Advent - Week Two
Liberation Lectionary ~ Soul Holidays
“I say peace to you, if you’re willing to fight for it” Fred Hampton
No Justice, No Peace
(Warning: this paragraph mentions or narrates patriarchal violence)
One of the most famous sons of Jacob was Judah, who most Judeo-Christian cultures treat like the firstborn. Although Judah was himself the fourth-eldest of his brothers, he became the inheritor of the eldest son's portion after his elder three brothers were somewhat disinherited. The actual eldest son, Reuben, took advantage of his aunt’s servant Bilhah - who was also his aunt, because she bore children for Jacob as well. Simeon and Levi were disinherited because they slaughtered a large population of a city in revenge - after their sister Dinah was raped by the prince of the city. Judah was prophesied to be the one to whom all his brothers bowed down. And today, most modern Jewish people claim to trace their line back to Judah.
Some of Judah’s notable descendants are King David, and Jesus of Nazareth.
Yet, Judah is quite the villain in today’s story from scripture.
So, even before we get to the focus of our foremothers today, before we get to the stories of the New Testament, where Jesus’s birth is about to be announced, we consider the context - the origin story of the man Judah. The person who is the original reference of the phrase “Lion of Judah” or “Send Judah First”. The lineage of Jesus is messy. This world that God so loved very obviously needed some transformative change.
READ Genesis 38
The drama! The plot twists! Notice Judah’s attitude in verse 24 and then is verse 26. Some historical notes might be helpful here. Judah had people sheering his sheep for him, that meant he had some wealth.
His cord, staff and seal were all identity markers. People didn’t have papers or licenses. They had one of kind objects that brokered deals and sealed promises. What other questions do you have for this text? What are you learning from this story? What makes you pause and ponder? What makes you cringe?
Tamar is a foremother of Jesus - she took matters into her hands, saved the day for herself, and dared the patriarch to judge her. In the end, Judah said “she is more just that I am”.
The theme of week two of Advent is Peace. Carlton Pearson, a famous Bishop in the Pentecostal movement, defines peace as the absence of threat of danger. Not just danger itself, but the sense of intimidation, anxiety or concern that danger might arise. We all know very well that peace is hard to achieve socially, culturally, personally.
Much of what Black liberation history has taught us is that there can be no peace without justice. This is why the Ferguson uprisings and many thereafter gave us the chant “No justice, no peace.” We have a biblical model in the prophetic announcements of Jesus. As God sends a Savior, that Savior is meant to be the “Prince of Peace”, who establishes a government which puts an end to all that threatens the most vulnerable.
In the ancient culture where and when today’s story is set - it takes no time to realize that no peace is afforded to a woman who has no attachments to a husband, or an heir. This and other elements mark a patriarchal society. Over the course of many eras it has been clear that patriarchy leads to exploitation, supremacy, and an utter lack of peace.
Jesus disrupts the patriarchy in much of his ministry. And by the actions of his foremothers, like Tamar, we learn that God has set up his very ancestry to be an example of how dismantling patriarchy brings justice, which settles God’s people in places of peace.
Judah calls Tamar “more righteous” also translated to “more just”. The famous person behind the moniker “Lion of Judah” himself had to admit that he was not a man of peace.
Many Christian cultures are perpetrators of patriarchal injustice, rather than partners for peace.
The term “Christian Patriarchy” for some people is a redundant phrase, because so many
Christian traditions around the world are so rooted in patriarchy. Scholar Jennifer Sims wrote :
“Christian Patriarchy is a set of beliefs held by many conservative Christians that outlines gender roles based on a literal interpretation of scripture. These gender roles, also referred to as biblical manhood and biblical womanhood, dictate the hierarchy of authority where Christ is the head of the household, and the husband is the head of the wife. Children are primed at a very young age to demonstrate the tenets of biblical manhood and biblical womanhood, but for young girls, their paths are strictly laid out for them to marry, birth many Godly children, and serve their husbands. The fundamentalist reading of Genesis 2-3 is used to justify female submission via Eve’s creation and subsequent role in the Fall of Humanity. This evangelical interpretation uses scripture as the foundational text to first justify women as subordinate based on creation order, and secondly justify women’s submission on Eve’s role in the Fall of Humanity. By using biblical interpretations to subordinate the woman’s position vis-à-vis her husband, women in these conservative Christian homes are locked into this role with little chance to follow a different path, and are often dependent on a dominant male figure for survival.”
Grounding Ourselves in the Action of Advent
Unpack Christian Patriarchy in light of the story of Tamar. What was the demise of Judah’s first son? What led to the demise of the second son? Do you think Judah must have known that his sons were messy? How does grief factor into Judah’s perception? How might family responsibility play into this situation? What does peace look like for Tamar? What does justice look like?
Ground yourself in the stories of the Tamars in today’s world. Who depends on a “dominant figure.” for protection, for freedom from threat , or peace? How can we honor their stories? If we are Judah’s family in faith, justice means admitting those who are “more just” than we. Speak their names before God. Join the divine in the fight for their peace.