Completing the Narrative

 

For this post, I return to writing about the Goat Herder’s Guide to the Galaxy. I am not sure whether you know it or not. It is something that I am more aware of on some days and not others. The Goat Herders’ Guide is an incomplete narrative. There are aspects of this that I find acceptable, if not understandable. One needs to consider the vastness of the scope of the narrative. The story of God’s revelation and involvement with humankind is, by its very nature, extensive. The scrolls the narrative were written on were 20 to 30 feet long. And, of course, any history is selective; an author, even if it is God, has to choose what is recorded.

          There are aspects of the story of Jesus that we are, or at least I am, left wondering. What did he do between the time of his being presented in the temple and the beginning of his ministry? I do not subscribe that he went to India for religious instruction, as some would contend. Did Jesus have a sense of humour? Did ever say, “Peter, a Pharisee, a Sadducee, and an Essene walk into a bar!”

          There is another aspect of scripture that is incomplete. For me, this is a disturbing aspect. It seems that most often when women are included, they are relegated to the role of being a convenient womb for a guy to be born. There are a few notable exceptions, the female prophet Deborah comes to mind. But women like Ruth or Hannah retreat to the background when their role of delivering the child is complete. Even for Hannah and Mary, once their son was presented in the temple, they seem to have lost their importance in the narrative. We know that Mary was one of the women in Jesus’ entourage. She was also present at his execution. Unlike the men of his entourage.

          These women, Mary being the most obvious, were not “bit players” in the narrative of the bible. Even in the New Testament, women seem to be little more than conveniently placed wombs. Consider 1 Tim 2.15, “But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” Timothy should have left a commentary to explain this idea. None of the commentaries I have read provide an adequate explanation.`

       I will admit to the possibility that my ‘feminism’ is a product of cultural influences. It also may be leftovers from when I walked away from Christianity. (It’s not that I stopped believing in God; rather, I didn’t trust what I was being taught.) There are even more egregious examples of the treatment of women. When the townspeople of Sodom wanted to rape the visiting angels, Lot offered up his daughters. This was repeated by an unnamed Levite priest in Judges 19 when he offered up his concubine. There might be an interesting spin to the story in Judges, but once again, we have the offering of a woman to spare a man from being sexually assaulted.

 

I think I may have overshot the mark of my criticism. But, not by much. Women in scripture are almost exclusively valued for their ability to give birth. Even in situations where they have sustained or restored righteousness.

          Do not construe this as any kind of permission to negate either our faith or the Goat Herder’s Guide. Although the stories of women are eclipsed by men and often portrayed in a less than honourable manner, our faith and our scripture are of value.

          We are best served by understanding that we continue the narrative. These days, if the narrative is incomplete, that is on us. As we carry the message of the Gospel, it is our place to expand the narrative. Not to create aspects of the story but to explain more fully the dynamics.

          I witnessed this being done with the “Prayer of Hannah.” (1 Sam 2.1 – 11) In teaching about the prayer, my friend went verse by verse. As he did, each aspect of Hannah’s story was explained and how it related to the prayer. At the end of the teaching, the audience, the congregation, was left with a fuller understanding of Hannah. We should do the same. In relating the Gospel and the early church history, it is not a stretch to explain the role of women more accurately and more completely.

          The other aspect that occurs to me is this. In each of the four Gospels, the women, without fanfare, attend the crypt of Jesus. Then, after bearing witness of the resurrection, they go about the next thing that needs to be done. Having played a role in the grand narrative of scripture, they go and do the next thing that needs to be done. Perhaps it has been their humility that leads to their being downplayed in the Goat Herder’s Guide. Perhaps, us men should emulate them. It is just an idea.

 

Anyway, that is my opinion.