Luke 24:1-3, 9-11 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

Women were the last ones to leave the cross and the first ones to arrive at the tomb. Women relayed the resurrection message to the men and shaped the narrative. We should all be grateful that these women didn’t remain silent. Yet, there are underlying sexist ideas in the narrative. Women are unreliable. Women are dominated by emotions. Women cannot be trusted. Women are prone to hysteria. What are some other sexist ideas that have prevented women from full acceptance as equal members of society? Do you ever wonder if Jesus ever confronted the men for not believing the women? What can you imagine he might have said to them if he did?

Prayer: Thank you, God, for the faithful women who stood by Jesus in life, death and resurrection despite the sexism of the men. Jesus, how subversive of you to show yourself to Mary Magdelene before all the others, challenging the gender boundaries and roles of the day. May we, your body, be as subversive as you, the head, elevating women to their rightful place as equal partners in the gospel, and equal heirs of eternal life. Amen.

Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark made national news after he told women from the pulpit that they needed to “look less butch” to prevent their husbands from straying. He also told husbands to play the Scripture card if their wives “weren’t in the mood.” After his sermon was posted online, the response was swift. His own denomination, the General Baptist released a statement saying that Pastor’s Clark’s sermon was “not consistent with the positions and values” of the organization. “General Baptists believe that every woman was created in the image of God, and they should be valued for that reason. Furthermore, we believe that all individuals regardless of any other factors are so loved by God that Christ died for them.”

Pastor Clark has taken a leave of absence from his Missouri church. Read more about the sermon and the backlash HERE.

Genesis 3:16 To the woman also [God] said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over thee. (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition)

This 1899 translation of God’s “curse” of the woman due to her participation in the original sin seems clear enough. Male domination and patriarchy is the divinely ordained order of relationships. This verse has been quoted again and again by men (and some women) as justification for limiting of women’s participation in social and religious life.  Women who aspire to full participation are “out of order” and are rejecting God’s plan.  

Several days ago, we read Galatians 3:28. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  The apostle Paul challenges the dominating patriarchy outlined in Genesis 3:16 on the basis of the liberating work of Christ Jesus.  And the actions of Jesus we’ve considered the past several days in the stories of the gospel also challenge female subjugation. 

So, what do we do with Genesis 3:16?  Is it God’s plan? If not, why do you think the church has historically affirmed the curse rather than live in the freedom of Christ? Why do you think some women are proponents of patriarchy? 

Prayer: Liberating God, like the children of Israel freed from their bondage, it is sometimes tempting to express a desire to return to the Egypt, imagining that it is easier than freedom.  In fact, it often is easier because we’ve done it so long and we know the rules so well.  Freedom is much more complicated. Yet, it is for freedom that you have set us free. Give us courage to discover the joys of liberation and the blessings of equal partnership between men and women. Amen. 

Acts 2:1-4, 17-18  When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them…   “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”

About 120 people experienced the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Acts 1:14 specifically says that women were part of this regular gathering of disciples. The women received the Holy Spirit in equal measure as predicted by the prophet Joel.  This also implies that they also received the same empowering gifts of the Spirit – including the speaking gifts and positions. Yet, we have often gendered the gifts of the Spirit, limiting women to feminine gifts of hospitality, helping, healing and discernment, or limiting women’s use of their gifts to other women and children.  What would you say to people who would want to limit the work of the Spirit in women? 

Prayer: Empowering Spirit, you have blessed the church with gifted people—both women and men. Forgive us for assuming that your distribution of gifts follows our stereotypical gender roles, and forgive us for limiting those who receive your gifts due to our narrow-mindedness. The church can only function when each part is free to do its part. For too long, we have quenched your presence when we have kept over half of the world’s population silent. Break through the wall of gender that we have constructed so that we can all be free. Amen.

Luke 8:1-3 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

The Twelve disciples were all men, but Luke makes it clear that women were also an integral part of Jesus’s inner circle. And it is clear that without the women, there would have been no “Kingdom of God movement.” Many Bible scholars have speculated that many women were among the 72 unnamed apostles that Jesus sent out ahead of him in Luke 10:1ff.  Women have been integral to the work of the church, as evangelists, teachers, missionaries and leaders.  They often remain unnamed.  Take a moment to think of godly women who have had a profound influence in your spiritual life. Say their names and share a story.

Prayer: Lord of Mary, Joanna, Susanna and so many other disciples, thank you for including women as partners in the work of the Kingdom. Today, I especially thank you for _____________ (name or names). She/they were examples that I could follow on my spiritual journey with Christ.  Remind me that I am also a partner in your work to proclaim the good news to all God’s children. 

John 4:4-7 Now [Jesus] had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” 

The woman Jesus met at the well had three strikes against her. Her Samaritan ethnicity – Strike 1. Her female gender – Strike 2.  Her social position (a 6-time divorcée) – Strike 3.  Normally, three strikes means, “You’re out!”  But Jesus, who could have gone “around” Samaria, chooses to speak to her anyway, breaking down the walls of ethnicity, gender and status.  Jesus ends up having one of the longest and most theologically meaty conversations recorded in the gospel of John. She may have 3 strikes against her, but Jesus doesn’t call her “out” on strikes.  Jesus makes sure she knows she’s still “in.”  

Who are the people in our society who have 3 strikes against them? Do you know any of the people who are so labeled?  If not, why not?  What is one thing you could do to change that?

Prayer: Honestly, God, Jesus makes me uncomfortable. He goes places he shouldn’t. He talks to people he shouldn’t. And he expects me to follow him. I would rather stay where I am. But that would mean that I’m no longer with Jesus. I’m really struggling. Help me break through the walls of exclusion that I’ve accepted as “normal” and “right.” Help me accept the people on the other side of those walls as worthy of God’s love and human dignity.  Help! 

Luke 10:38-44 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

A woman’s place is in the _________. In Jesus’ day, the answer was easy. Women were socially and ritually separated from men. Women were hidden behind a wall in the synagogue. Women were restricted to the “Court of women” at the Temple which was further from the Holy of Holies which symbolized the presence of God. Women were honored as mothers, but were still considered as “less than” in the social and spiritual hierarchy. Martha seemed to know her place and was uncomfortable with way that Mary has placed herself – at the feet of Jesus as one of Jesus’ disciples.

Today is the first day of Women’s History Month, celebrating the accomplishments and promoting the equality of women. Gender has long been a wall that has excluded women from full participation in social, economic and religious life. The Church has reinforced that wall throughout its history, yet Jesus broke down that wall as evidenced by his refusal to put Mary “back where she belongs” and affirming that she is in the “right place.”

How does Mary’s “placement” of herself and Jesus’ affirmation of her rightful “place” affirm, challenge or shift your ideas about where women belong? Why do you think the church has been so resistant to women being treated as equals both in the church and in society?

Prayer: Lord Christ, in affirming Mary’s place as a disciple, you have broken the wall of gender, giving all women full access to the blessings and opportunities of the kingdom. Forgive us, O Head of the Church, for reinforcing and rebuilding the wall you demolished. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to the truth that in God’s new humanity, gender is no longer a factor to be considered. Remind us daily that women and men are equal partners in the new creation, and help us to act and advocate in ways that are consistent with that truth, just like Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen.