April Tribe Giauque hosts the Beacon of Light podcast, amplifying the light of authors who bring stories of hope. Elaine Kelly writes to bring healing and hope to the marginalized.
Click here to see my guest post How to Feel God's Love Anew on April's website.
Click here to see April and Elaine on the Beacon of Light Podcast
0:57 Elaine talks about writing to bring healing and hope, for her readers to feel God's love again, anew.
2:00 April asks if Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold is a book that might help develop our faith. I agree, and talk about how it is set in the time of Jesus, and Jesus empowers all people.
2:40 April discusses the beauty of the story and how the risen Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, showing the love and support for all of us.
3:40 April asks about Mara, based on Mary of Clopas, and her role in the Gospels and in the novel. In Forgotten Followers, she begins feeling alone, enclosed by walls of worry, and she is forced into the unknown and works to overcome trauma.
5:15 We laugh about being good wall-builders but how we need to connect with other people.
5:35 What was your favourite relationship to write about? I discuss how Mara takes care of the physical needs of Maria, the mother of Jesus, who is older than Mara, while Maria is emotionally taking care of Mara.
6:30 April discusses the benefits of generational friendships. We discuss how Mara's trauma has left her with doubts, while Maria is filled with faith.
8:00 April asks that I share one of Mara's experiences in the book. I discuss how Jesus and the so-called important disciples go up on a hilltop for an experience with three booths but everyone else is in the valley. Jesus has promised all the disciples they can heal in his name, but Mara's son, James the Less, is unable to heal a boy with seizures. Mara feels Jesus has broken his promise to her son.
9:20 How does she resolve that angst? Some versions say a person has faith and needs more faith (Mark 9:24); others say there is no more or less, either you have faith or you don't (Luke 17:5-6). It's a dark moment for Mara and later she finds a way to understand things that help her through the dark moments.
10:00 Finding help from others in your own personal dark moment is life-changing. April shares a dark moment in her life and a person who helped her through it.
12:00 April reflects that Mara gets pinpoints of light from Maria and other friends. Sometimes even less important disciples find a place at the table with Christ.
13:00 I agree. Sometimes we don't feel like we have a place at the table, or others have told us we don't belong. If you have felt marginalized, having a place makes you feel worthy and loved. Sometimes Instead of miracles, God sends people and God loves to see us help one another.
13:47 We laugh about the basic commandment and simple song about the new commandment to love one another - without limitations. Each of us has a way or a gift to love a particular person. That is not a lesser disciple but a close disciple of Jesus.
14:45 Where is Mara in the Gospels? There are eight references to Mary of Clopas, or the other Mary, or Mary the mother of James, so it is not always clear when the Gospels refer to her. Because there is less about her in the Gospels, I could add more of a fictional backstory for her.
15:45 So in that creativity, we can see how Mara can break through these walls, learn from others, and strengthen her own story. Yes, women are in the Gospels but often forgotten or marginalized. I wanted to write to highlight those forgotten female disciples.
16:45 This is your first fiction. What else are you writing? I describe my books.
18:20 It is great to see how we can relate, how these messages are for all of us and we may go back to the Bible to check out these forgotten women.
19:00 In non-biblical sources, we learn that Clopas and Joseph are brothers, and Mara and Maria are sisters-in-law. Clopas would have been Maria's guardian after Joseph passed away.
19:45 April comments on Joseph, quiet and strong. I agreed and added that Joseph was courageous for agreeing to go through with the marriage when Maria was pregnant.
21:09 Joseph is a great example of some of those lesser disciples who are very strong and valuable.
21:35 What interested you in looking at the gospels and bringing people closer to Christ? I discuss the people today who are thinking twice about what they were taught as children. Some doctrines have hurt women; for example, the false teaching that women in abused situations should not separate. I wanted to bring healing or protection to women, to tell them that harm is not God's will for them. God loves you and wants to protect you.
22:30 Yes, that skewing of Scriptures and interpretations has happened over the years, but when you look at the truth of God's love will reach you. His judgment is with a fullness of love.
22:15 God looks on the heart, not on our bodies, our gender, abilities, or how we are made.
23:44 April gave me a chance to share a final word. I shared that for me it has been refreshing and strengthening for my faith to go through difficult passages that seem to put women or minorities down and to ask these questions about them. There is new scholarship showing empowering ways of understanding these passages so that they are more consistent with the overarching message of God's love.
24:31 Conclusion: where to find me on social media, on Amazon, and on my website.
A person on the live chat told us to never forget that you are enough!
May each person share their light and help amplify someone else's light.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1
The Sword A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role
Because She Was Called: from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church, imagines Mary Magdalene's trip to testify before the emperor
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience
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