How Do We Speak to the Pain of Sexual Assault?

Come bring your burdens to God

Come bring your burdens to God

For Jesus will never say no.

This last week has been a really hard news week. It has made people uncomfortable and angry, worried and stressed as memories have surfaced for so many people. Memories of times when they experienced violence. The trigger was a high profile man being accused of reprehensible behavior toward women and another man being sentenced for drugging and sexually assaulting women. This has led to women sharing their stories. Stories of the assaults that happened years ago, assaults that happened and went unreported, assaults that were reported and dismissed. Story after story of such pain and violence. In this atmosphere, I wonder about our response, what should the church do and say, what should Christians do and say. For let’s be honest the bible and the church do not have a great track record of protecting and speaking up for women. Just read past the scripture text for this Sunday from Genesis 12:1-9, the call of Abraham, the next story is Abram pretending that Sarai is his sister and the Pharaoh sleeps with and marries her. With stories worse than this about rape, how do we speak to the pain?

As a follower of Jesus, I want to look at how he interacted with women who experienced pain, hurt, disrespect, evil. In Luke 6:36-50, we have a sinful woman who comes to Jesus weeping. She washes his feet with her tears. Jesus has words for the men who complain but to her he says, “Your faith has saved you go in peace.” We have the story from John 4 where Jesus rests by a well and starts a conversation with a Samaritan woman who has had five husbands and is currently living with a man. While they speak of this, Jesus focuses on being the living water and on his role as Messiah. We have the story from John 8:1-11, in which religious men bring a woman they caught in the act of adultery before him and want to know if he follows the law of Moses and believes she should be stoned. He challenges the man who is without sin to cast the first stone. But to the woman he says, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” In these stories Jesus while acknowledging the women’s actions offers them grace and mercy.

the_anti_paul crying 'Jesus

Then there are the story of the Widow at Nain in Luke 7:11-17 and Mary and Martha on the death of their brother in John 11. In both of these stories when confronted with the pain of the women he weeps with them.  With the women who are ill he says: ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ Mark 5:34; ‘Little girl, get up,’ Mark 5:41; ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ Luke 13:12; ‘Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.’ Mark 1:29. Or there is the story of Martha and Mary where Jesus encourages Martha to choose the better part, to choose the part that makes you different and unique, that is outside the norms of gender imposed by society.

I wish we were choosing the better part, the kingdom way. When we hear these stories of pain I think we have an obligation to every survivor to say, we see you, we love you, we will hold space for you to cry and rage. We will be there to comfort and support you and help you find the healing and justice you need.

Come bring your burdens to God

Come bring your burdens to God

For Jesus will never say no.