Part I of II

This short story by Deb Farris will run in two segments beginning Sunday, Dec 22

Part II will appear on Monday, Dec 23.

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“Who does she think she is,” Leonora said as she leaned in to her friend Lucy. Lucy glared back and shushed Leonora as the two boys sitting in front of the girls turned around. Leonora sat up straight, lifted her chin and gave the handsome duo a big grin. 

Then you could have heard a pin drop. The striking young woman with the short jet black hair and a face pale with fright, took the mic she was handed from the usher. She paused, then stepped slowly toward the steps leading to the pulpit. She’d overheard the whisper directed at her. “I’m good enough,” she told herself as she prepared to speak to the congregation. 

It was the time in the service Pastor Paul would usually deliver a special short Christmas Eve message. What was she doing there? People were looking at each other. There had been no announcement. Many in the pews looked startled to see the young singer who had stopped singing at church since her pregnancy. 

In fact, the only ones who had seen much of her were those who attended the church prayer group. They gathered early in a small basement room set apart from activity before the service each Sunday. Unknown to most, this young woman Miriam had been attending with her mother over the past year while her baby slept in her arms, or in those of one of the prayer warriors. They loved to take turns holding the astonishingly content child. And they had all been equally astonished by the power of Miriam’s prayers and her knowledge of scripture as they listened to her soft voice and took in her words. 

Even Pastor Paul had been taken aback. He’d participated in the early morning prayer group faithfully prior to his message since he stepped in as lead pastor three years before. He wouldn’t consider missing out on the anointing he received from this humble group, who he had to admit, he’d first considered a rather odd mix of misfits. But they had become his lifeline. 

Four Corners Church was nestled in a town of the same name in the foothills of Colorado. The young pastor was well aware church attendance had been declining. But they were praying to see a change in the coming year in the way they could best serve their community and the surrounding areas where many migrants had settled. He knew they all had some hard challenges to face. 

The light above the altar shown on the young woman, creating a sheath of protection around her, alighting the sheen of her dark hair like a halo. Even her long lashes seemed to reflect the light in her eyes that sparkled as she lifted her head from her notes. Looking above the heads seated in the pews, she could barely decipher who was who, and that calmed her nerves. As an unwed mother, she was well aware of the disapproval she would be up against. Her task was beyond her natural ability to carry out and she had to focus.

As she took a breath, she met her mother’s eyes, and noticed the glisten of tears as she gazed up at her daughter. And with that, Miriam began reading the genealogy of her Lord Jesus from the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. 

***

At first Miriam had said no to Pastor Paul’s request that she speak at the Christmas Eve service. But it was a spunky little woman named Muriel from the prayer group who had convinced her otherwise. “Answer the call” were her exact words. Then Muriel had told her about one of the remarkable things in the passage of scripture she had been asked to read. It wasn’t only about who the people were that Matthew had included in the list, but who he had not. 

“For one thing, there are women here!” Muriel had said. And at Four Corners Church, no woman had ever been allowed to speak from the pulpit except maybe to make a request for volunteers for the annual picnic. Especially not a woman like Miriam, who, as the elders had made clear, was in the midst of paying penance for her sin.

Miriam had said no to Muriel three times before she showed up at Miriam’s little house, inviting her to bring her baby Josh and join her for lunch. It had been an especially weak moment when Miriam was feeling particularly hopeless about her future. And she had never felt so alone when she heard the knock. The sky was thick with clouds after a night of continuous snow. More was expected that afternoon and feeling the cabin fever winters often brought to the little town, Miriam was relieved for the unexpected call from the woman in her prayer group. 

After they were comfortably seated in the cozy Mount Comfort Café, Miriam ordered a cup of the day’s soup. “Water is fine,” she’d told the waitress. Muriel ordered the Denver omelette and a cup of the special house blend. She wasted no time getting right to business.

“First, and now I mean no disrespect to our council, but can I just say, Jesus already paid the price for all of us? Okay, now that that’s off my chest, let me continue. At the time Christ walked this earth, according to Jewish Law, a woman had no legal rights,“ Muriel said. “A woman was regarded as a thing, not a person. Can you relate to that? Miriam? I certainly can.”

Miriam inclined her head.

“Did you know, in their regular form of morning prayer at that time, a Jew gave thanks for not being a gentile or a slave or a woman.”

Miriam looked from Josh to Muriel.

“Do you see? “Muriel opened her small Bible, “that there are women’s names listed here in the first chapter of Matthew, is quite extraordinary. To be honest, it’s also extraordinary that Pastor Paul requested you stand up to speak from the pulpit as a part of his Christmas Eve message.

“Do you understand he is setting a new precedent for our church?” She didn’t give Miriam a chance to answer. “He’s challenged the entire board of elders. It’s not that he has won over their approval 100%, mind you, but the vote was passed to allow women to be pastors. This is groundbreaking for Four Corners. Glory be! Don’t you see? God is at work!”

Miriam glanced around the restaurant and scrunched down a bit in her seat with embarrassment at the volume of Muriel’s voice. The waitress appeared to refill Muriel‘s coffee mug and they high fived. 

“Are you sure you don’t want some coffee, dear?” Muriel asked. “This coffee at Mount Comfort Café is by far the best in town, maybe the best anywhere!”

Miriam couldn’t suppress her giggle at Muriel’s exuberance, but she had intentionally kept her order small, knowing she would never be able to afford treating Muriel to lunch.

“And she’ll also have a grilled cheese with tomatoes to go with her cup of minestrone soup,” Muriel rattled on to the waitress who without a glance in Miriam’s direction, scribbled on her notepad. 

It was then, Miriam, for the first time since she could remember, felt herself relax as Josh slept in her arms. She felt wonderfully cared for and accepted by this quirky woman. Her stomach growled at the thought of the hand cut, hot crisp fries that would come with her favorite sandwich. “I’d rather have a Diet Coke if that’s okay. I prefer it with French fries.”

“Now that’s what I’ve been longing to see, Miriam, that smile of yours could promote any dentist’s office.” Miriam blushed. “Listen to me, sweetheart. Not only is it extraordinary that women made this list in the Bible, but that the first one listed in your passage is Rehab. Do you remember who Rehab was? “

Miriam had to think. “Did she have a red cord? “

“Very good. She was the prostitute used by God to help the Israelites take over Jericho. Do you remember that they called her the harlot? “

“Kind of…” What was Muriel’s point?

“Well, the second woman listed in Jesus’s Family Tree is Ruth, and she was a Moabite, not a Jew. The Jews hated Moabites.“

Josh squirmed in Miriam’s arms as though responding to Muriel‘s words. Marion lifted him to pat his back against her chest. “He’s getting so heavy,” she said with pride about her healthy son. “I’ve never felt such love for anyone, Muriel.”

“Here, give your arms a break. Let me hold that handsome young man.“ And Miriam was up, reaching for him. Just as she is reaching out to me, Miriam thought. How could she say no to this woman?

“Phew, thank you,” Miriam said shaking her hands and rubbing her arms, considering her decision. But what would everyone think…?

To be continued December 23.

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This story is the first of two parts and was inspired by a combination of sources and people:

The two author/editors who have opened me up to writing fiction: Lisa J. Lickel and Laurie Scheer;

Genealogy and Grace by Gail Godwin;

Watch for the Light, Readings for Advent and Christmas by Plough Publishing;

Greg Marshall’s message at Eastbrook Church titled I Am Part of the Body and who coined the phrase “good enough-ness”;

Matt Erickson, Lead Pastor of Eastbrook Church and his predecessor, founding pastor, Marc Erickson who accept women serving in pastor/leadership roles;

Nancy Erickson, my own personal Muriel;

To all the Miriams and Muriels who have touched my life and the lives of others across the world, I offer my deep gratitude, respect and love.

Photo credits: Katlyn Giberson, Wes Hicks, June Andrew George, Laura Seaman; Dan Gribbin, Colin Lloyd, Debby Hudson, Greg Rakozy on Unsplash.