Sometimes it’s good to let Scripture get us out of our comfort zones. 

Before his Ascension, Jesus promises his disciples that whoever is filled with the Holy Spirit “will receive power” to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Among the disciples who will receive this promise are “certain women,” including “Mary the mother of Jesus” (1:14). All of them receive the Spirit and the command to speak the story of Jesus’ words and deeds, in a diversity of tongues, with their own voices.

It was not to men alone that Jesus gave authority to share his Gospel and speak his Word. There must be something valuable about hearing the Gospel in a woman’s voice.

The next time you listen to Scripture, but especially the Gospels, set an intention to listen to Jesus’ words in a woman’s voice. Hearing the words of Jesus read in the voice of a woman, specifically, can remind us of three important things about Jesus himself:

His humanity. God the Son identifies with us, male and female, at a depth that cannot be fathomed. He reconciles male and female in himself, as he reconciles all things, breaking the curse of the Fall. And his salvation involves all of humanity, male and female, inviting us all to become more human, human as he is human, divinely united with him and each other. His invitation is not a gender-specific gift. Hear it in a woman’s voice.

His suffering. Jesus is our great high priest, “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15 KJV). The suffering of women has often been unheard, disbelieved, ignored, and neglected. What if you listened, as suggested above, to the entire Passion narrative (Matthew 21-27, for instance), or its companion, Psalm 22, in a woman’s voice? How do you think Jesus identifies with and responds to the suffering of the women in your neighborhood, around the world, or even in your own home? How does he long for their deliverance? Hear it in a woman’s voice.

His power. When the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus he “felt power go out from him” (Luke 8:46). In faith, Jesus’ own power, the power of the Father’s Love, of the Holy Spirit, was given to a woman. God is generous and no respecter of persons. The authority of Christ’s power resides in whoever believes in him, as all true authority comes only from the Father. Hearing the Gospels in the voice of a woman, and from a variety of women — and not just in that wonderful, sonorous male British accent! — can be an encouraging, powerful, even life-changing experience. As St. Paul was constantly reminding his congregations, as we share in Christ’s power together, in diversity, we share in one another’s gifts in a deeper way, too. Hear that in a woman’s voice.

Whenever you can, listen to the words of Jesus spoken by a variety of people: women and men, children and the elderly, various languages and various accents. It all enriches our understanding of who he is, and of how he enriches us.