Wise woman bearing gifts

Cross Currents, Spring, 2003 by Letty M. Russell

This is a conference honoring and celebrating the gifts of a very wise woman! She comes from the "west" and not from the "east" and, as far as I know, does not ride on a camel. But the gifts that she has brought to all of us and to the Christ child have great splendor and not a few prophetic sparks!

To honor Rosemary Ruether I invite you to look again at the story of the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12. Seeking to follow Rosemary's example I will read the story against the grain of patriarchal assumptions, looking between the cracks of the story for the wise women who also are bearing gifts for the Christ Child. (1)

God with Us

Matthew's birth narrative weaves traditional materials into the themes of his Gospel. Focusing on the fulfillment of Jewish tradition of the patriarchs, he begins his story with the faithful Joseph and a story of exile and return that recapitulates Israel's exile to Egypt and return to Canaan. Like Balaam in Numbers 24, they prophesy that "a star shall come out of Judah," and the king shall be "exalted" [24: 17, 7]. (2) The Magi symbolizes the nations coming to Christ, and foreshadow the end of the Gospel when the disciples are to carry the teaching of Jesus to all the nations [Mt.28:16-20].

Patriarchal order. This imperial model for the church going out to all the nations is disturbing to us as we see how it has been used and abused by both the Christian churches and the countries of the North. Another aspect of this disturbing element in the story is that of the pervasive assumption of patriarchal order. The story is for everyone, but not about everyone. Few women appear in the story, and all the major players in Matthew's scenes are patriarchal figures. The genealogy in Matthew 1 situates us in an androcentric framework with thirty-nine pairs of male patriarchs in the fifteen verse "genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, and the son of Abraham [Mt. 1:2-16]." (3) Joseph is the center of the story and, like the earlier Joseph, is a dreamer who receives guidance from God in protecting Mary and the child [Gen. 37:19].

Women as an anomaly. Yet there are cracks in this patriarchal framework. In 1 16 Matthew finally has to mention the anomaly in his story. Jesus was born of Mary and not of Joseph and the thirty-nine fathers! He has included Tamar, Ruth, Rehab, and Bathsheba in the genealogy to show that God even uses women to save the people of Israel. These women were dangerous women who functioned outside the traditional patriarchal structures to make it clear that God is to fulfill the divine promise through another dangerous woman named "Mary." (4)

Rosemary Ruether--Misfit. This experience of women as an anomaly or misfit in patriarchal order is a familiar part of our Wise Woman's gifts. Rosemary has maintained the prophetic edge of her liberation and feminist theology by remaining within the Roman Catholic Church, yet never under their authority! Teaching at Howard and Garrett she worked to bring about change from both inside and out, showing that God could work through the women considered dangerous by the church!

By Whose Authority?

As our story of the visit of the Magi progresses in Matthew 2:7-12 we discover the tension and conflict highlighted by Matthew between the various male authorities. (5) The result of the foreigner's visit to the one who Matthew names, "King of the Jews," is a scene reminiscent of Pharaoh and the infant Moses. Herod, the other King of the Jews, is set over against the infant Jesus and seeks to slay him [2:19-23; Ex. 4:19].

Patriarchal competition. The patriarchal competition between Herod, the chief priests and scribes [representing those Jews who reject the Messiah]; Joseph [representing Jews that are faithful to him]; and the Magi [representing Gentiles who welcome him] seems to reflect some of the problems in Matthew's church community. It had developed as a Jewish and Gentile congregation and faced many tensions over the interpretation of the Law. Matthew's "politics of otherness" in relation to Judaism is problematic in the Christian tradition because it has served to fuel anti-Jewish polemic and negative stereotypes of Judaism. (6)

Wisdom of kin-dom thinking. Perhaps a crack in the mutual hostility of patriarchal competition can be found with Mary and the baby. Yet they seem more like a frozen Christmas tableaux than real participants in the story. Seen and not heard; supporting cast, not subjects of their history, they are inserted by Matthew into his narrative of patriarchal competition. These almost-missing persons in the story appear as the discordant note to what is going on around them.

In the relationship between mother and child we see, not competing kingdoms, but compassionate kin-dom. (7) We are reminded that there is another kind of authority in the gospel story. This authority is also portrayed for us by Matthew as he speaks of Jesus as Sophia, the embodiment of God's divine wisdom who cares for the people and leads them with the authority of love [Mt. 11:28-29].