Wise woman bearing gifts.

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].

Rosemary Ruether--Mother. Rosemary's wisdom gifts most certainly echo this rejection of patriarchal competition in all the ways she has nurtured students, colleagues, and partners injustice ministries such as the "Women, Ministry and the City" Summer program. I myself rejoiced when I met Rosemary in East Harlem at the Emmaus House in 1968 because she was a partner in the work against racism and in subversion of church hierarchy. Who else would have a reverse Festschrift as a tribute to the wisdom of her kin-dam thinking!

Rachel Weepinq

At the end of Matthew 2 the earlier patriarchal power competition gives way to patriarchal violence and destruction with the slaughter of innocent children in Bethlehem. In a story that parallels Exodus 1:8-2:10 Matthew describes the way this new Pharaoh deals with the upstart "King of the Jews." Herod was known as a cruel ruler and, when he realizes that he had been tricked by the Magi, does not hesitate to make the families of Bethlehem pay the price of his power game.

Patriarchal violence. In Matthew's story we see the results of patriarchal logic in which the winners wield power at the expense of the powerless. When power is exercised as a zero-sum game, those in authority build their power by taking it from those who have less possibility to resist. Sharing of power and inclusion of the many in a multiplication game is not even considered. Matthew, however, does take the multiplication very seriously and lifts it up very clearly as he presents the story of the women and their families crying out in resistance to this violence. In Matthew's quotation from Jeremiah 31:15 the suffering multiplies, but so does the compassion. Rachel weeping for her children, refuses to be consoled, "because they are no more [2:18]."

Women resisting violence. In the midst of this senseless slaughter, the wise women reach out to a God of compassion, knowing that God weeps for them in the midst of injustice and pain. Here we have echoes of Jesus' own compassion and weeping over Jerusalem as it continues to be caught in the patriarchal competition [Mt. 23:37] (8) It is his resistance to zero-sum game that leads him to the cross where God not only weeps with him, but also calls him to new life through the multiplying power of love.

Rosemary Ruether--Ms. Today this resistance to violence is crucial as we see it being played out in Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Mothers and fathers are crying without ceasing and the whole world is groaning. Rosemary has had many words of resistance on this score as well, beginning with her book with Herman Ruether The Wrath of Jonah in 1968 and continuing in the analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Rosemary's gift of speaking truth to power continues to lead us forward in the search for justice and peace.

Conclusion

In our journey with the Magi we discover that there are also wise women to be discerned between the cracks of the dominant patriarchal story. So why not think of the Magi as more numerous and of both genders? After all Matthew does not tell us there are three wise males, but only that Magi from the East bring three royal gifts.

From a feminist perspective these Magi who resist patriarchal violence and lift up the compassion and wisdom of God could as easily be named as misfits, mothers, and uppity women. And as long as we are naming those with wisdom's gifts we need most certainly to include Rosemary along with Caspar, Baithasar, and Melchior, and celebrate her as a wise woman bearing gifts to us all!

This sermon was first presented at "Theology, Ecology, and Feminism' a conference honoring Rosemary Radford Ruether at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, April 3-4, 2002.

Notes

(1.) The title of this sermon reflects the title of a book on women preachers by Suzan D. Johnson, ed., Wise Women Bearing Gifts: Joys and Struggles of Their Faith. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1988.

(2.) Raymond E. Brown, "Infancy Narratives in the NT Gospels." The Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992, Vol. 3:412.

(3.) Elaine Wainwright, "The Gospel of Matthew," Searching the Scriptures: A Feminist Commentary, edited by Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza. New York: Crossroad, 1994, II:641.

(4.) Wainwright, 643.

(5.) Wainwright, 636.

(6.) Wainwright, 636.

(7.) In this sentence a hyphen is used for emphasis: kin-dam. The term 'kindom" is widely used of God's reign as it moves us beyond hierarchical imagery to one of community and welcome. See Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, In la Lucha: (In the Struggle): Elaborating a Mujerista Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993, xi.

(8.) Wainwright, 644.

Letty M. Russell is Professor of Theology Emerita at Yale Divinity School. She cocoordinates the D.Min. program with an international feminist emphasis at San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is an author and editor of a number of books, including Church in the Round: Feminist Interpretation of the Church and Dictionary of Feminist Theologies.