A woman’s voice

Today is Easter Sunday, or the Resurrection of the Sovereign [sic]. The highest of the holy days in several religious calendars. It is the day, if not necessarily the date, that Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ.

As I mentioned at the top of the sermon, this can be a surprisingly difficult Sunday to preach. It is difficult, not because I’m afraid I won’t have something “new” to say, but because I gratefully released the “novelty requirement” years ago. (Thank you, Lowell, wherever you are.) It isn’t difficult because the texts are unfamiliar; the Easter texts are some of the most familiar in the Bible. Nor is it difficult because the texts are familiar; I preach to a mature congregation that knows the Bible well, so if this were a problem, it would be a weekly, not a yearly, problem.

The issue is the same every week, but highlighted by Easter; what is the Holy Spirit asking me to say about these texts, to these people, in these days? I have shared my analogy of a preacher to an art expert before, i.e., an art expert doesn’t tell you you are looking at a picture of a middle-aged man, but rather points out the use of light in this self-portrait by Rembrandt. The art expert helps you see new things in the familiar, quite often small things. What is the thing, perhaps small, that I can point out to the profit of us all, in the story of the Resurrection?

I ended up looking at Mary and her speaking, her voice. It is Mary who announces the emptiness of the tomb to the disciples. It is Mary who answers the question the angels ask. It is Mary who says “Rabbouni” (John 20:16 NRSV) when she recognizes Jesus. It is Mary who says to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18 NRSV).

Our culture, shaped as it is by millennia of patriarchy, does not grant women the same voice as men. So, what does it say about the time of Mary and our time that it is Mary who is the voice of the resurrection in John’s Gospel? What might it say about who we could consider listening to?

This sermon is a bit of a departure for me, so I am especially interested in your thoughts. Please share them as you are inclined and able. Also, fair warning, it is a bit longer than usual.

“A woman’s voice” St. Mark’s Presbyterian (to download, right-click and select “Save Link As . . .”)

Blessings,