Women in the Parables of Jesus

Jesus was someone who was out of sync with his culture in so many ways, least of all in his attitude and relationship with women.  There are many accounts of his interaction with women in his culture that was not how a man would react to women.  Just looking at a few examples, we have the woman caught in adultery who he saved from being stoned to death; there is the Samaritan woman at the well who he engaged with and who he offered the living water;  there is his close relationship with Martha and Mary; and there is the woman – who is not identified  - who anointed his feet with precious nard.  There are all very positive perspectives.

There are also some encounters which are not entirely positive.  There is, first and foremost, his seeming reject ion of his mother who came to him with his bothers and wanted to speak with him.  His response being “who is my mother?”  There was his less than enthusiastic response to his mother at the marriage at Cana when Mary pointed out to him that the wine had run out, “Oh Woman, what has this to do with me?”  There was also his initial rejection of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was suffering from demon possession.  Jesus answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 

However, these apparent negative events are the exception rather than the rule.  He did address the wine shortage by his first miracle recorded in John’s Gospel; he did come to the aid of the Canaanite woman when she persisted; he did ensure that his mother would be taken care of as one of his last acts on the cross. 

Given his positive relationship with women during his ministry, what was the role of women in his parables?  At first glance, it could be concluded that women were, for the most part, missing in action in those brilliant moral lessons that Jesus used to teach those in his circle and beyond.  His in most well-known ones, women seem to be entirely missing or at most play a minor role.  There is the parable of the Good Samaritan or where the traveller is robbed and left on the side of the road.  A priest and a Levite pass by on the other side but is rescued by a Samaritan.  The traveller is identified as a man, the robbers are assumed to be male, as is the Samaritan-the priest and Levite are undoubtedly male. 

The other parable at the top of the charts is the Prodigal Son where there is no mention of a mother in the little family of father and two sons.  We are told the younger son, “squandered his wealth in wild living” so we can assume that women were probably involved in that episode in the younger son’s life.  There are other notable ones such as The Rich Man and Lazarus, The Great Feast (or Wedding Banquet), The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the Unforgiving Servant, and The Labourers and the Vineyard where women are absent. 

There is a group of lessons which are classified as parables which do not have a story line such as. The Parable of the Mustard Seed, The Parable of the Net, or The Parable of the Fig Tree.  In these, there is no reference to a person so it is moot for our discussion.

However, there are parables which definitely involve women as central figures. The Parable of the Lost Coin is a prominent one in this category.  It is the widow who loses the coin and diligently searches for it.  This balances the Parable of the Lost Sheep in which the shepherd (male) seeks the lost sheep.  Also, to this point we have the Parable of the Persistent Widow who pesters a judge (male) until she received justice.  There are also parables which use work which would be in the woman’s domain such as the Parable of the Old Cloth on the New Garment, or the Parable of Yeast which a woman mixed with flour. However, these are over all in the definite minority. 

So, does this mean that Jesus is not that much of a feminist - to put it in 21^st century term?  Was he a product of his time and culture to an extent that is greater than we often admit?   One of the strengths of Jesus’ parables is that they were stories that took place in settings that we common and very familiar to the listener.  Men and women each had their place in society and the parables were set in that culture.  This gave them all the more impact when he gave a surprize twist to emphasize the lesson he wanted the listener to appreciate.   To accomplish this, they often contain “elements of reversal” as one source noted e.g. the use of the despised Samaritans to emphasize the correct moral behaviour and attitude. 

All in all, I don’t believe that Jesus parables change the way that we can understand Jesus’ relationship to women and the important place they held in God’s kingdom.  After all, the women were the first to see the empty tomb and spread the news of the Resurrection. 

Blessings on your journey.

Who is Your Samaritan?

Happy Labour Day (notice the Canadian Spelling of Labour with a u) to everyone in Canada and the United States.  This is one of the many holidays that we celebrate in common.  There is much in common between our two countries even though the differences seem to have become more of a breech in recent years with the great contrast between our two ‘Great Leaders’.  However, even Trudeau the Younger seems to be revealing that he also has feet of a clay-like substance.  Where are the Happy Days that we were promised?

That being said or ranted (albeit only a little rant which I didn’t set out to write) I must admit that this Labour Day Weekend was unusual for me.  I had to beg-off or bow-out of the two worship services I was scheduled to preside at yesterday because or flu-like symptoms that stuck around.  Lorna and I have for the first time in our joint memories, been sick at the same time with the same symptoms.  I noted this morning that our coughs were like a call and response.  However, we are both on the mend and we sound sicker than we feel this morning.  In respect to the worship services, fortunately was reminded that I am not indispensable and one of the lay readers stepped up and short notice and replaced me.  I do want to note that this was the first time since I was ordained that I was not was my not able to fulfill my scheduled Sunday worship duties. 

Bottom line is that I have a sermon that was undelivered and there is the eternal question if a sermon is unpreached, did anybody hear it?  In response, here is it for the most part as I would have delivered it so it won’t fade too quickly into the place where most sermons go to their eternal rest.

The Gospel reading in our prayer book is the well-known account of the ten lepers who are healed by Jesus and only one returns to give his thanks after he sends them to the priest to be declared clean.  The catch line in the story is, “and he was a Samaritan”.

  

I’m not sure if that should be read as a question or an exclamation.  When we hear of this account it is natural to think of the parable of the Good Samaritan which has resonated down through the millennia since Jesus told it.  Again, it has the same message; it was the Samaritan who did the right thing – who was the neighbour to the traveler.  The priest and the Levite stayed on the other side and looked the other way.  Have you ever done that when someone has approached you on a street for a hand out.  How easy it is to look the other way and ignore the request.

However, why did Jesus use the Samaritan in the parable, and why was it surprizing that it was a Samaritan who returned to give thanks to Jesus for his miraculous healing?

The bottom line was that Samaritans and Jews did not generally get along with each other.  That is something of an understatement.  Well, actually you could say that the Samaritans were closely related to the Jews.  They considered themselves to be descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh who were the sons of Joseph. 

These tribes were considered half tribes making up the twelve tribes of the Israelites.  So, in effect it was what could be considered a family feud.

What then was the basis for this feud?  Well, it probably won’t surprize you that it was religious.  The Samaritans’ bible was the Samaritan Pentateuch based on the torah, the first five books of the Hebrew bible.  You only have to look at Christian Church history to know how many wars and battles and schisms have been fought over what tis the true bible and in what language it should be written.  It still comes as a surprize to some people that Jesus did not speak the Queen’s English or Latin or even Greek.  But I digress somewhat.

If that was not enough, there was more to this feud than just the Holy Book or Books.  There was also a dispute over which place of worship was the true place.  This is mentioned in the account in John’s Gospel of the Samaritan woman at the well who encounters Jesus.  She tells Jesus that the mountain is the centre of their worship.  Of course, the centre of the worship for Jews was the Temple in Jerusalem.  She poses the question to Jesus when she realizes that he is the Messiah. Jesus affirms the Jewish position, saying "You (that is, the Samaritans) worship what you do not know" which seem to settle the question for Jesus’ view of the true religion.

There was also the question of the Samaritans worshipping idols in addition to an impure form of temple worship.  Of course, the problem of idol worship and false Gods such as Baal, was an ongoing one with the Jews which the prophets railed against and prophesied doom if the chosen people did not repent and return to the one true God.   

  

There were other differences in beliefs and practices but bottom line is that they both worshipped YHWH and had the same foundation to their religious beliefs.

It reminds me of a great sketch I heard once - I think it was one of Garrison Keillor.  In the story, as I remember it, two men meet and begin to talk.  They discover they are both Lutherans.  They go through the various branches and divisions of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and so on and find they that they are both members of each division.  Finally, they come down to a rather obscure branch and find they find themselves on different sides of the branch.  The one responds to the other, “die apostate”!  It is amazing how we can find things that divide us rather than things that unite us. 

Who would the Samaritans be in your life?  Who would Jesus have to substitute for the Samaritan to make his point in telling you the Parable of the Good Samaritan or the one leper who returns.  Who would he have to identify to shame you into realizing you are finding division rather than unity with your brother and sisters?  Would it be a Palestinian if you were a Jew?  Would it be an American if you were a Canadian who felt superior to those Americans who are so divided in their politics and seemingly everything else?  Would it be those refugees that land on one of our borders?  Would it be you next door neighbour who isn’t a good neighbour? Would it be a member of your congregation who acts in ways you do not approve of?  Would it be a member of your family who you find embarrassing?  Would it be a member of your family who comes out as gay or lesbian?

And he was a Samaritan. 

Jesus commands us to love one another as he loves us.  He commands us to love one another and yes even to love our enemies.

Who is your Samaritan?