded abuse of women.
In 2006, it was Tarana Burke who founded the “me too” Movement. Here’s her story of how it began:
Women are in the house today!
Both in the House of Representatives and Senate in unprecedented numbers
And in these 2 texts about widows and economic justice.
The last couple of weeks the widow of Zeraphath
has been getting Johnny off to school
and trying everything she can think of
to turn around her lack-of-money issues.
She went to her neighbor who interrupted her midsentence saying,
“You’re so angry, it’ll be hard to get a new husband.”
She went to a counselor who said
he could help her work on her attitude.
She went to the priest, who reminded her
that the way the economic system works is that she needs to
marry someone of means or
wait till her son grows up—in the meantime, stop being so serious.
She went to the magistrate, but couldn’t get a hearing because the clerks said
she was aggressive and pushy, with a shrill voice.
Silenced
Dismissed
Silenced
Stuck in systems of propriety that don’t work for her real life
Silenced
Disempowered
Silenced.
She’s got one last supper.
She’s out grabbing the kindling and
Elijah shows up asking her for food.
Can’t you hear her mirthful laugh?
“I have nothing baked,
only a handful of meal in a jar,
and a little oil in a jug;
I am now gathering a couple of sticks,
so that I may go home and
prepare it for myself and my son,
that we may eat it, and die.”
The Widow of Zeraphath was assaulted by an economic system that valued men as money earners.
The widow of zeraphath had two options—a wage-earning husband or a grown son
-neither were possible—her husband was gone; her son was young
the clock was ticking—meaning,
the jar of meal was dwindling,
the jug of oil draining
and no one had married her
Options are up—an oppressive system didn’t have room for her—she was making their last supper
An oppressive system, a system of assault, a harassing system that limits options has caught other women in withering webs.
The #MeToo Movement
exposes the prevalence
of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
In the first 2 days, 12 million comments were posted to Facebook
In the first 3 months after this hashtag appeared, 25,000 women tweeted confirming they’d been assaulted.
The #MeToo Movement offers a major critique of culture and the imbedded abuse of women.
In 2006, it was Tarana Burke who founded the “me too” Movement. Here’s her story of how it began: