"Familiarity breeds unfamiliarity." There may be no better principle I have utilized in studying the bible than this axiom. The more we are familiar with a particular text the more we are likely to miss its depth and nuance. We must force ourselves to remain curious and continually ask questions, recognizing the Bible's ability to continually surprise us.

A month ago I was given the opportunity to preach on Mother's Day. And as a male speaking on a day set aside to honor women, the irony wasn't lost on me. So I enlisted the advice of many women in my life (mother's and non-mother's alike) to help in determining what would be an appropriate text. An interesting thing happened, woman after woman communicated different texts they would be interested in hearing, but nearly every woman mentioned one particular text to not speak on. That text..."The Proverbs 31 woman."

This fascinated me - what was it about this particular text that women found so painful? Why was the text specifically about women one that they eye-rolled and cautioned against? I began to wonder if this was a space where familiarity had bred unfamiliarity. And I believe there was something we needed to recapture and reimagine about this text. The above sermon is the result of my wondering and questioning.

I believe we have lost the subversive essence of Proverbs 31. The text has regularly and unfortunately been used to domesticate the role of women, minimizing the depth and magnitude of what is being communicated. The text isn't about reducing women to a particular role, but it is a call to valor, a cry for women to live courageously into a radical calling of love, strength, and might.