Plymouth Magazine-Spring24-FINAL - Flipbook - Page 3
The Women’s Lectionary
at Plymouth Church
By Rev. Remi Shores (they/them)
Since the beginning of the year, we’ve
been preaching mostly from the Women’s
Lectionary, specifically from “A Women’s
Lectionary for the Whole Church” by Dr.
Wil Gafney. As we shared in the winter
issue of Plymouth Church Magazine,
women are underrepresented in scriptures
and Dr. Gafney wants to correct that.
I thought it might be helpful to make a few
observations about Gafney’s translations
and biblical translations in general.
Have you ever seen the word “LORD”
in your Bible and wondered why it’s
in all caps?
In the Hebrew Bible, God is often
said to have “compassion” for God’s
people.
That means that the Hebrew text had
the sacred name of God: YHWH (in
English letters). This name has no vowels
and is thus unpronounceable – in face,
according to Hebrew custom, we should
not pronounce it. You may have seen
spelled out versions of this name with
vowels added in Christian contexts. This
is considered disrespectful to God by
many of the Jewish faith, thus Gafney
avoids such spellings and pronunciations,
and I follow her example.
But that English word doesn’t really
have the same connotation as it does in
Hebrew. In Hebrew, the word for that
kind of emotion has the same root as the
root for the word “uterus” or “womb.” So,
what is translated as “compassion” really
means something like “mother love.” A
visceral love that God feels for us, not just
as a parent, but as one who has physically
borne us as a part of Her own body. So
next time you see the word “compassion”
in your Bible, you’ll know what it really
means. And next time you see a metaphor
of God as Father, you’ll know that the
Bible has many, many more instances of
God as Mother – they are just hidden in
translation.
Because the name cannot be read, the
Greek translators of the Bible glossed
it to “The LORD,” with the all-caps
symbolizing that this is a gloss of the
Holy Name. But there is a long tradition
of choosing a name for God based on the
context of the passage.
Got more questions?
What questions do you have about
Gafney or the Women’s Lectionary?
What have you noticed in our
readings and sermons? Reach out!
I’d love to talk more.
Gafney will often use “HOLY ONE,” or
“THE ONE,” or more context-specific
names such as “MOTHER OF THE
MOUNTAINS,” which appeared in
our Ash Wednesday reading. Gafney
includes an index of her names for
God on page 315. So, when you see
LORD in your Bible, know that it is a
substitute for the Divine Name – and
feel empowered to insert your own name
for God in that spot!
L: Rev. Dr. Wilda C. Gafney.
R: “A Women’s Lectionary for the
Whole Church” Year B cover.
Contact Rev. Remi Shores
(rshores@plymouthchurch.com)
Plymouth Magazine 3
