“Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, ‘Remain a widow in our father’s house until my son Shelah grows up,’ for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.”
Genesis 38:11
Tamar,
the one who made a way,
when there was no way.
Tamar,
wife
daughter-in-law
widow
prostitute
How many names do we call her?
If it were up to the men in the text,
Tamar’s story would have ended at widow.
But Tamar picked up the pieces of the broken promises of men,
and she built new life with them.
She made a way forward,
while others tried to hold her back.
And for this, we might now call her,
Mother
Hope bringer
Faithful
Ancestor of Christ
Prayer: Holy God, as we look to the mothers of our faith this week, help us to listen to their stories. May we learn their names, hear their voices, and understand the gifts they have passed down to us. Guide us to be inspired by their faith during this season of advent, and beyond.
Amen
Rev. Molly Spangler