Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] November 27, 2022 “There’s Room for Every Story” Matthew 7: 1-17 –King James Version The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. From Abraham to Jesus, 42 generations of begetting and begatting and begotting. And within all those names, like buried treasure, are five fascinating women: Mary, Bathsheba, Ruth, Rahab and Tamar. The fab five of bravery and brilliance. They are all the kind of woman about whom someone might say, with exasperation, “nevertheless she persisted.” They are all women who might be called into question for their “family values.” We’re probably most familiar with Mary who, among many other things, gave birth to a child conceived out of wedlock. Then there’s Bathsheba, who’s actually not named here. Matthew just names her the wife of Uriah. Uriah was the soldier King David had murdered on the front lines of battle to cover up David’s adulterous affair with his wife, an affair which began with him leering and lusting at Bathsheba while she was bathing. However, Bathsheba’s not a passive object. Her son Solomon, the result of the affair, was not the heir to King David’s throne. That honor went to the eldest of David’s multiple wives. Seizing an opportunity, though, Bathsheba connived and plotted and schemed and back-stabbed her way to see that her son became King Solomon. It’s quite Shakespearean. Lust, adultery, murder, until everyone could settle down into their nice traditional family of sister-wives, a polygamous family, headed by a father who said that his true love was Jonathon, “greater than the love of a woman,” David said. Then there’s Ruth who pledged an undying commitment to Naomi after their husbands and sons all died. The two of them were left to figure out how to survive. Upon Naomi’s coaching, one night, Ruth shrewdly and carefully “uncovered the feet of Boaz on the threshing floor,” which led to her becoming his wife, despite such a marriage being forbidden. Their son was King David’s grandfather. Can you see a theme? Child out of wedlock. Child of adultery. Child of some “threshing floor” activities under the cover of night and a forbidden mixed marriage. Then there’s Rahab. Simply put, Rahab was a sex worker. In fact, she was the prostitute of choice for the rich and powerful in Jericho. Some Israelite spies came to destroy the city. She hid them inside the middle of the massive city wall. How did she come to have such a safe and privileged location? She was the prostitute of choice for the rich and powerful. By hiding the spies, she risked death by turning on her clients. David’s great-great-grandma Rahab. The mother of Boaz, the child of a prostitute, who later married Ruth despite the taboo. Seduction, murder, scheming, adultery, prostitution, and espionage. And then we have Grandma Tamar. Like Ruth and Rahab, Tamar was a foreigner. According to scripture, she married a man who died because he was wicked in the sight of God. They had no children. So, according to the law, his next in line brother was obligated to marry her and have children in order to carry on the oldest brother’s line. His name was Onan – a name perhaps vaguely familiar to some of you who are male raised in conservative households. As a teenager someone may have warned you about the “sin of Onan...” Onan “spilled his seed on the ground” because, for whatever reason, he didn’t want to impregnate Tamar. But to be fruitful and multiply meant all sexual activity was for purpose of creating offspring. He wasted that opportunity. Plus, he was abdicating his responsibility. And so, as the story goes, he too was put to death by God. Two brothers down. There was only one brother left, but he was too young to marry. However, their father, Judah, was now scared of Tamar because in his mind, she had caused the death of his first two sons. There must be something wrong with her, not that his sons were wicked. So, Judah told Tamar he was sending his last son away but he’d be back when he was old enough. All she could do is wait and hope that Judah kept his promise. She couldn’t marry anyone else because her dead husband still had an unmarried brother. That would be adultery, and for that she would be stoned. Though Tamar was legally the responsibility of Judah, he pushed her out of his house and forced her back to her father’s house, but her family didn’t want her because they didn’t have any responsibility for her any more. Where does that leave Tamar? When the youngest son was finally old enough to marry her, she figured out that Judah was never going to allow it. As a woman she had no standing to sue and she can’t confront Judah in public. She came up with an ingenious way to get her husband’s family to do right by her. Judah’s wife died. Tamar waited and when the time was right, she exchanged her widows’ clothing for something that covered her face and signaled that she was available for a “night on the town.” With his wife dead for a while, Tamar figured the man would be, “amenable to some activity.” And sure enough, Judah saw her alongside the road and invited her into his tent. They negotiated the price of her services. He offered to bring her a goat but she wanted to make sure she actually got paid. So, for security, he agreed to give her his signet, cord and staff. A signet is like a ring you put into hot wax to seal a contract. It’s your signature. No two people have exactly the same. It’s not something you would ever want to give up, which shows how motivated he was to engage her services. About three months later Judah was told that his daughter-in-law was engaged in “whoredom” and was now pregnant. He’s outraged and declares that she should be stoned for adultery. He also wants Tamar burned to death, as proper punishment for having “killed” his two sons. That’s when she presented Judah’s signet, cord, and staff. He’s busted! Obviously, he reneged on that goat he promised. And now he is under penalty of death because “you shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law.” But, not surprisingly, he grants her forgiveness. How grand! Of course, it was to save his own skin, but he proclaimed that she was right to trick him because he had first transgressed her by refusing his son. And we think our Thanksgiving tables had some challenging relatives. Grandma Tamar lost two husbands and was denied the third, she was banished to her father’s house who refused any responsibility for her, posed as a prostitute and bore her father-in-law’s child. Enormous risk, incredible danger, and what an embarrassment. But she not only figured out how to survive, she got justice from Judah and held him accountable for his actions. It’s brilliant. There are only five women named in the 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus – all of whom were among unwed mothers, prostitutes, adulterers, schemers, and extortionists. Or foreigners in mixed marriages outside their cultures and religions... All of them, brave and brilliant women who nevertheless persisted until their fortunes were reversed – all of them the perfect grandmas and great, great, great, great-grandmas of Jesus. Perfect, because while Jesus was still in her womb, Mary proclaimed: My soul magnifies the Lord. With this child, God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty handed. With grandmas like Tamar and Rahab and Ruth and Bathsheba, and a mother like Mary, Jesus was destined to eat in the homes of tax collectors and prostitutes, to come to the aid of a woman caught in adultery, to share the good news that he was the Messiah to a woman who had been married five times and now living with another man. These are the hidden treasures buried in all those boring verses of begetting and begatting and begotting genealogy. Such amazing good news: there is room for everyone’s story. When you hear someone say we need to get back to traditional morality, these women are the biblical folks with the true family values: To understand difficult life circumstances, not judge them. To recognize what it takes to survive in this world and offer unconditional love. To hear someone’s story and remind them, there is room for you in the people of God. So, dear sad and confused, dear stuck and abused Dear end-of-your-rope, dear worn out and broke Dear go-it-alone, dear running from home Dear righteously angry, dear forsaken by family Dear jaded and quiet, dear tough and defiant[1] There is room for everyone’s story. For the anxious and depressed, The unseen last and the least For the workers, the hungry and houseless For the lonely and recently spouseless For the queers and their closeted peers For the bullied who hold back their tears For the mothers of little Black sons And the kids who grow up scared of guns For the addicts, the ashamed and hungover For the calloused, the wisened, the sober For the ones who just want life to be over Your stories matter. Your stories are honored. You, too, are very much a part of the family tree of Jesus. [1] Words from the song Plowshare Prayer by Spencer LaJoye
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