Women, Q+A from the Texas Tour, and Holy Week
This Holy Week, may Blessed Are the Women accompany you to the cross, to the tomb, and beyond, reminding you that when we follow the women, we’ll find Jesus there following them, too.
Dearly Beloveds,
We arrived back in Nashville from the Blessed Are the Women Texas Book Tour Wednesday night, tired and full of gratitude and love. Wade, our 8-year-old, was with me for the tour, attached to me like an appendage. You can see Wade in many of the event photos; he wanted to be close to his mama, regardless of where I was or who I was talking to.
I get it. I’m almost 42, and I like being close to my mama, too.
It will likely take months, if not years, for me to fully process all that I experienced on the Texas tour. It was a homecoming and a reclamation, a warm hug and a deep bow. I saw people who’ve known me since I was born and who, in fact, have known my Dad since he was born, too!
I stood in my hometown and read/preached in my truest, most powerful (and therefore loving) voice amongst many who are still learning what it means to be led by women. I reunited with high school and college friends who embraced me with love and reminded me that I was made for this. I saw former college professors who were an enormous part of my learning and growth and who encouraged me as a writer and as a human.
To say my heart is full is an understatement. She overflows, and I am wise to float in her outpouring of emotion and grace. Thank you to all who joined me on the Texas tour, and I hope to see you again soon.
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Because there was such rich conversation with beautiful, open-hearted people at each of the Texas book events, I wanted to share my top three favorite questions that were asked of me and my answers to them. Like the kind people in Texas, pull up a chair, open your copy of Blessed Are the Women, as well as your heart, and enjoy a sample Q+A from the tour.
Q: Which woman (or women) do you resonate with the most?
A: Mary Magdalene, the first preacher, the apostle to the apostles, Jesus’ equal and friend. Miriam and Mari, from Chapter 7, the women we know as Jairus’ daughter and wife in Luke 8:40-42, 49-56, are very close to my heart. I loved writing this story. And Mary, of course, the woman without whom we’d be hard pressed to have any of it.
Q: Will you sing the chorus, “Blessed is She,” that you wrote for each liturgy in the book? I want to hear it in your voice.
A: Sure! Singing is the language of the divine feminine, evidence that she is always with us. Even in the most male-dominated places, we can always sing. So here she is:
Q: What are you writing next?
A: I’d like to write/rewrite all 150 Psalms as Women’s Psalms. And lately, I’ve been playing with the idea of writing the stories of the women saints and mystics. What more do they want to say that we haven’t heard before? What more do they want to pray that we haven’t prayed before?
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Today is Palm Sunday in the Christian Calendar Year, the day we recognize the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with palms waving and voices shouting, “Hosanna! Save us, we pray!”
We know that these shouts will soon shift to accusation and condemnation, full of fear and loathing. We know that Jesus will face death by an empire that is terrified of his love because it is a love fiercely devoted to justice, a love that calls for the empire to fall and a circle of togetherness and community to form. We know that the women will be there with Jesus every step of the way. With oils. With presence. With a witness.
Refusing to turn away, the women will accompany Jesus to his death and bear witness to his resurrection.
This Holy Week, read the women’s stories anew. Ask them their names, their longings, their loves. What breaks their hearts? What makes them come alive?
This Holy Week, may Blessed Are the Women accompany us to the cross, to the tomb, and beyond, reminding us that when we follow women, we’ll find Jesus there following them, too.
Blessed is Jesus. Blessed are the women. Blessed are you.
See you back here next week, beloveds, when we celebrate Mary Magdalene, Women’s Easter, and more.
Love,
Claire
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Thank you! Love you! Happy reading and reviewing!
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