Re-imagining, re-membering

One of the things that annoyed me most when taking the Bible Content Exam (besides failing it the first time and having to re-take it) was the question about the woman who anoints Jesus. In Mark 14:9, Jesus says "wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her." The annoying part of this verse is that WE DON'T KNOW THE WOMAN'S NAME! Like so many other women in the Bible, she is not honored with a name. This is troubling.

This semester I'm taking Feminist Theologies and am being exposed to so many radical ideas. My heart is full of joy in response.

One of the greatest joys of this class has been exposure to Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, a feminist scholar who likes to push people's buttons. She wrote a book called In Memory of Her, which looks at reconstructing our theological notions. Her starting point is with that unnamed woman who anointed Jesus. Schüssler Fiorenza argues that we must employ various hermeneutics when looking at the Bible, because traditional interpretation has many, many gaps.

Two friends and I had the assignment of giving a presentation to our class on the week when we were discussing scripture in the feminist lens. We wanted to do something different, and kick things up a notch. We all agreed to focus on our reading from Schüssler Fiorenza, because she really knows how to kick things up more than just a few notches.

We decided to follow Schüssler Fiorenza's lead by re-imagining and re-membering stories about women in the Bible. We each selected a passage of scripture that involved an unnamed woman, whether she was a main character or not. The slave girl in Acts, Samson's mother, and a woman told to wear a veil in 1 Corinthians. We each wrote a monologue on those women, re-imagining and re-membering their stories.

We were nervous about how this would go over. Were we being heretical? Rewriting Bible stories sounds dangerous, but we were willing to take that risk.

The results were beautiful. I've had a hard time articulating the experience of taking part in that class presentation. All I can say is that the Spirit was moving that day in mysterious ways. What happened was informative and yet worshipful. As we delivered our monologues, we realized that what was happening was incredibly special. I was moved to tears at several moments.

I love being in seminary where things like this are acceptable. This is a safe space where we're allowed to make mistakes, to push the limits and ask questions. I realize that writing monologues and reconstructing the Bible might not go over well in the typical congregation, but this experience has taught me that it is okay to push ourselves to examine scripture and theology from a different angle. To know that the traditional interpretation isn't the only acceptable interpretation is a relief. I hope to continue re-imagining and re-membering, giving voice to the marginalized people of the Bible.