\ninheritance by Hebrew law, widows became the stereotypical symbol of
\nthe exploited and oppressed. \u00a0Old Testament criticism of the harsh
\ntreatment of these women is prevalent. \u00a0So are the texts in which
\nthey are under the special protection of God.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nIn our reading from Acts this
\nweek, we hear \u201cAll the townswomen who had been widowed stood beside
\n[Peter] weeping, and showed him the various garments Dorcas had made
\nwhen she was still with them.\u201d (Acts 9:39b, Inclusive Bible) \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nI have to admit something. \u00a0I’ve
\nread this passage many times, and every time I saw the widows as
\nshowing off Tabitha\/Doras’s impressive needlework, and thought it was
\nsort of a strange details, but otherwise ignored it.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nMaybe my heart is in a different
\nplace this week, because when I read it THIS week I thought, \u201cOh.
\nMy. \u00a0Gosh. \u00a0She literally clothed the widows.\u201d \u00a0The women were
\nshowing Peter her GOOD WORKS that had blessed their lives as proof to
\nhim that she was worthy of his healing.<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n(Which, of course, makes far
\nmore sense and most of you probably noticed ages ago, but I’m slow
\nand I try to admit it because the Bible is dense and none of us can
\nmake sense of it all at once.)<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\nThere is another detail to know \n<\/p>\n \nThis is the ONLY woman in the \n<\/p>\n \nI am incredibly moved by the \n<\/p>\n \nBecause, here is the thing about \n<\/p>\n \nTabitha heard their voices, and \n<\/p>\n \nA disciple of Jesus, a little \n<\/p>\n \nNow, widowhood is not today what \n<\/p>\n \nWhich means that when we are \n<\/p>\n \nAfter this week I am concerned \n<\/p>\n \nYou want to know what else is \n<\/p>\n \nThe question of who is \n<\/p>\n \nSeveral years ago, when I was \n<\/p>\n \nI. \u00a0Am. \u00a0Still. \u00a0Mad. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n \nFurious.<\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n \nBecause, going to camp is the \n<\/p>\n \nI’m not a GOOD person for that, \n<\/p>\n \nWhich makes me wonder a bit. \u00a0I \n<\/p>\n \nI worry that this question COULD \n<\/p>\n \nI believe our faith calls us to <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>1<\/a>Bruce 2<\/a>Robert <\/p>\n Rev. Sara E. Baron <\/p>\n May 8, 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nabout this story, an important one. \u00a0Not only is Tabitha named in
\nthis story, which is pretty unusual for Biblical women, and named
\nTWICE which is even less usual. \u00a0She is called a disciple. \u00a0Now, if
\nyou were wondering if that was unusual, let me answer with a
\nscholarly quote, \u201cLuke uses the feminine form for ‘disciple’ \u2013
\nthe only time it is used in the NT.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\nBible called a disciple of Jesus, who is described as someone who
\n\u201cnever tired of doing kind things or giving to charity,\u201d at whose
\ndeath the people who are most exploited and oppressed gather,
\ngrieving, and trying to prove her worth by showing the gifts she had
\nmade them.<\/p>\n
\nexample of this first woman disciple. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nTabitha. \u00a0Her story suggests that as a follower of Jesus, she spent
\nher life making things easier for the most vulnerable people around
\nher, but not just by giving them things, but also by loving them.
\n I don’t think the level of grief we hear from the women who’d been
\nwidowed in this story reflects a fear that new clothes are going to
\nbe harder to come by. \u00a0I think their FRIEND, who saw them, and eased
\ntheir burdens, had died.<\/p>\n
\nused her life to respond to their needs. \u00a0Where the Bible talks about
\nGod’s special protection for the widows, it seems that Tabitha was
\npart of God’s work.<\/p>\n
\nChrist, indeed. \u00a0In John, the voice of Jesus says, \u201cMy sheep hear
\nmy voice. I know them, and they follow me.\u201d \u00a0It is clear in this
\nstory in Acts that Tabitha knew the voice of Jesus, and followed.
\nAnd set an example for those of us who come after her.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/64.media.tumblr.com\/c7702f1e28acb9c6e9ce84efd60f35d7\/864a2bfb6928cbdb-c7\/s540x810\/583bb1197b9449a59001248aee4d9180a56439c4.png\")
<\/figure>\n
\nit was then. Today’s widows may well be struggling with economic
\nhardship, but the first connotation of widow is \u201csomeone who has
\nlost her love\u201d instead of \u201csomeone who has lost her livelihood
\nand protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\ntrying to consider who the \u201cstereotypical symbol of the exploited
\nand oppressed\u201d is in our society, I don’t think it defaults to
\nwidows anymore. \u00a0Nor do I think there is one simple answer. \u00a0I fear
\nthat who is seen as the \u201cstereotypical symbol of the exploited and
\noppressed\u201d is as impacted by context, perception, and political
\nparty as all of our other opinions. \u00a0Meaning, I’d likely start the
\nlist with trans women of color (#mostlikelytobemurdered) and could
\ncontinue on from there to an expansive list. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nthat an addition to the highest levels of the list of \u201cstereotypical
\nsymbol of the exploited and oppressed\u201d is going to need to be
\n\u201canyone capable of becoming pregnant who doesn’t want to be
\npregnant.\u201d \u00a0Because, it seems, our society is about to declare that
\npeople who become pregnant stop having authority over their own
\nbodies. \u00a0(Happy Mothers’ Day.)<\/p>\n
\nreally interesting about Tabitha? We get two names for her, she is
\ncalled a disciple, she is known for her good works. \u00a0And, in addition
\nto all that, neither her marital nor social status is mentioned.
\nShe’s known for HER works, and they eclipse the question of who she
\nbelongs to. \u00a0Which, to be fair was the sort of kindom building equity
\nthe early church was going for, but it is still pretty notable when
\nit happens! \u00a0It also seems notable that those widows were named as
\nbelievers. \u00a0They weren’t just recipients of charity, nor even simply
\nfriends of a disciple. \u00a0They too were the church. \u00a0The church was of
\neveryone, even those whose NAME implied \u201cthe silenced.\u201d \u00a0It seems
\nlike Tabitha’s church had stayed very close to the roots of Jesus’s
\nmovement.<\/p>\n
\nparticularly vulnerable, exploited, oppressed is really a question of
\nwho Jesus would be hanging out with. \u00a0To his credit, Jesus took a
\nreally expansive view of that as well, including fishermen and tax
\ncollectors, widows and single women, children and senators,
\nadulterers and the mentally ill, hemorrhaging women and those with
\nphysical disabilities. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nnearing time to go to camp, I had to let someone know I wouldn’t be
\navailable for some meeting during camp. \u00a0(This was not a person in
\nthis church or community.) \u00a0The person responded, \u201cOh, that’s
\nright, you go to camp and work with people with special needs.
\nThat’s so good of you!\u201d<\/p>\n
\nmost selfish thing I do all year. \u00a0I got camp because I love the
\ncampers. \u00a0I go to camp because I love camp. \u00a0I go to camp because my
\nhumanity and faith are restored by camp and by the campers. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nand to imply that I am implies that there is something wrong with the
\ncampers and THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAMPERS. \u00a0Everything is
\nright with the campers.<\/p>\n
\nthink likely Tabitha and the widows of her community were friends,
\nreal friends, people who loved each other and mutually gained from
\ntheir connections. \u00a0I wonder if a question we should be asking in
\nresponse to Tabitha’s story is, \u201cwho do I find it easy to love and
\ngrow with, and how can I let that love expand my heart to let even
\nmore people in?\u201d \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nkeep us too closed off, too limited to those we already know, too
\nsmall. \u00a0But then I remember what LOVE is like, and how everyone has
\nstories that matter, and everyone has experiences of oppression, and
\nhow LOVE likes to expand itself all over the place. \u00a0And I find I’m
\nready to trust love to be our guide.<\/p>\n
\nsee the humanity in ALL people, including those who are oppressed,
\nand to share our love and our lives with mutuality and respect. \u00a0And,
\nto be open to letting that love expand to those we don’t yet know who
\nhave struggles we don’t yet understand. \u00a0Let love be our guide, and
\nlet it expand in us. \u00a0I believe that’s what it means to follow Jesus’
\nvoice, and Tabitha’s example. \u00a0May God help us do it! \u00a0Amen<\/p>\n
\n\tJ. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh Social-Science Commentary on the
\n\tSynoptic Gospels (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003) \u201cWidow,\u201d
\n\t423.<\/p>\n
\n\tWall, \u201cBook of Acts\u201d in New Interpreter’s Bible Vol 10I ed.
\n\t<\/i>Leander E. Keck et al
\n\t(Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002) footnote p. 161.<\/p>\n
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n