A challenge to patriarchal values comes most fundamentally in the opening chapter of the Old Testament, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:26​), and provides an alternative vision of the relation of men and women to each other and God than that pertaining in a typical patriarchal culture…The New Testament too contains egalitarian texts that provide a theological critique of patriarchy. The Bible shows us not merely patriarchy, élitism, and nationalism; it shows us the fragility of these ideologies through irony and counter-voices…It is often the stories of women, those excluded from the public, patriarchal discourse, which challenge the dominant voice of the text. -E. Anne Clements, Mothers of Marginalization: The Significance of the Women in Mathew’s Genealogy 

Text: Luke 1:26-55

Corresponding Sermon: Step Aside Boys!