"Aren't We There?"

"Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble,

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?..."

If you're reading this post, then once again, you, me, friend and foe, have made it through another year and are now traversing the Holiest week for Christians.  While I have endured numerous challenges including, but not limited to technological setbacks and was the victim of a rear-end collision, I, too, can say that I am excited about what this week brings in terms of observance and hopefully some earnest reflection.  Hell after the month I've had, I'm even a little "gitty" at the chance to gaze upon some man wearing a yellow, orange, lime green or even purple/lavender suit on Easter Sunday.

I remember those days when I was too young to know better or to say anything about being forced to wear patent leather shoes (be they white or black), rolled-down socks with the lace at the top, with a pretty little pink, yellow, white or powder blue dress on (complete with petticoat).  Of course my hair was in at least two - no more than four ponytails or plats (that's what they called braids back then), and depending on just how precious all of that was - a pair of white gloves was the equivalent of a black woman's church hat.  Now c'mon... You know in the Black church, especially on Easter Sunday, a black woman was not really dressed up until she put on that hat.  And baaaaby - Honey chile please!  You had better know when our mothers stepped out the house and into the church house with a hat on...; It was serious business!  She was sharper than two tacks and a nail!  Look out now!  Whatchu say!  We were all dressed up to go listen to the story about how they led poor Jesus to be lied on, beaten half to death and nailed to the cross.  

A tree is more likely what he was hung from, but hey, I was a little girl then and if that's what Mama said he was nailed to, that's sure as hell what it was.  Whatever the case may be, we were all dolled up to see and be seen!  I personally couldn't wait until after church was over so we could go out back or across the street to the park for the Easter Egg hunt.  Sometimes I wondered what would have happened to Jesus if only he had planned an Easter Egg hunt for the children.  Would they still had beaten him up and killed him?  The thought of that made me kinda sad.  I mean really...  What would have happened if only he had organized an Easter Egg hunt for the kids.  I reasoned, "The grown up people appeared so happy watching us hunt down all those colorful eggs.  And, everybody knows that Easter Eggs taste better than a regular ole eggs.  So instead of telling the kids stories and sitting them on his lap with a bunch of sheep laying around, he should have had an Easter Egg hunt!"  It just made more sense to me.  If he had done that, instead of getting dressed up to go hear the sad story about the people crucifying Jesus, we could have heard about the multitude of Easter Eggs he made appear for the children and the grown ups.  He would have been crowned the Easter Bunny and not the King of the Jews!  I'm jes sayn...

But seriously, all across this land and abroad, Christians everywhere are singing, "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest," in celebration of Jesus' "triumphant" entrance into Jerusalem.  The expectation being the establishment of the new Kingdom.  A Kingdom that is otherworldly, inward and all around us.  Churches are preparing for Easter Sunday Festivities, Easter Egg hunts and the yearly, "Seven Last Words" Service.  Each observance is meant in praise of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice for our eternal salvation.  That's all well and good.  But for me, I no longer have the luxury of a fanciful imagination that youth affords.  Consequently, it's all so very neat, so very clean and so very pretty.  A man was lied on, conspired against, beaten almost to death, nails driven through both his wrist and feet, and mocked as his life slipped away.  Why?  For what?  Because he dared to question the religious leaders and traditions of his day?  Because he dared to recognize the sacred worth of each and every human being?  Because he walked with and talked with women as freely as he did with the men?  Because the poor, the lame, the widow were at the forefront of his mind?  Because the "haves" had no greater standing or importance than the "have nots?"  Because he dared to encourage others to live and love as God has loved us?  Because he dared to be present in the life of others suffering - taking it on as his own?  And finally, because he instructed us to be kind, just and to actively fight against oppressive doctrine and rule?

When I think about it, indeed, "sometimes it makes me tremble, tremble, tremble."  If the way we treat each other today is any indication of what we have learned from his death, I fear today's social, cultural, political, religious and spiritual leaders would do the same as before.  Quiet as it's kept, save a few exceptions, in many ways, we crucify him daily.

"Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
                                                           (Negro Spiritual)
© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST! 

"As With A Woman"

"...  Did you know somebody almost got away wit me/
me in a plastic bag under their arm/
me dangling on a string of personal carelessness/..."

Hello there!  Did you miss me?  You had better say "Yes!"  I missed you sumptn terrible.  Okay, here's the skinny....  "Somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff!"  For real! they almost walked off wid alla my stuff!  If you are like me and you use your computer for EV-ER-Y-THING, and suddenly, some smarty pants with way too much sense for his/her own good invades your computer space and leaves a nasty little bug that threatens to separate you from all of your stuff - then you understand exactly what I mean.   I was temporarily knocked down and my computer had to spend some time at the "clinic" to get the nasty bug out of its system.  But "Sofia home now..."

Yes, it has been a few weeks since my last post and since I know you all have struggled through the very exciting and engrossing book of Leviticus, you also know that it has been misused, misinterpreted and exploited by prejudicially motivated Preachers, teachers, lay-leaders and social and political activist seeking to justify the denial of human rights protections to same-and-both-gender loving people.  Yes, here it is, one of the most overly used, misused, misinterpreted and misunderstood text thrown about to condemn others; "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" (Leviticus 18:22).  Lord today!  Do you know how tired I am of hearing that scripture?  I mean really.  Every time I hear it, I am struck by the sleepy monster and instantaneously nod off!  I know some of you think and maybe even hope it bothers me and for that, but I'm sorry to disappoint you.  Because it simply does not.  Hear me when I say, "not much ever bothers me."  I told you, I ain't never scared.  And by they way, did I ever mention to you that I went to seminary?  Yes?  No?  Well I did, and one of the most memorable lessons I was blessed to learn came by way of an extraordinary New Testament scholar, who in one statement, blew this whole bible thing wide open for me.  He said simply, and I paraphrase - "If it's in the bible or if there is some admonishment against it, it is because it was a prevalent occurrence."  That is to say that it was a common practice.  Practices that generated cultic/holiness codes that were culturally and contextually conditioned.  They were not intended to be and cannot be binding outside the culture and context in which they were understood and originated.  

Now if we consider the text, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination," with a contemporary understanding applied to it, at the very least, it  begs the question(s); What exactly does that mean?  Does it apply to women?  Were they not laying with each other or, did it not matter?  And, could men lie with men in other ways?  Surely you know I want to and could go deeper - no pun intended - but I'll let you sit with that and enjoy the exploration all by yourself.  Send me a message and tell  me all about it.  ;) ;)

Moving right along...  Legislation has been introduced and passed.  Elections have been won and lost on the mere inference of the mysterious threat that two adult same-gender-loving people wanting to enter into a lifetime covenant with one another pose to the "sacred" institution of marriage.  If it is so "sacred," and if the aforementioned text in the book of Leviticus is one of the strongest religious arguments for depriving individuals of their human rights and privileges, where is the legislation banning divorce?  Why is it so easy to end a marriage?  I haven't heard of any legislation being introduced banning bald-headed men from becoming Priest or approaching the sanctuary either.  And while I'm at it, where's the legislation restricting anyone, for that matter, with any manner of skin blemish, or physical deformity or handicap from going near the sanctuary (vv. 21:16-20)?  Hell I think I might run for office just to introduce legislation that would ban anyone from approaching "a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness" (v. 18:19).  It might save somebody's life!  I'm jes sayn...  All of these and more are listed as abominations.

But seriously, much in the way society, church, family structures and yes, even kindred spirits converge to steal away pieces of us with little to no care of the void they leave behind,  so too is their use of the bible.  They carelessly hurl about some callous and hateful quip about something they know little to nothing about.  Such has been used to harm and to keep a free people shackled in chains of misguided accommodation and a strict adherence to tradition - tradition many have no clue of its origin.  The bible has also been used, misused and even defiled for selfish, political, sexual and economic gain.  Though wounded and shattered, as it is with women, I'm still standing - reclaiming all of my stuff - including God and the sacred text.  No longer may they be used to hurt or to harm others in the name of God or the Holy Spirit.  I'm weary of the lies.  Haven't you heard?  I've taken me back!

"... I'm spattered with mud and city rain/
no I didn't get a chance to take a douche/
hey man/
this is not your prerogative/
I gotta have me in my pocket/
to get 'round like a good woman should/..."
                                           (Ntozake Shange)

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Torat Kohanim"

L E V I T I C U S - An Introduction

"A charge to keep I have,

A God to glorify,

A never-dying soul to save,

And Fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,

My calling to fulfill:

O may it all my powers engage

To do my Master's will!

I remember growing up in a close knit Baptist Church family.  Every Sunday I would watch my Great Grandmother, "Jelly," as she slowly and painfully rose from her usual spot on the third row pew, on the right side to  go before the church, stoop down on her "one good knee" to lead morning devotion.  One of the songs  she would lead the church in was the line hymn, "A Charge To Keep I Have."  As a little girl, I always thought she was wailing and moaning because she was on that one good knee and the congregation was somehow experiencing the same pain by osmosis or something!  As you listen to the video, you'll understand what I'm talking about.  Thankfully I grew up and learned the lyrics only to find a wonderful and beautifully written warning to all charged with the keeping of the Temple or in my case, the Church.  So listen closely and enjoy.  In the meantime, let me get to this post.

We have finished Elie Wiesel's NIGHT and are now returning to Reading The Bible Again for the First Time.  This week we will be sticking our naked minds and wicked thoughts into the book of Leviticus. 

I'm sure many of you may think the book of Leviticus, or its early rabbinic name, "Torat Kohanim," (the Priests' Manuel), would or should strike fear and terror in the heart and mind of a skinny, little, ugly, nappy-headed, black girl with a particular particularity that is particularly particular for most, especially one being in the vocation of ministry... Yes?  Well, I'm sorry, but let me remind you of something; "I ain't nevah scared!"  But what say you?  Are you afraid little girl?  What about you little boy?  Well sit back, relax and be ye not afraid!  Because the problem with Leviticus is how it has been interpreted, misinterpreted, used, misused and abused to set apart, ostracize and condemn those that contemporary Preachers and religious leaders have determined to be unfit, out of order, morally deficient or depraved, and unworthy of God's love, mercy, protection and infinite grace.  In its  purest sense, Leviticus (the Priests' Manuel) is about Israel's Priesthood - and I doubt very seriously that contemporary Preachers who journey down this road for social, economic and political expediency are on the rode to converting to Judaism.  I'm jes saying...

In short and in preparation for your reading, here's a tip and don't forget it...  The book of Leviticus is primarily about rituals, specific sacrifices and duties of Israel's Priests.  And, about the Priests making the distinction between the "holy and the common and between the unclean and the clean" (Leviticus 10:10).  A more universal understanding that is implicit within the book's title is an awareness of the moral character, code of conduct and a certain standard by which the Priests are governed - though there are no hard and fast laws for the Priests alone - it is a standard set forth in the Torah.  I'm sorry, what was that you said?  Make it plain?  Alrighty then...  Take for example tithes and offering;  Now there's a topic, I'm sure we can all get our minds around.  It is not only important to bring an offering into the Temple/Church, but it is equally (if not more) important that the Priests/Preacher consecrates the offering respectfully and properly appropriates it toward all matters pertaining to the preservation and success of the Temple/Church and the worship experience.  When was the last time you heard a sermon about that?  I'm willing to say - NEVAH!

As we delve deeper into the book, for obvious reasons, I will use Priests and Preacher, Temple and Church interchangeably.  But know this, the Priests of the Temple, Preachers and religious leaders of the Church are consecrated, sanctified and set apart as holy unto God.  They, WE, are to be exemplary stewards of that which we have been "called" and given charge of.  This is not a willy-nilly charge or vocation.  It is purposeful and should have deliberate intent.  For where we lack honesty and sincerity, there, most assuredly, we shall be held to account. 

Arm me with jealous care,

As in Thy sight to live;

And O Thy servant, Lord, prepare

A strict account to give!

Help me to watch and pray,

And on Thyself rely,

Assured, if I my trust betray,

I shall forever die."
(Charles Wesley, based on Matthew Henry's commentary on Leviticus)

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"SILENCE... Test In Session"

"Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my Faith forever.  Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live.  Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.  Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself.  Never."

(NIGHT by Elie Wiesel)

Before I begin, a not so quick joke;  There were four young college students on their spring break.  They had collected their goods, their tools, tricks and treats, anxious to get to a good time waiting to be had.  They loaded up in the choicest of the coolest, brightest, fastest, girl and boy magnet of a car they could afford for the week ahead.  Before leaving, they threw out any and all things that caused them any gloom, stress or strife.  Gone were the books, the pencils, the late night study sessions and that midterm - worth 60% of their final grade -  scheduled first thing Monday morning.  They were free!  As the week flew by, the end came much too soon.  With fun and good times still to be had, they conspired with one another to stay an extra night.  So, they devised a plan that required each of them to call in separately and tell the professor that on the way back, the car had a flat tire and they had to wait countless hours for roadside service to come and assist them with the busted tire.  Gracious and understanding, the professor allowed each of them to take the test without penalty, and on the same day.  Flying high from the week's activities and feeling like they had gotten over on the nutty professor, the four students arrived early that morning, all bright and wide-eyed as a baby covered in bubbles splashing around in a tub of water.  The professor greeted them calmly and after some pleasantries and expressions of concern and pleasure that they had arrived safely, save the inconvenience of that flat tire, she engaged them a few moments longer about the unfortunate delay.  

Each of them had something extra to say about the difficulty in changing the tire.  As the professor handed out the test, she laughed and joked about her own mishaps with car repairs and the like.  She had arranged for them to be staggered in various spots throughout the class room, centered squarely on her.  Once done passing out the test, she informed them they had the entire hour to complete the test.  She then sat down, almost motionless - in complete silence - while she watched intently as they scribbled, erased and rewrote their answers to the questions.  She watched as one by one the student's amazement at the simplicity of the questions showed on each of their faces.  They breezed through the test with the ease of a hot knife meeting butter.  Almost simultaneously, they reached the last question - worth 80% of the grade.  It was also the shortest question on the test....  Which tire was it?

"What then do we say about these things?"  Sometimes life and living is hard.  It has very high mountain peaks and deep dark valley lows.  It has twists and turns, curves and clefts.  It has quick starts and hard stops, but the measure of a life is not so much what happened in those moments, rather the details of how we got there.  I have a friend who loves a good story.  But you can't just tell her what happened.  She wants the full scene from beginning to end.  You have to tell her EV-ER-Y-THING!  What day was it?  Was it cold or hot?  How cold or hot was it?  What did you have on?  What and who was in the room?  What were the facial expressions of the individuals involved in the story...  What were you feeling when all of this was going on?  I mean, she wants all of the details so she can feel like she was sitting right there with you.  The truth of the matter is that it IS the details that can make or break any given situation.  Take for instance the not so quick joke at the beginning of this post.  The students thought they had it all together.  They had had an extra good time and made a fool of the professor.  She was so foolish, they thought, that she chimed in and added some of her own life experiences into the overall plot.  But at the end of the day, it didn't matter how long it took them to wait for help, or how long it took for them to make it back to school.  All that mattered was one small detail.  If they had focused on that detail and not rushed on to the end, they would not have found their countenance shift from smug and sheer delight to resembling the fright of a deer about to be caught in the headlights of a speeding car.

Details are exactly what we are going to experience in the next phase of our reading.  As a compliment to our Reading The Bible Again for the First Time, I have included NIGHT, by Elie Wiesel.  It is the story of a young Jewish boy, Elie Wiesel, born in the town of Sighet in Transylvania.  He was a 13-year-old man-child forced to witness the death of his family, of his innocence and even "the death of his God."  It is an extraordinary tale of faith, loss of faith, hope and loss of hope that warns an entire world that nothing like it must never be given chance to happen again.  It is also a story about life's tests and the importance of the details - of tradition that often times fail us - of faith that seems ridiculous when it appears that God, like the professor, has set us up for the test.  A test to see if along with an understanding of our faith, we also got the details of it.  A word to the wise, and something I believe a young Elie Wiesel had to learn much too soon; When the test is in session, the instructor is silent.

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"Show Me Who You Are"

Exodus 31-33

My funny Valentine

Sweet comic Valentine

You make me smile with my heart

Your looks are laughable, unphotographable

Yet you're my favorite work of art...

I am always amazed when our weekly reading of scripture parallels the social context in which we live.  This week is no exception.  We finished the last few chapters of Exodus and  as fate would have it, just a few days before Valentine's Day, we happened upon one of the most intimate encounters between God and humankind.  It comes at a time just after the children of Israel (The Israelites) have grown impatient with both Moses and God.  While the two of them are spending quality time together on Mount Sinai (the Mountain of God), the children of Israel convince Aaron - Moses' brother - the Priest of priest - to fashion a golden calf out of the spoils they took from Egypt. 

The "all seeing and all knowing God" warns Moses to "let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them" (32:10a).  Umm hmph, you guessed it, with the help of rapper DMX and the black woman's cotton patch version I hear God saying it this way, "Ya'll g'on make me lose my mind up in here, up in here.  Ya'll g'on make me go all out up in here, up in here.  Ya'll g'on make me act a fool, up in here, up in here.  Ya'll g'on make me lose my cool, up in here, up in here!"  I mean really, God made it clear some time back that S/HE is a jealous God.  And we know S/HE won't bat an eyelash over destroying the people and starting over... I reckon they didn't get that memo, huh?  I'm jes saying...  But as the narrative continues, we find that the Israelites have more reason to be leery of Moses' anger.  After all, we already know that Moses has a temper and will kill you.  It should have been no surprise what he (Moses) did next...  Everything he asked God not to do, he did!  What the hell is that about?  I mean really, who's zooming who here?  Anyhue, after throwing the tablets onto the people and instructing the sons of Levi to "Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend and your neighbor," Moses felt it was high time he saw God up close and personal (vv. 27b). 

In a scene that rivals some of our best daytime soap-operas, Moses and God are communing with one another and God informs Moses that S/HE will not be going before the Israelites anymore for fear of consuming them.  Why, you ask?  Because they are a "stiffnecked people," (hardheaded and rebellious).  After Moses convinces God not to leave the people, he then petitions God saying, "Show me your glory, I pray."  God's reply; "I will make all my goodness pass before you..."  Before God shows Moses all that S/HE's working with,  S/HE places him in a 'cleft,' (a crevice or gap) in the mountain, and uses a hand to cover or protect Moses until S/HE passes by - exposing only the back of God (33:12-23)...  Wow!

Now, in any other context, that scene would have been interpreted as the consummation of a relationship.  But the mere suggestion of that, even to the participants in my class, was so troubling a thought that a few of them unconsciously tried to run all the way to the New Testament to bring Jesus into the conversation.  No, that is not anything new, but it is lazy and theologically irresponsible.  Furthermore, it is down right unacceptable in my class.  Why is it so difficult to imagine an encounter with God so intense that it would elicit a sexually stimulating and dare I say, gratifying experience?  I wonder if the difficulty stems from the overly used masculine pronoun "He" when referencing God as opposed to the feminine pronoun "She," not used enough?  And, if, for argument sake, the masculine pronoun is used in this instance, what of it?  Are we to believe men cannot reach an ecstatic state when touched or moved by the Divine - even if the Divine is, for them, masculine?   And if, for argument sake, they cannot, we may have stumbled up another argument for an increased use of the feminine pronoun when referencing God, or my preference, the gender neutral "S/HE." 

Either way, I believe something quite amazing and yes, intimate happened between God and Moses on that mountain that no other human has ever been recorded in scripture to have experienced - except the "virgin" Mary that is.  And we all know what is said to have happened as a result of God "passing by" that time don't we?  ;) ;)  But seriously, whether you are more comfortable with the masculine or the feminine pronoun for God, there is nothing wrong with desiring to know God for yourself in as intimate a way as the Spirit moves you.  If, however, you are faint of heart and this is problematic for you, a word of caution before you ask the Lord to come in and fill you with His/Her Spirit.  Jeremiah explains what may happen when you do - "O Lord you have enticed me and I was enticed; you have over-powered me, and you have prevailed...  For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout...  If I say, 'I will not mention [you] or speak any more in [your] name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."  Yeaaah, yeah, yeah...  I know the feeling....

My funny Valentine

Sweet comic Valentine

You make me smile with my heart

Your looks are laughable, unphotographable

Yet you're my favorite work of art...

Is your figure less than Greek?

Is your mouth a little weak?

When you open it to speak, are you smart?

But don't you change a hair for me

Not if you care for me

Stay little Valentine, stay

Each day is Valentine's Day

                    (Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart)

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"That's Entertainment"

Yeah I know this posting is a bit late...  You know I have an excuse.  Don't I always?  Yeah, well, I really don't this time.  The week got away from me and, like many of you, I've been glued to the TV watching our brothers and sisters in Egypt crying out for an end to oppressive rule.  So, forgive me and just know that a new post will be up and ready for you all on Monday. 

Not only that, but this week is Brunch and A Movie...  You all know that our bible study class is Reading The Bible Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg.  Of course that requires us to do what???  Read the bible again.  We've successfully walked through the dusty roads of Genesis and are now climbing up and out of Exodus.  And you all know that it was only a matter of time before we had another movie night, so...  Whoop dere it is!  Of course we couldn't do a "Movie Night" per se because of the Superbowl - a girl's gotta be flexible with her flock, so we're having Brunch and A Movie.  Now surely I don't have to tell you what we are watching do I?  I did just mention that we are climbing out of Exodus, so you know we have to watch Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments," staring Charlton Heston - God rest his soul - the most popular proponent of the NRA (National Rifle Association).  And, in a skirt no doubt!  I mean really, how could you not want to watch this movie now - with your new critical lenses on of course.  The movie also stars Anne Baxter and Yul Brenner - who happens to be one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen.  Good God Almighty...  Whoa Lawd!  Whatchu say...  I'm getting all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.

Anyhue, see ya next week where we catch up with Moses after he descends from Mount Sinai (The Mountain of God) in a pair of sandals no doubt, glowing and looking crazy, carrying two stone tablets in his hands inscribed with ten laws from God by which the people are to live - also said to have been written with God's own finger.  This is gonna be good.

See ya next week.  Oh, and if you don't have it, rent the movie and be in solidarity with us as we stand in solidarity with the freedom fighters in Egypt.  Regardless of where you stand on this issue, the people must be allowed to choose their leader.

In the name of justice, freedom and peace - Tell Ole Pharaoh to LET MY PEOPLE GO!

© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"If It Wasn't For The Women"

Exodus 1:15-22; 2:1-10; 3:1-22; 4:24-26

Confession... The truth of the matter is that when I include a video clip on my blog, I intend to incorporate it within the content of the post.  This time, however, I don't think that is going to be the case.  But it's early and I'm open to the spirit, so who knows, S/HE might just give me something that will connect the dots.  In the meantime, do like I did and just sit back and enjoy the song.

Now, if I have said it once, I've said a thousand times, that Moses is one of my favorite characters in the bible.  I mean I could stay on Moses for months and still have much in the way of material to teach and preach about.  As much as we know and revere him as the great liberator of the Israelite people, we must also know him as the incredibly flawed, insecure, temperamental and reluctant messenger of God.  The beauty of the dichotomy of Moses is that when he is at his greatest, it is God indeed, but at his most vulnerable and weakest moments, he is wholly human.  It is therefore his humanity that brings me to this post.

From the outset, before we are introduced to Moses, we are introduced to members of the supporting cast in this epic saga.  They are the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah (1:15).  Pharaoh, recognizing that his tactics in oppressing the Israelite people did not work, but actually backfired on him as their numbers multiplied as the oppression intensified, decided to ratchet things up a bit by instructing the midwives to kill all the boy babies borne to the Hebrew women (v. 16).  The text tells us that because the women "feared God, they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live" (v. 17).  This is the first time women are identified as playing a major role not only in the life of the Hebrew people, but more specifically in the survival and life of Moses.  

If you have been following and I know you have, then you know that the mere presence of these two women's names is in itself an indicator of their importance.  Most women in the bible are identified as some man's mother or some father's daughter.  Rarely do they stand independently - unless, however, they are being made an example of, or used to establish a point of "acceptable" or "unacceptable" behavior as it relates to women.  But in this instance, the women are named, and for their selfless and courageous act of sparing the life of the Hebrew boys - thus saving the nation - they are blessed by God with their own families.  Don't ask me how that happened with them working for Pharaoh, but okay...

Next on the list of women who actively got involved in the life of Moses was Pharaoh's own daughter.  She by the way remains nameless, but who, while bathing in the river Nile, spots a basket nestled against the "reeds on the bank of the river" and instructs her attendants to bring the basket to her.  Keeping watch at a distance is Moses sister, whose name we later learn is Miriam.  As Pharaoh's daughter looks inside the basket and finds the child, and while she starts getting all goo goo ga ga over the child, Moses' sister leaps into action and offers to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for her.  Not surprisingly, she goes after her mother to fill in as "surrogate."  Graciously, Pharaoh's daughter offers to the Hebrew woman - Moses' mother - payment to nurse the child.  How clever is that?  After the child is properly nursed, he is then taken back to Pharaoh's daughter where "she took him as her son and named him "Moses,"  "Mosheh" in Hebrew which means, "The one who draws out (2:1-10).  Okay, because I know you all are now reading with new lenses, I shouldn't have to point out the adoption and surrogate motifs here.  And of course, coming out of the black woman's cotton patch version, we are reminded of the many instances of the enslaved African women nursing and caring for the babies of the master's wife, often times to the detriment of their own.

Lastly, but certainly not least of these is the first Wonder Woman, Zipporah, the Midianite daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian, that Moses takes as his wife.  After Moses' encounter with God at the suspicious burning bush, and given his instructions to go back to Egypt to "Tell ole Pharaoh to let my people go," he sets out to do just that.  On the way, God meets him and tries to kill him...  Yep, I'm asking the same question; What the hell?  But never fear, Zipporah, the priest, is here!  Ah ha!  Put a pin there...  But faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a pissed off bull, and with precision that would make the most skilled diamond cutters green with envy, she leaps into action with a "flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it, and said, 'Truly you are a bride groom of blood to me!  So [God] let him alone" (4:24, 26a)...  Whoa Lawd...  "How do I begin to tell the story of how great a love can be.  The sweet love story that is older than the sea.  The simple truth about the love she brings to me.  Where do I start?" LOL...  Sorry, sorry, sorry...  I couldn't help it - I couldn't.  Okay, I'm back, but, ummm, yeah...  

First, it is uncertain as to who is at risk of this unprovoked attack - Moses or his son.  And if we're not sure of who's at risk, are we sure about whose penis it was that was - ummm - unceremoniously circumcised as in the Hebrew tradition or in this instance, whose foreskin was 'cut off?'  Huh?  Okay, where's that pin?  Take it out...  As the daughter of a priest, Zipporah, by birth, is also a priest and may have been familiar and acquainted with ritual procedures.  Thank God!  Also noteworthy is that "feet" is a common biblical euphemism for genitals.  Now whether it was Moses' son or Moses, the text is clear - someone's genitals got messed with - an act reserved for those endowed with priestly status.  And, because they did, "[God] let him alone."  So, once again, the likely deduction gleaned from the text is that if it wasn't for the women, there may never have been a Moses or this so-called great exodus out of bondage.  More appropriately, a great physical and spiritual movement.      

The inclusion of these posits of women could point to a distinct female tradition that existed alongside the preferred and more carefully preserved male-centered tradition.  That is not to say that women and women alone are more likely to lift up the lives of women and domestic characteristics such as childbirth, but suffice it to say that the "telling" of these stories raise more questions than they answer.  So whether we read the narrative of Moses literally or metaphorically, he wouldn't be who he is to us today, if it wasn't for the women.
© Dorinda G. Henry, 2011

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!