Among the many stories Lindsay Hardin Freeman shares in her book, “Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter,” is the one about Susanna. Susanna’s story, writes Rev. Freeman, “is cited by many as the very first detective story in Western literature.” It is also, at its core, a story about faith.
Remember Susanna? Beautiful, virtuous, lusted after by male elders who threaten her if she doesn’t succumb to their sexual desires. Her story was so meaningful to earlier generations of Christian believers that it was told via murals on the walls of Roman catacombs. It resonates to this day because emotional, psychological, and physical abuse continue to this day.
All of us, most especially those suffering from gender-based violence as well as those seeking to help them, would do well to remember the example set by Susanna who chose to remain faithful to God’s law as well as her own sense of right and wrong. Again, Rev. Freeman: “Susanna gives contemporary women an important lesson: speak up, loudly, when put in a difficult situation, especially a sexual one. Stand your ground. Scream if need be. And trust in a world that God is creating anew, where women’s voices will be heard – and heeded.”
Prayer:
Almighty God, you have promised to hear the petitions of those who ask in your Son’s Name: We beseech you mercifully to incline your ear to us who have now made our prayers and supplications unto you; and grant that those things which we have faithfully asked according to your will, may effectually be obtained, to the relief of our necessity, and to the setting forth of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Keep the faith.
By Lisa Towle