A Mother asks a Favor

Matthew 20:20 - Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him and, prostrating herself before him, she asked for something.

Am I right in thinking that anyone who asks Jesus for a favor is going to get some theology instead? I'm not talking about the healing. The fact that the word 'ti' is used signals she is asking for something not usually asked. Yet, even with healing or advice, they get theology too. I think this mother is going to get a dose of theology along with Jesus' answer. Everyone gets a side of theology.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Usually when I read this passage, I enjoy the irony of the mother asking a favor so soon after Jesus has just informed them that the last will be first. However, today, I want to look at it from her point of view. In her context, she is a shrewd woman exercising power - at least, what little power she has - on behalf of her sons. It was acceptable in her day to do this for your sons. Bathsheba asks David to appoint her son as his heir. Sarah asks Abraham to banish Ishmael so her son could inherit. Rebekah intercedes for Jacob. In the Roman Empire as well, this was an accepted practice. James and John's mother was merely following examples from her own scriptures.

Women using their power on behalf of their son was accepted because it didn't threaten men's authority over women, didn't hurt men's feelings. There is a funny line in the original Wonder Woman comics in which Trevor tells Diana Prince to stay out of a mystery - let the police handle it. The blurb above the next cel tells us that Wonder Woman has no qualms about hurting the feelings of the police. Yet, even Wonder Woman uses her power primarily in service of Steve Trevor.

So, all this has got me thinking about women, agency, and power today. We in America continue to be suspicious of powerful women who wield their power for themselves or other women. Ambitious women. Women are still second-class citizens in many ways. So when Hillary runs for president, she got way more crap than even Obama did - from all quarters; Putin, Republicans, the FBI, even the media.

Hypatia of Alexandria encountered this same sadistic, relentless, misogynistic attitude in some of the Christian of her day - they ended up killing her for being too powerful. Gerraldine Ferrara, Maxine Waters, Congresswoman Wilson, Joan of Arc, Sor Juana, Margaret Sanger, Suffragettes, Miriam, Katherine of Aragon's sister, Gloria Steinem, Gertrude Stein, Audre Lorde, Betty Friedan, Sojourner Truth, Ida B Wells, Oprah Winfrey, and many, many more.

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