The Widows | Luke's Take on Women | Part 3 (Courtney Clark)

TRANSCRIPT: THE WIDOWS

We are in part 3 of our 4 part series titled Luke on Women. The works of Luke and Acts are attributed to the same creator, who we’ve named Luke though no one knows for sure. Whoever the author of these texts was, they’re well educated and have an artistic writing style that captures a lot of detail. Luke is concerned with the Christian churches relationship with The Roman Empire. He spends a lot of time painting the Christian faith in a positive light to establish it as its own religion separate from Judaism and works to paint the Roman Empire as sympathetic to this religious movement. As a means to influence Rome positively toward Christianity, a religion started by a revolutionary. The primary audience of Luke and Acts are gentiles, people who are not Jews. The primary writing style, though there are many, is that of a Roman Historian. Luke was not an eye witness to the life of Jesus, so writes the text through investigative journalism. Luke himself was a gentile, and theologians argue that his cultural lens as a Roman helped influence him to view women more positively. Though theologians seem to disagree on if Luke was pro the inclusion of women or not. There are good arguments on both sides. But one thing we can note for sure, the book of Luke includes stories of women found no where else in the Bible, includes more stories of women than any of the other gospels, and sets women in positions of power and leadership within the life of Jesus.

One of Luke’s underlying themes throughout both Luke and Acts is the radical, inclusive love that the Gospel message carries to the marginalized and forgotten. This includes not just the poor, but women, and particularly widows who have lost not just their husband’s but their economic and social support system. Luke mentions widows 12 times, 9 times in Luke and 3 times in Acts. In comparison, John doesn’t mention widows at all, Matthew mentions widows once, Mark mentions them only 3 times. So we get a sense that widows are of importance to Luke.

The first two chapters in the book of Luke paint women in a strong light. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, which is Luke’s way of showing an ushering in of a new way of living in which the presence/glory of God can be experienced anywhere not just in the temple. Mary is given one of the most beautiful, powerful songs of revolution ever written, the Magnificat. In chapter 2 Luke introduces another female character we see nowhere else in scripture. Mary and Joseph in following tradition take Jesus to a purification ceremony in the temple. There were two witnesses, traditionally both male. The first is Simeon, the second breaks tradition and is a woman. The widow Anna, who is said to be a prophet (2:36-38). There is strong emphasis on her long widowhood about 40 years and her piety/faith. She devotes all of her time and has for some time toward communion with God in the temple. Luke makes it seem as if she’s been in the temple waiting for the arrival of the messiah. She’s strong in holding her position of prophet, and she is faithful in immediately upon meeting Jesus going to tell of what she’s seen. Her position is not lost here, women weren’t given the title of prophet often. Luke right out of the gate sets women up with high esteem. Yet it kind of starts to taper out. After a strong introduction to Anna none of her words are recorded. We’re getting sort of a mixed message on women here. They are introduced as strong players yet they hold conventional female roles of mother, or silent pious widow.

After last weeks sermon I had a conversation with someone who was so thrilled to hear someone speaking on women in the Bible and the power that they suggest. He said he’s always wondered if women, who its evident played an important role in the life and ministry of Jesus were left out of historical account in detail as a way to protect them. We have some information on what it was like to be a woman in this society, but we don’t know what sort of dangers they faced for holding jobs as part of a revolution, or as prophets for a religion in a society that had mixed ideas on women and their role in society. Greek women had more freedoms socially (mind you Luke’s primary audience here are Greeks) than did Palestinian or Jewish women would have. Though we see women hold a strong position in the Old Testament by the time of Jesus the role of women had drastically changed. From what we know it appears that a woman’s primary role and thus her life was confined to her family within her home. Women were not even permitted to learn to read or to study scripture. Yet here we have three women breaking all of those rules right off the bat. Mary and Elizabeth both are well educated and study scripture enough to quote and prophecy. And Anna is called a prophet, living as a widow inside the temple, waiting for the arrival of Jesus. Then loudly proclaims his birth once he arrives. We see story after story in Luke of Jesus publicly associating with women. Time after time in Jesus’s life we see him offering his teaching, healing, and forgiveness to women as well as to men. Luke emphasizes the importance of this by continually recording stories of Jesus’s interactions with women. I don’t think Luke’s intention was to exclude women by keeping them quiet, we don’t see anymore speeches from women after Mary’s song, or by placing them in traditional roles. Maybe he was protecting them? Or maybe he was just doing the best with what he had.

After we meet the widow Anna the next female character we’re introduced to that is exclusive to Luke is the Widow of Nain. She’s never given a name or a voice, but she has a powerful story. (Luke 7:11-17) This is another one of Luke’s parallels. The story before this is of Jesus healing a centurion’s servant. These two stories are similar to miracle stories told in Greek culture. And are also reminiscent of resurrections we see in the Old Testament through the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Which is a call toward the power of Jesus in a way, equating him to the two. Something Jews would have been familiar with, and would recognize the power Luke gives this Jesus.

Jesus’s compassion is directed not toward the dead man, but his mother. Not only because she lost her son, but because she’s lost her source of income, her source of security and her livelihood. Jesus isn’t just giving her her son back, she’s restoring this women to her social order. He’s giving her an opportunity of a long fulfilled life as a mother and grandmother who knows there will be a roof over her head and food on her table (as much as anyone at this time period could be sure of such things). She wouldn’t have to rely on the charity of others, beg or prostitute herself. Luke includes her as a picture of Jesus’s compassion for the lost, the broken, the forgotten. Jesus is not only restoring her livelihood, he’s giving her freedom.

There are two more stories about widows that stand out uniquely in Luke, both are parables told by Jesus. One is the story of the widow who gives all she has. Which is also found in Mark. We know Luke uses Mark to base some of his accounts of Jesus’s life. The other is a story unique to Luke. It’s a story of a widow who argues with a judge. Found in Luke 18:1-8. Traditional interpretations of this parable are about insistence particularly in prayer. But I think it’s more than that. Jesus, and Luke in recording this parable paint the woman as sure of herself and confident in her ability. She arrives at court and chooses to represent herself. In this time women didn’t represent themselves, they were represented by the men in their family. We know she’s widowed, widows were only allowed to remarry if their husband had a brother who was unmarried. So we can assume her husband had no brothers and she had no living sons of age to represent her. Essentially, she’s alone. Yet she arrives at court certain of what she’s saying and absolute on what she stands for. She’s insistent, not to be annoying or to keep asking in hopes the answer will change. But she is insistent in what she needs much like mothers are insistent in ensuring their children are cared for. She trusts herself. She also knows who she’s facing, she is using her insistence as a tactic. This man has no respect for her, or even the law. He’s unwilling to correct the injustice. She sees all of this and decides to be assertive and persistent by repeatedly speaking her demands. We get a sense that she’s made the decision, I won’t walk away from here with things the way they are. I will risk whatever it takes to do something about this. She knew being right and knowing and reciting the law weren’t going to work with this man. So she’s acting on what she knows, and she steps in to DO something about it.

She’s not a nagging widow as I’ve heard her spoken of before. She’s a courageous woman stepping in to take action to right what has been wronged. She has educated herself and is standing in her independence, using her power to advocate for herself to a system who wants nothing to do with her. This woman is revolutionary. She knows what’s right and she’s aggressively going after it no matter what it may cost. Remember this is a parable. Jesus made this story up. He could have written any story about the importance of being insistent on what’s right, about using what’s in our power to not just pray but to DO. Yet he chose to use a woman. He didn’t have to. But the story packs a larger punch that way. This woman has a lot more to overcome. She has to fight the social stigma of being a widow, the power imbalance of someone who would be assumed to be illiterate, she’s representing herself in court which in and of itself is quite the task even today. But she’s doing so in a society who not only wants her but expects her to stay home and stay quiet. She’s not waiting for someone to do it for her, she’s not insisting and pleading with everyone she knows to go and find a way to right this wrong. She does it herself. And that in itself is a powerful statement. Just as powerful as the reminder that our prayer must come with action.

Jesus and Luke through recording this parable are on the side of the woman. Jesus even calls her one of God’s chosen ones. This is another move of flipping tables of social norm. Jesus is calling her important. Jesus is giving her power in a society where she has none. Again we see Luke and Jesus showing a unique love and compassion to women, particularly in these 3 stories to widows. Jesus lived a ministry of compassion, last week we called it a revolution of love. And he welcomed ALL people to fall into his compassion. You are loved, you are valued, and you are welcome to participate in what Jesus is doing. Despite what society may say about you, despite what power imbalances you may face, or stigmas you may fight. Jesus is rooting for you, collective church is rooting for you and welcoming you to not sit silently but to participate, to do to be apart of bringing heaven to earth now.