July 19 - “Invisibility”
July 19, 2026
Kyle Tong
Invisibility
Today’s reading from Genesis tempts me to climb into a time machine—to place myself in the shoes of Jacob in a modern context. Hypothetically, young Kyle has eyes for the beautiful Deborah and wishes to marry her, one of the four Varnum girls. Her father says that I must work for the family business for a period of time before he would consent to the marriage. After the requisite period the father says only the third child is available—take it or leave it. I go into a loveless marriage and we subsequently divorce because I only see Deb. Her father says this is not possible unless you continue to work in the company with loss of all assets if you leave. You must also show your loyalty for a period of five years—what a chain around my neck!!!
What is wrong with my telling of this story and the story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. The issue is the absolute invisibility of the central characters of the stories—the women. We know nothing about the perspectives, the aspirations, the wants, and the beliefs of the daughters. In both stories—the fathers treated their daughters as chattel and we the reader are conditioned to not bat an eye.
This is standard operating procedure in the text of the Judeo-Christian Bible as we read it today in English in the Protestant tradition. Women are largely absent in the Bible and when we do see them, they are primarily invisible, objectified, or presented as a cautionary tale
If the Bible is a recording of the journey of the Judeo-Christian faith you would expect a reflection in the tales of the humanity present. Women, using a metaphoric phrase, represent “Half the Sky” and therefore should be seen in the Good Book on nearly equal footing as men. If one was to do a quantitative study of gender references in the Bible we would find it heavily skewed towards the masculine both in content and in its choice traditionally to give pronouns to God—such as He, Him, Lord, and Father.
Objectification is most clearly seen in the portrayal of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is deified as the vessel of Christ—the Virgin Mary. Upon the birth of the baby Jesus she then becomes invisible—her job is done. The mother who raised Christ from infancy to young adulthood is unheard of. She is venerated, then objectified, and unknown, and ultimately dehumanized.
The most common portrayal of women in the Bible is ascribing negative attributes to them. There is Eve who is the temptress with the apple who creates the fall of man. Lot’s wife who was not even named, lacks the self-discipline and will to not look back and turns into a pillar of salt. And the fallen women who litter the Bible such as Mary Magdalene.
How then did this invisibility in text translate into cultural invisibility within the construction of the western Christian Church?
It started early on with the institutionalization of the story that we now know as the Gospels and the New Testament. In the Early Centuries of the Church there were several competing perspectives of the Gospels and the works of the people spreading the Good News. They were not exclusively male. Prominent among them was the Gospel according to Mary Magdalene.
In this gospel, that survived in Coptic and Greek texts, Mary was central to the leadership of the apostles following Jesus’ death, comforting them through their grieving and redirecting their focus forward. In the gospel Mary recalls conversations with the risen Jesus who teaches her about ultimate reality and the ascent of the soul spiritually. The soul, according to Mary, must navigate hostile tests to reach its spiritual peace.
This was reacted to negatively by many of the apostles who doubted that Jesus would share the ultimate mysteries with a woman. As a result, in the subsequent politics that followed as the years passed, her voice was lost.
With the elimination of women from the telling of the story came the elimination of women from the structure of Church Leadership. In the Western (Roman Catholic) Church women had no role outside of total service. And that could be done only if they gave up their roles as women within familial society
Men had total control over women’s lives and if women exerted independence the penalty was often fierce and brutal.
An example of this was the young and vibrant military leader Jean D’Arc, Joan of Arc. Joan was a supporter of King Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years War. She had visions that angels had told her that she was to save France from English incursions. She was the hero of the Battle of Orleans and Patay. Her support at court withered as a siege failed and she was captured by the enemy. She was put on trial by an English Bishop for the crime of heresy and demonic visions. She was found guilty and burned at the stake. Her soul’s goodness was based on her military success for her male leaders.
Anne Hutchinson was a pious woman who moved with her husband and 15 children to Boston in the early 1630’s, following the Rev. Cotton. She believed, as did Cotton, in the principle of salvation by grace alone and felt that the religious leadership in the Bay Colony was drifting to a philosophy of faith by good works. She held prayer groups and spoke out against the tenets of the leadership. She was placed on trial for her voice and was exiled and excommunicated. Cotton was not punished. She moved to Rhode Island, where she miscarried after months in detention, and then to Long Island where she and her family were killed in an Indian attack. The leadership in Boston was satisfied that these events were retribution for her heresies.
This putative relationship with women who attempt to be change agents has in many ways continued to the present day. The majority of Church institutions forbid or strongly discourage women in the ministry. The language of the Bible continues to be male dominant, though there have been great efforts to rectify the text by reexamining the originals and not assuming it is a male perspective or pronoun. Scholars are looking at the wealth of the early Greek and Coptic texts to get a richer and fuller picture of the early church and the Gospel.
Why does this matter?
Invisibility.
We can see it in the words of this young girl’s yearning to be heard.
They shut me up in Prose—
As when a little Girl
They put me in the Closet—
Because they like me “Still”—
The poet--Emily Dickinson.
We see it legally, ET UX on a property deed. We see it economically. Women get paid .71 on the dollar for the same job with the same experience as their male counterparts. We see it socially. Violence against women, mansplaining, the perpetual secretary.
How do we break the cycle? As is said in the Chinese Proverb, women hold up Half the Sky. This is true but historically the dominant group chooses not to look and listen to the landscape that is being held up by the efforts of half of humanity. If we stop look and listen, think what we could accomplish. And it’s not only being safer!!!
In cultures and countries where women have ascended to leadership, we have seen a change in the paradigm. Jacinda Arden, former Prime Minister in New Zealand, confronted a mass shooting driven by religious hatred. Her response: Compassion and love which helped to envelop a nation to heal and not to divide. Ultimately, New Zealanders coalesced around sensible, enforceable gun laws that had the support of the people.
Jane Goodall was a woman who was most comfortable in the rain forest with her beloved mountain gorillas. But from that fragile ecosystem platform, this soft-spoken biologist showed us a new way to lead. Her example of fiercely caring for the one’s most in need was the most Christian of Acts. Her communicating these good works by simply being, quietly telling her story, and sharing her expertise brought the world closer to the inner workings of our ecosystem and our intricate climate. She taught us through her love of her work and the contact she had with life to care. This is the opposite of the callous distancing that we are conditioned to do when digesting the world.
A different way of looking at the world by merely lifting the curtain to reveal Half the Sky. What a difference this could make practically, morally, ethically, and, spiritually
