Chapel Matters

Have you ever wondered about Jesus’ whakapapa? His ancestry? Matthew’s Gospel begins by outlining the generations of Jesus’ family tree, and I thought this could be interesting to explore for International Women’s Day.

If you read Matthew 1.1-16, I am sure that you will notice that there is a pattern: one man is the father of another man, one generation after another, after another. Man after man after man. Matthew is writing for a Jewish audience and wanting to make the point that Jesus can trace his ancestry all the way back to Abraham, who is seen as the founder of the Jewish faith. But as Matthew recites Jesus’ whakapapa, the patriarchal pattern is surprisingly broken in five places where women’s names appear.

The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “inspire inclusion,” so the stories of these five women are worth exploring (which is what we did in chapel this week). Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary all interrupt the patterned, perfect, and predictable Jewish genealogy that might be expected for someone as important as God’s Messiah. All of them, in one way or another, were outside the acceptable norms for women at that time. All but Mary were non-Jewish. Their stories are all filled with pain and hardship, and for several of them, also abuse at the hands of men. The expectation of a perfectly formed Jesus Family Tree is therefore shattered by sexually exploited, immoral, foreign, pregnant-out-of-wedlock women.

Despite being a devout Jewish man, Matthew deliberately includes these women right at the beginning of his Gospel. As a follower of Jesus, he wanted everyone to realise that Jesus came to save all people, and for the church community to also be inclusive. These broken but brave women break the patriarchy by their presence. God wants these women to be there. To be noticed. To have their stories heard. To be included.

May we hear God’s message about Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, from thousands of years ago, and the message of International Women’s Day this year, to honour their stories and inspire inclusiveness.

Dr Gillian Townsley
Chaplain