Weekly MomenToUs

Reading between the Lines: Hannah

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Hannah.
Hannah’s story is a brief one, but an important part of the story of God’s people. Samuel was integral in spiritual leadership as God’s people transitioned from being led by judges to being governed by a monarchy. Her faithfulness in prayer and in honoring commitments and promises to God had used to point to God’s faithfulness even when it seems like hope should not exist. Hannah shows up in congregations and hearts across the world, through those who are bearing things that are simply too heavy to be spoken out loud, but they have the ability to show up in spaces and offer silent prayers. These are the people who appear as though they are put together, but who do not speak during worship services; it’s too hard. This is where the gift of a community steps in - the community participates in worship and prays the words out loud on behalf of the ones who simply CANNOT, until the day comes when they are able to rejoin. Hannah is a reminder that all prayer is valid and every person is welcome in God’s presence, even when religious leaders may think or say otherwise. Hannah is proof that when it feels like God is absent, God is still present.
 
CW: infertility

Reading between the Lines: Jael, Deborah, & Huldah

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Jael, Deborah, and Huldah.
 
Each of these women show up in the story of God’s people in surprising ways: Deborah as the only female judge recorded in scripture, Jael as an unexpected warrior and hero, Huldah as a female prophet within the temple. All of their stories, when added together, only make up a very small portion of the story of God’s people. And yet, their stories are included; without them the story of how God acted in the world and was present with God’s people would look different. They are reminders that even if their stories take up less space on the printed page than their male contemporaries, God will call and work through anyone, regardless of their gender and entirely because God has given them the gifts needed to lead in that particular moment.
 
CW: war, murder

Reading between the Lines: Women of Exodus

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of the Women in Exodus.
 
The story of the Exodus has many layers that stand out to us based on our own histories and are embraced by different cultures. The majority of this book focuses on God’s call for Moses to lead God’s people and how God’s people respond to that leadership, especially when they are tired. But, the first few chapters of this book are heavily influenced by the overt and covert leadership and wisdom of the women and how God worked through them.
 
If not for Shiphrah and Puah subverting the pharaoh, many babies would have been killed.
 
If not for Jochebed, Miriam, and the pharaoh’s daughter, this one child to be named Moses would not have lived.
 
If not for Miriam’s song at the Red Sea or the Reed Sea, God’s people may not have joined together to worship and give thanks for God’s protection and presence with them.
 
If not for Zipporah and her sisters, her father may not have had Moses’ help for years and the Midianites and God’s people may not have been united through their marriage.
 
Through their stories, we see glimpses of how God calls people to do large and small things, sometimes watching from the sidelines for the right moment.
 
CW: slavery, infanticide, genocide, divorce
 
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Reading between the Lines: Dinah & Tamar

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Dinah and Tamar.
 
These stories are hard. They remind us that life in ancient Mesopotamia was violent. Families united against family, sometimes resulting in fighting, sometimes resulting in death. The use of force, especially against women was common. Women did not have full authority to approve or deny who they would marry. These stories grate against most of our understanding of how the world should work, this sounds so different from how we treat one another now.
 
But, my friends, we know this story also tells us some truths about how little progress we have made in how we treat one another. Violence and sexual violence against women still occurs and is still a method of warfare. Countries are still seeking to have more land and more resources, invading another area once they have the strength they need. Families still have generations-long feuds with one another, that though they are not as violent as what happened in Shechem in these stories, are still passed on through the generations.
 
In the midst of a portion of scripture that tends to focus on the patriarchs of our faith, the stories of these two women were recorded and discerned to be integral to the entire story of God’s people that they have remained part of scripture. They are reminders of how power and control can quickly cause us to harm others, when we exploit them for our own gains and desires. May their stories call us back to who God has called us to be - co-workers seeking to restore peace and wholeness in the world.
 
CW: infertility, rape/sexual violence, and genocide

Reading between the Lines: Rebekah, Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, & Rachel

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the stories of Rebekah and Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, and Rachel.
 
This story that stretches across a large portion of the book of Genesis is not one that is easy to read. There is deep brokenness present within this family, divides so deep that set the stage for the narrative that will come next and will shape the identity of God’s people and influences how God’s people relate to one another today.
These are stories that seem to simultaneously buck against the patriarchal systems of the time through Rachel working as a shepherd, side-by-side in the wilderness with other male shepherds, with no one being scandalized. But, then the patriarchy shows up again in how Laban uses Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, and Rachel as pawns in attempts to earn more wealth and status for himself, along with years of free service from Jacob.
There is abuse and sexual abuse throughout these stories. Even though they were abiding by common practices at the time, these practices stripped Zilpah and Bilhah of agency over their own bodies; they could not grant or deny access. And, at least in the case of Bilhah, this spanned male members of multiple generations of the same family.
In the midst of this, God claims this family to be the origin of God’s people. It is through Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah, Rachel, and Jacob that generations of God’s people trace their genetic and spiritual lineage. It is through this broken family that God’s promise made with Abraham and Sarah is fulfilled; this is the beginning of those generations that would be so large that they would be impossible to count. This is a sign of God’s faithfulness, but there is also cost to those involved.
 
CW: infertility, rape and sexual violence, slavery

Reading between the Lines: Hagar & Sarah

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Hagar & Sarai/Sarah.
The intertwined stories of Hagar and Sarah can call us to examine things like how those in power, either willingly or unknowingly, cause harm to those without that same power and privilege. These stories can call us to work toward an end to sex trafficking and creating a culture of consent surrounding how our bodies are used by others. This has implications for intimate sexual relationships as well as how individuals with disabilities receive care and are included in decision-making processes.
 
These stories can call us to examine how people with various intersecting identities and varying amounts of power currently treat others and how we can work toward equity. Learning these stories may uncover the church’s tendency toward hiding abuse that happens within its structure and calling us to rehumanize those who have been harmed and work toward justice. These stories can be models of how to talk with God, being honest with where we are struggling to be faithful, and God’s continual presence in the midst of heartache.
 
These stories are reminders that we simply cannot take them at face value; we are called to look more deeply, to notice the small details that humanize the characters, and to wonder about the pieces that are missing so that we can work toward a more wholistic understanding of God and God’s presence from the time these individuals lived all the way to us today.
 
CW: infertility, rape and sexual violence, slavery, child abuse, and domestic abuse

Reading between the Lines: Eve

This week on Reading between the Lines, we are learning more about the story of Eve, the first human called by name in the Bible.
 
Remembering the story of Eve, those of us who have experienced separation from our home or families, who have made mistakes that altered our entire lives, who have found our ride or die, who have had to bury children, who have had rainbow babies after infant loss, who struggle to be faithful, who are holding on to long-dwelling heartache can find glimpses of ourselves in scripture and know that God continues to be present with us.

Reading between the Lines: Intro

We're back!
 
Join Pastor Rebecca to hear more about what MomenToUs has been up to while the podcast has been offline, how you can get connected, and what's coming up next with our newest podcast series!

God through Us; God to Us; God around Us

Join for the final episode of this podcast series, where Pastor Rebecca shares how the final few verses of the hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel shape our theology and how we are part of what God is up to in the world!

God beyond Us

Join us for our next MomenToUs episode, where Vicar Jaren Summers joins us for a conversation about what Lutheran Christians believe happens after death.