Part II of II
This is the second segment of a two-part short story by Deb Farris.
For Part I click here or just continue reading.
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As Muriel reassembled herself at the table, she said, “The third woman in the list of Jesus’s Family Tree is Tamar. She committed adultery. Do you remember who with?”
“No,” Miriam shook her head. She was reading her Bible every morning, it was the best part of her day except for her time with Josh. But between teaching the children at the base where she also had to speak in Spanish and translate so the children could understand, picking up Josh from her mother’s, then feeding and bathing and reading to her son, keeping up with laundry, making herself some supper and packing a lunch for the next day, she collapsed into bed.
“Her father-in-law! “ Muriel exclaimed.
“What? “
“I kid you not. Tamar slept with her father-in- law.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that.“
“Listen and hear me out. I’d say the majority of our sweet little Church, and I mean that, I love Four Corners, but many in our church are Bible illiterate, if I may be so blunt. Or they don’t remember what they once knew and need to be reminded, for mercy’s sake.”
“Would you like more Coke, miss?” The attentive waitress asked.
“Yes, diet, please.“
“I remember.” The waitress winked. “Your lunches will be right up, ladies.”
“I’m serious about this.” Miriam picked up her mug of coffee and took a long sip to calm herself down. “Who in God’s good name, I’d like to know, has recently read or been reminded of Jesus’s interesting lineage…? And the fourth woman’s name in the list isn’t even there. But we all know who Uriah’s wife was.“
“Bathsheba. Why not mention her by her name, do you think?“ Miriam found herself inspired to know more about each of these women.
“Well, I don’t know. But we do know that it highlights David’s adultery, his shame, not to mention his murder of Uriah. Maybe it was a way for Matthew to honor Uriah…? Because David had covered it up…?
“Or maybe Matthew, as the author of the Gospel, led by the Spirit, did this to emphasize God‘s grace, rather than naming Bathsheba directly? It covers David’s sin against Bathsheba without doing so at the expense of her humanity. But don’t quote me on that. What I do know is that women have remained faceless and voiceless far beyond the Scriptures, right up into our own sweet church! What do you think Jesus would have to say about that? Give some thought to that.”
Miriam realized how much she had grown to love this woman, her humor, her courage, her spunk. She wanted to find more of that in herself.
“We need to be bold and brave, and be willing to take a stand.” Could Muriel read her thoughts? Miriam now wondered.
“He’s calling you, Miriam, to stand at the pulpit on Christmas Eve. He wants to hear your voice. And good Lord, He wants to hear you sing again!“
As if the timing had been perfectly planned according to Muriel’s monologue, the waitress placed their lunches down on the table in front of them. Miriam’s mouth watered looking at her sandwich and the heap of hot fries. She was also relieved by the distraction because her throat had tightened as the tears spilled over the rims of her thick eyelashes at the mention of singing again.
“I’m sorry… “ Miriam said as she reached for her napkin. She so missed singing.
“Well, for heaven’s sake! The dam finally broke! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this?“
Miriam reached for the Kleenex Muriel had grabbed from her purse as if prepared for that very moment and handed it to her.
“So, Miriam, each of the names in Jesus‘s Geneology is of a person who is foreign or undesirable by society’s set standard, or immoral, but in spite of this, they have been included in Jesus’s extended family. Think of it as God‘s history of redemption being revealed, which is what the Family Tree of Jesus is all about in these verses that Pastor Paul has asked you to share. It doesn’t matter where we’re from or what we have done or who our parents are. That’s not why Jesus uses us.
“You’ve been called at such a time is, so that our ornery little church can hear this message this Christmas—that everyone is accepted into the Family! Jesus paid the price for Pete’s sake and offers us wretches amazing grace!”
Muriel had to scope out the restaurant herself at this point. She caught herself nearly shouting. “And I don’t mean that to insult you, but to bless you. The church can hurt people because it is just that, a group of people trying to do what they think is right, and have a lot of opinions, but that doesn’t mean we can throw the baby out with the bathwater. Now eat.”
The hot soup soothed Miriam’s soul like her own mother’s always did. She savored each fry after dipping it in ketchup, and each bite of the buttery grilled bread and gooey cheddar cheese. When half of her sandwich was gone and Muriel had almost finished her omelet, sourdough toast and seasoned breakfast potatoes, she continued, a tad more calmly.
“The church exists for hurting people, Miriam, for the wounded, the wrecked, the rejected. It’s not intended to be a county club, for crying out loud.” She forced herself to whisper. “This community of ours, growing with immigrants, the very children you are teaching, needs you and needs the church to grow and thrive, to repent and surrender, just like us people. No one gets to pass to the head of the class because of prestige or power or their own supposedly perfect family tree. You know who the Head is, right? “
Miriam looked out the window at the tall fir trees blanketed with snow. The wind had picked up and the sky was threatening to lay down yet another blanket that afternoon. “You’re so poetic, Muriel.”
“Oh, I would say the Spirit is the creative One here. Christ’s Spirit in us. Without Him, we are nothing but sacks of dry bones.”
Miriam burst out laughing.
“He brings us back to life, waters our spirits, sets us high, as if on the wings of eagles, to rise and soar and bring glory to the Father. Just as He’s doing with you. And you’re going to discover this even more so, when you take those steps leading up to the altar this Christmas Eve.”
“I love your metaphors. Fine, I’ll do it.”
***
Leonora’s voice was still echoing in the air of the sanctuary, but this time, for the first time, Miriam felt no shame. She didn’t blame Leonora. And also for the first time, she realized what Leonora needed most was love. Miriam’s parents weren’t ashamed of her as they sat in the front row to support their daughter, their heads were held humbly high.
And at that moment, when Miriam looked at them both, her heart overflowed. She couldn’t have been prouder to be their daughter. Although they’d had their own differences, and her father might have at one point disowned her, she now saw only one thing in his eyes. His deep love for her, and for God. And for their church and community.
Maybe she had to experience what being shunned and shamed felt like, maybe it was about her alone and nobody else, about her own relationship with God, so that she could learn to embrace His love, and learn how to truly love Him and others.
“The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Miriam’s voice was clear and steady as she spoke. Her nerves had vanished. “Abraham was the father of Isaac. Poor Ishmael. Banished so unfairly,” she read from her notes then set them aside. “Isaac, was the father of Jacob.
“Have you ever wondered why there’s not a word here about his older brother, Esau, whose birthright Jacob stole? And have you ever wondered why Judah is chosen to be listed here and not the good brother, Joseph? You might wonder, like me, what’s going on here?
“In this Gospel according to Matthew, God doesn’t select the most deserving or noblest people to carry out His purposes. For reasons we might never understand that,” Miriam paused and looked for Muriel who she spotted a few rows back near the aisle, grinning ear to ear, “that how smart we are, or how wealthy, or educated, isn’t the point.
“God chooses people like Judah, who sold his own brother, and like Jacob, who lied and cheated his way in, and like David, well, we all know about that situation, don’t we? About his adultery and murder? But we also read over and over again, and are comforted and encouraged by his beautiful and powerful poetic Psalms.
“And this brings us to the women included in the list: Tamar the adulteress, Rehab, who they called the harlot, Ruth the Moabite, an outsider and hated, and Uriah’s wife, each of them comes with scandal.
“And then we come to the woman who brings us here to our own Christmas Eve service together tonight. To Mary, Jesus’s mother, with her unconventional pregnancy that God used to change mankind with all its wayward brokenness. And that finally brings us to Mary’s Son, to Jesus. Which is why we’re all here.”
Miriam thought of Josh then, and for the first time since she found out she was pregnant, had such a burst of hope for his life, for his own calling and his divine purpose, so much beyond what she could hope or imagine for him, and for her own life, that she felt, well…she felt as if life was born anew within the dark places of her heart.
For a moment she lost her place, such a flood of warmth ran through her, it felt as if she’d dived into one of Colorado’s fresh hot springs. Then it bubbled up, and she had to speak.
“Jesus‘s ministry was to the tax collectors and the lepers, the untouchables, to the prostitutes and sinners, the unaccepted and rejected. Jesus came to those in need. He knew what they needed, but they needed to feel the need before it could be offered and met. He didn’t come for those who felt they had everything they needed apart from Him—the wealthy, the successful, those honored by society, and their own religious leaders.
“This genealogy of Jesus contains three sections, each with fourteen names that include those who were insulted and flawed, manipulative and misunderstood. I think you’ll agree, God’s Kingdom is all about equal opportunity.“
And with that, Miriam looked down at her paper and folded it in half. A silence descended over the sanctuary as she began to walk back to her seat, just as it had when she stepped forward with her legs shaking and hands trembling. Then from out of the stillness, first one person clapped, then another and another until the church was filled with a sound like thunder.
Pastor Paul met Miriam at the front pew by her parents and hugged her. “Thank you,” he said. Then he went up to give the final words of the message.
“The birth of Jesus in us is for a purpose beyond us. And His Presence in the world must be created through us. That means every part of us as a church body, and individually, must be indwelled with Christ’s Spirit and threaded together into His own creativity and activity, so that we can be woven into his heart, soul, mind and strength—into His own purpose.
He paused to look out over his congregation, meeting the eyes of those he knew were hurting, newly separated, had recently lost loved ones, were struggling with health, with their faith, with finances, and their own inner discontentment with life and discouragement within themselves. “When we don’t see any surprising mark of our own individual usefulness for God, think of that baby in the cold, dark stable, lying on a bed of hay… Let us pray.
“Lord Jesus, open our hearts and minds to our need for Your goodness and grace. May Your Spirit meet us at the stable of our hearts, just as we are, here tonight, and create in us new life this Christmas Eve, for the good of all. Thank you, Father, for the gift of Your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for being willing, and for being here in our midst tonight by the power of your Spirit. It’s a Mystery. But we want to take hold of it more and more. Help us. And forgive us when we don’t get it right. Thank you. It’s in Your precious Name we pray. And everyone said,
“Amen.”
“And just think?” Pastor Paul said, glancing in the direction of Miriam. “Why, it might make a person want to sing… It’s the most beautiful thing, we’re continuing the story!”
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This story 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 and respect women serving in pastor/leadership roles;
Nancy Erickson, my own personal Muriel; my late parents, Bill and Dee Wenzler; and my son, Charlie Grimes;
And to all the Miriams and Muriels who have touched my life and the lives of people across the world, I offer my deep gratitude and love.
Photo credits: Katlyn Giberson, Wes Hicks, June Andrew George, Laura Seaman; Dan Gribbin, Colin Lloyd, Debby Hudson, Greg Rakozy on Unsplash. And one William Wenzler Design.
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