In 1868, Ann Jarvis started the "Mother's Friendship Day" to bring together mothers who lost sons during the Civil War. In the 1870's and 1880's there were attempts to establish this holiday as mother's for world peace. Her daughter Anna Jarvis, took up the cause in the 1900's with West Virginia becoming the first state to have it as an official holiday with other states quickly following. The resolution was passed in Congress in 1914 and signed by President Wilson on May 8. In the 1940's, Anna tried to mount a public campaign against Mother's Day because of its commercialization and even got arrested for protesting it. She thought that buying a card was lazy and young men should write their mothers a letter instead.
In our story today, we have Jesus in Jerusalem during his last week and being challenged by different groups for different reasons. The Sadducees are challenging the idea that there might be resurrection so they concoct this story about a woman marrying seven brothers without producing children. That is the job of the wife in their time and culture, to produce children. So the question is, whose wife shall she be when all are brought back to life, since she was married to all seven brothers? Women and children belonged to the husband or the head of the household, having no rights or identity in and of themselves. Jesus throws it back in their face, the concept that death is final unless there is resurrection. He pronounces that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, and after death, there is no marriage, but are like angels. What this means is that women are not men's property, but are equal in the kingdom of heaven to men. Women are free from society and religious values that make them second to men.
In a by Jim Wallis, "The False White Gospel" which was given to me by Byron, the early Christian community lead by the Apostle Paul was governed by the value of that in Christ, there is no male or female, Jew or Greek, slave or free. All are part of Christ's body and all have value. That attracted many people to the church which in the Roman Empire, everything was based upon power and status. Yes, there are misogynistic commands and scripture in Paul's letters, however, he proclaims all have value in at least three of his letters and greets women as his fellow workers and disciples. The claims that women in the United States and in Christianity are subservient to men and should stay in the home are part of the False White Gospel that seek to place white men on top of the power structure. If we truly valued women as a society, we would have universal prenatal and postnatal care. If we truly valued women as a society, we would have universal childcare. If we truly valued all women, we would have pay equity and equal protection under the law and body autonomy.
The first to proclaim that Jesus has risen were women. In the first three centuries of the church, men and women were disciples, apostles, and pastors. Jesus proclaims that in God's kingdom, women are not bound to men, but have their own rights, freedom, and agency. In our local church, we have had women as pastors and women in leadership. In our national church, it took us 66 years before we voted in a woman to lead our denomination, but we finally got there. Let us continue to be a beacon and an advocate for the equality, value, and rights of all women and repudiate the laws, the social, and religious values that deny a woman's worth. Amen.
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