One of the great joys I have had in the last year is to be a part of a monthly check-in call of women in ministry among the Church of the Brethren. We have a monthly check-in call to share how we’re doing and provide comfort in community. Many of us are also in a group text thread and every once in a while someone will share good news, prayer requests, or a question. It’s an incredibly supportive group of which I am so honored to be a part.
A few weeks ago I put a message in the chat asking for book suggestions, particularly relating to womanist and queer theologies and other books written by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), women, queer folks, or all of the above. I got an epic response with dozens of suggestions. One such suggestion was A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, by Hebrew Bible scholar Wilda C. Gafney, a Black queer woman. Her gender-expansive and explicitly feminine translation is fresh and inspiring.
Today, I will be using this book’s version of the scriptures, and will most likely be using this text throughout this year, for which I am really excited.
Considering the recollection of your faith without pretense, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, now I am persuaded that faith lives in you. For this reason, I remind you to reignite the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but one of power and of love and of self-control.
Be not ashamed, then, of the testimony of our Savior or of me Christ’s prisoner, rather share in suffering for the sake of the gospel, do so through the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, rather according to God’s own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. Now it has been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who negated death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:5-10)
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. (Matthew 2:1-12)1
“The Nativity Story” is a film from 2006 directed by Catherine Hardwicke that I used to watch a lot. Every Christmas for several years my family would watch this story on Christmas Eve so we would always remember the core of Christmas: Jesus. In this film, there is a beautiful moment, a very short scene, of the three wise men after just having met baby Jesus. They are on their way back to tell the news of the newborn to King Herod, for he requested their return. Sitting atop their camels overlooking their path back to Herod, they pause. One says, “If I am right, and I usually am, perhaps we should keep what we have seen to ourselves.” He looks to the one next to him, who nods, looks to the third, who also nods and says, “We shall not return to Herod”, and they go on their way to their home.
This scene is, of course, an artistic representation of the scripture. While it may not have been exactly what happened, the decision to not return to Herod remains. This part of scripture is so brief, in fact in this translation it is only half a sentence: “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” That’s a pretty big decision that the bible only notes in one simple sentence. And this decision by these men is arguably one of the most important moments in the entire story of Jesus’ birth. What if they had gone back to Herod? What would have happened? Now, Herod had figured out where he needed to go on his own, so perhaps nothing different would have happened, especially since God awoke Joseph to leave the town before Herod got to them. But perhaps Herod would have gotten there sooner or at least have heard what the family looked like and been able to track them down…then where would that leave us? Jesus would be gone? No one to save us, no reason to continue the story…sounds like it would be the beginning to the end of the world.
The end of the world.
That didn’t happen. The wise men were indeed smart enough to derive that Herod’s intentions were not good nor holy, but disastrous and selfish, and here we are today.
The end of the world did not come because of that one, simple, insightful inclination of the wise men.
The end of the world…
I watched a movie about the end of the world the other day. Renada, Malachi, and I sat down to watch the new exciting Netflix hit, “Don’t Look Up” directed by Adam McKay, starring some of Hollywood’s biggest stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. I’ll try to avoid too many spoilers because I do recommend y’all watch it, but I’ll give some overview for perspective.
This 2021 film tells a fictional (of course) story of two astronomers, played by DiCaprio and Lawrence, who discover a nine-kilometer-wide comet on a direct path towards Earth, set to impact in exactly six months and 14 days, that will decimate the entire planet. In a desperate act they run directly to the president, played by (the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time)) Meryl Streep, and in a series of unfortunate interviews and meetings are seen as laughing stocks to be ridiculed by folks on the internet and not taken seriously. This leads to dividing the country into folks who believe them and folks who think they’re full of fear-mongering, blown out of proportion, lies. Those who believe chant, “Look up! See the truth!” Those who are doubtful chant, “Don’t look up! Don’t look up!”
wear a mask, don’t wear a mask…
While this movie comments on natural disasters and the impending climate apocalypse, I cannot help but think of our current political situation divided by science and research. A divided country brought on real science, fabricated news, memes, and gifs made to make fun of the scientists behind the truth, strangers that either spit at their feet or rally by their sides. Doesn’t sound like a parallel to me…that’s just real life being depicted with different subject matter.
While some may view this movie for simple entertainment, I found it to be theologically rich. There isn’t much religion or talk of faith in the script, however, there is one character, a young skater boy and comet-skeptic played by Timothée Chalamet who thinks if God really wanted to kill us all, he’d just do it. Why would he need to send a comet to do the job? Not seconds after this remark, he looks up and sees far in the distance a big, bright, beautiful streak in the sky, undoubtedly on its way to them.
This skater boy character called Yule is the only dose of faith in the film. But the character states he grew up in a Christian household and he reflects on how his upbringing truly brought him to his own kind of spirituality, which is just bare-bones faith itself – that God exists and God will always love us.
“…faith lives in you. For this reason I remind you to reignite the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but one of power and of love and of self-control.” What beautiful poetry.
I don’t think faith can be explained. It can be felt. It can be written about. But, it’s different for every person. I have faith when I die, I’ll get to meet God spirit to spirit. When I am stressed, I have faith that I can handle whatever comes my way and to take care. I have faith that there is goodness deeply rooted in every living creature because I’ve seen it.
My colleague, and fellow Brethren Life & Thought contributor, Nathan Hosler recently gave me a book called Rainbow Theology. The term refers to theology which is by and for LGBTQIA+ BIPOC, and includes various theological perspectives, more than just Christian, and includes LGBTQIA+, Black/Asian/Latinx2, womanist, and all of the above captured into one big pool of theology. It’s delicious. The author, a gay Asian-American man, Patrick S. Cheng, discusses how difficult it can be for non-white queers of faith. Since they occupy multiple identifiers (being queer and BIPOC) one feels they need to choose which identifier is more important to them. There’s Queer Theology and BIPOC Theology but what about the people who occupy both/and? Patrick writes, “Rainbow theology reminds all of us that only in God can we find our true homes.”3
You know what’s so great about that idea? We don’t have to wait for death to find this home because guess what? God is always within us. We always have God and Godself is always within us.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we don’t also have questions. Some questions can be answered with science or experience. Some questions we will never know the answers to; perhaps they’ll be answered when we meet Godself.
In “Don’t Look Up”, Yule questioned why there was a comet coming to end the world when God could end it any other way?
The three wise men wondered what they would find when they finally made it beneath the brightest star.
Herod wondered what was so great about this new king.
I wonder what books could spark my faith journey and project me forward in learning about theology.
We will never be out of questions. That’s the beauty of life. I’m actually finding that the more I grow the more questions I have. There is always so much to learn, sometimes it can be overwhelming. Why is the world so corrupt? What would have happened if the wise men went back to Herrod? What’s for dinner? When is Jesus coming back? Why can’t dogs talk? Why don’t more people get vaccinated? What time is it?
*Breathe*
Faith, my friends.
“…faith lives in you. For this reason I remind you to reignite the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my [socially-distant/virtual] hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but one of power and of love and of self-control.” Amen.
Jessie currently serves as Community Arts Minister at the Washington City Church of the Brethren in Washington, DC. After graduating from Bridgewater College and spending two+ years in Brethren Volunteer Service, she received her Master of Fine Art in Community Art from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She and her partner, Renada, live in Baltimore.
- Wilda Gafney, A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (New York, NY: Church Publishing, 2021).
- Gender neutral term for someone of Latin American descent.
- Patrick S. Cheng, Rainbow Theology: Bridging Race, Sexuality, and Spirit (New York: Seabury Books, 2013).