LENT As I thought of what to give up during this “Lent” season, I decided I want to give up being disconnected from my body, disconnected from Jesus’ body, and disconnected from my faith. You’ll see me on social media posting, eating dinner and chocolate, running between activities, and all while I am doing it, I am asking myself, “How am I connecting to my body? In this moment? During this day?” Brown Mother Jesus connects us to God made flesh, in body.
Minjoo Bayers is a Korean American woman from South Korea and New York. She expects to complete her Masters in Counseling Psychology in June 2020. She is currently a Mental Health Intern at Kentucky Refugee Ministries. Her husband Andrew, daughter Katherine, and English lab Dalgun enjoy walks in the park and food from all over the world.
(Korean American woman from South Korea and New York, psychotherapist, theologian, dear friend, advocate, speaker, and author)
Brown Mother Jesus
You washed their feet
Like a mother bathes her baby
You fed your loved ones
Like a good mama or nana
Brown Mother Jesus
You bled and hurt
Like a girl on her period
You bled in public
Wearing shame
Like any woman
in this patriarchal mire
You bled and suffered
Like a mama giving birth
Brown Mother Jesus
We eat your body
And drink your blood
Like babies in the womb
And breastfeeding newborns
We may never fully grasp the level of humiliation for a Jewish man to be naked and bleeding in public. By starting to see this part of Jesus’ sacrifice as a way that Jesus can relate to girls and women bleeding during menstruation, childbirth, and miscarriages, I started to see how much Jesus was like a mother.
An unborn baby receives nutrition and oxygen from the mother’s blood. After birth, a baby often receives nutrition through their mother’s breasts. Consuming Jesus’ blood and body relate so much to how a mother feeds her baby. Jesus also washed his disciples’ feet and fed people (on multiple occasions). These are all motherly acts.
Bible verses that inspired the poem:
Jesus washes his disciples’ feet: John 13:1-20
Jesus feeds people: Matthew 14:13-21, 15:32-39; Mark 6:30-44, 8:1-9; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15
The Last Supper/Communion/Jesus is the Bread of Life: Matthew 26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–39; John 6:25-59
Jesus’ Crucifixion, shame, humiliation: Matthew 27:27-56 (v55-56 a footnote about women*); Mark 15:16-41 (v40,41 a footnote about women*); Luke 23:26-49 (v27-31 interesting verses about Jesus talking to women. V29 almost seems like Jesus is comparing his suffering with giving birth and breastfeeding); John 19:16-30
Bleeding specifically mentioned: John 19:31-37
*The writers may note women mostly in footnotes, but it seems Jesus honors women and our pain.
Blog Post: https://www.daniellescastillejo.com/blog/brown-mother-jesus