16
IN JESUS’ PLAYBOOK, WOMEN WERE (AND ARE!)
AFFIRMED AS FULL DISCIPLES
Luke 10:38-42; Galatians 3:28; Romans 16:3-7
Rev. Paul Wrightman 9/22/24
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE TEXT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE
OF HOW CRUCIAL A ROLE CONTEXT
OFTEN PLAYS IN THE CORRECT UNDERSTANDING
OF A PARTICULAR PASSAGE FROM THE BIBLE.
SO BEFORE WE GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER
-- WHICH IS JESUS' RADICAL AFFIRMATION
OF WOMEN AS DISCIPLES EQUAL TO MEN --
LET'S BEGIN BY TAKING CARE
OF SOME PRELIMINARY ISSUES.
FIRST OF ALL, THIS STORY IS NOT
A PUT-DOWN OF MARTHA
AND AN AFFIRMATION OF MARY.
IN MANY OTHER PLACES IN THE GOSPELS
JESUS ACKNOWLEDGES DIFFERENCES
IN PERSONALITY AND TEMPERAMENT:
JESUS IS WELL-AWARE THAT PETER IS IMPETUOUS,
THAT PETER'S BROTHER, ANDREW,
IS THOUGHTFUL OF OTHERS,
THAT THOMAS IS QUESTIONING BY NATURE,
AND THAT JAMES AND JOHN ARE QUICK-TEMPERED.
IF ANYTHING, THE GROUP OF MALE DISCIPLES
THAT JESUS PUTS TOGETHER IS AS DIVERSE
IN TERMS OF PERSONALITY TYPES
AND POLITICAL VIEWPOINTS
AS CAN POSSIBLY BE IMAGINED.
JESUS CELEBRATES HUMAN DIFFERENCES
AND ENJOYS THE CHALLENGE
OF FORMING A COMMUNITY THAT EMBODIES
UNITY IN DIVERSITY AND DIVERSITY IN UNITY.
SO IN OUR SCRIPTURE READING THIS MORNING
WE CAN ASSUME THAT MARTHA
IS NOT BEING CORRECTED
BECAUSE SHE IS WHAT WE WOULD CALL
A PRACTICAL, DOWN-TO-EARTH PERSON
WHO HAS THE GIFT OF HOSPITALITY
AND ENJOYS PREPARING A GOOD MEAL
FOR JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES.
WE KNOW FROM THE LARGER CONTEXT OF LUKE
THAT AT THIS POINT IN THE NARRATIVE JESUS HAS
"SET HIS FACE TO GO TO JERUSALEM." (Luke 9:51)
IN OTHER WORDS, JESUS IS WELL-AWARE
THAT HE IS JOURNEYING TO HIS DEATH.
WE HAVE PLENTY OF INDICATIONS
THAT HE IS IN A SOMBER, REFLECTIVE MOOD.
(Luke 9:52-10:24)
FROM THIS WE CAN SURMISE
THAT WHAT JESUS WAS HOPING TO FIND
AT THE HOME OF HIS FRIENDS IN BETHANY
WAS SOME PEACE AND QUIET,
A PLACE OF RETREAT
WHERE HE COULD PREPARE HIMSELF
FOR WHAT LAY AHEAD.
INSTEAD, HE ENCOUNTERED A PERSON
WHO WAS CAUGHT UP IN A BLUR OF ACTIVITY
AND DETERMINED TO THROW A LAVISH PARTY
FOR HIM AND HIS DISCIPLES.
I SUSPECT THAT WE HAVE ALL
BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT --
TRIED TO IMPOSE OUR WILL AND OUR NEED
ON A FRIEND OR A SPOUSE
WHO DESIRED SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT
FROM WHAT WE WANTED TO GIVE THEM
AT THE TIME.
ONE OF THE GREAT CHALLENGES
OF ANY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
IS LEARNING TO DISCERN THE REAL NEEDS
OF THE OTHER
AND RESPONDING TO THOSE NEEDS
INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CONVINCE THEM
THAT WE KNOW WHAT THEY NEED
BETTER THAN THEY DO THEMSELVES.
FOR EXAMPLE, DINNER OUT AND A MOVIE
MAY BE WHAT WE WANT
WHEN WHAT OUR FRIEND OR SPOUSE
REALLY NEEDS IS A QUIET NIGHT AT HOME.
WE CAN SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS DYNAMIC
GOING ON BETWEEN JESUS AND MARTHA
IN TODAY'S SCRIPTURE TEXT.
JESUS WANTS A SIMPLE MEAL
AND QUIET TIME WITH CLOSE FRIENDS,
AND MARTHA WANTS TO THROW A PARTY.
JESUS CERTAINLY KNEW HOW TO ENJOY
A GOOD PARTY --
THE GOSPELS ARE FULL OF
DESCRIPTIONS OF THEM --
BUT THIS WAS NEITHER THE TIME NOR THE PLACE.
IN TERMS OF HAVING
A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS,
WHICH IS AN ESSENTIAL PART
OF BEING A DISCIPLE,
IT IS CRUCIAL FOR US TO REMIND OURSELVES
THAT REAL FRIENDSHIP IS A TWO-WAY STREET.
JESUS IS FINELY-TUNED INTO OUR NEEDS.
ARE WE GROWING MORE AND MORE TUNED INTO
WHAT HE NEEDS FROM US
IN TERMS OF FRIENDSHIP?
IN LUKE'S GOSPEL,
THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
OCCURS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE
THE STORY OF MARTHA AND MARY.
THERE THE EMPHASIS IS ON ACTION.
A LAWYER ASKS JESUS WHAT HE MUST DO
IN ORDER TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE.
(Luke 10:25)
JESUS TELLS HIM THE PARABLE
OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN,
WHERE THE DESPISED SAMARITAN
IS THE ONLY ONE OF THREE
WHO STOPPED TO HELP A PERSON IN NEED.
THE PARABLE CONCLUDES
WITH JESUS ASKING THE LAWYER
"WHICH OF THESE THREE, DO YOU THINK,
WAS A NEIGHBOR TO THE MAN
WHO FELL INTO THE HANDS OF THE ROBBERS?"
(Luke 10:36)
THE LAWYER ANSWERS CORRECTLY,
"THE ONE WHO SHOWED HIM MERCY,"
TO WHICH JESUS REPLIES,
"GO AND DO LIKEWISE."
(Luke 10:37)
WECOULD SAY THAT WHAT JESUS NEEDS FROM US
IN TERMS OF THE PARABLE
OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
IS ACTION.
IN TERMS OF THE STORY OF MARTHA AND MARY,
WHICH IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS,
WE COULD SAY THAT WHAT JESUS NEEDS
IS NOT ACTION, BUT ATTENTION,
SOMEONE TO LISTEN TO HIM
POUR OUT HIS FEELINGS
IN TERMS OF HIS IMMINENT ENGAGEMENT
WITH THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL
ESTABLISHMENTS IN JERUSALEM.
WE LEARN FROM THE JUXTAPOSITION
OF THESE TWO STORIES
THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS
LARGELY CONSISTS IN OUR LEARNING
WHEN HE NEEDS US TO ACT
AND WHEN HE NEEDS US TO BE ATTENTIVE.
MARTHA'S SISTER, MARY, IS PRESENTED
AS SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS LISTENING.
THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT DIMENSIONS
TO WHAT MARY IS DOING.
FIRST, SHE HAS CORRECTLY DISCERNED
WHAT JESUS NEEDS AT THIS TIME AND PLACE,
SOMEONE TO SIMPLY BE WITH HIM
AND TO QUIETLY LET HIM TALK.
THIS SHOWS HOW FINELY-TUNED
MARY'S RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS.
SHE KNOWS HIM SO WELL
THAT SHE KNOWS WHEN HE NEEDS
THE PRESENCE OF A FRIEND
AND NOT THE HASSLE OF A DINNER-PARTY.
BUT SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING ON HERE AS WELL.
GIVEN THE CUSTOMS OF THAT DAY,
FOR A RABBI TO ALLOW SOMEONE
TO SIT AT HIS FEET LISTENING AND LEARNING
MEANT THAT HE HAD OFFICIALLY ACCEPTED
THAT PERSON AS A DISCIPLE.
IN JESUS' DAY IT WAS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN
FOR WOMEN TO BE DISCIPLES OF MALE TEACHERS.
JESUS NOT ONLY ALLOWS MARY TO SIT AT HIS FEET,
BUT EMPHATICALLY STATES
THAT SHE HAS CHOSEN A ROLE
"WHICH WILL NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HER."
(Luke 10:42)
IT IS PRETTY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE FOR US
TO COMPREHEND THE SHOCKING NATURE
OF WHAT JESUS IS ALLOWING TO HAPPEN HERE.
IMAGINE A CULTURE WHERE FOR MILLENIA
WOMEN WERE RELEGATED
TO THE KITCHEN AND THE BEDROOM.
ALL TEACHERS, RABBIS, AND PRIESTS WERE MALE.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LITERALLY UNTHINKABLE
FOR A WOMAN TO HOLD THE STATUS OF DISCIPLE
TO A TEACHER OR RABBI.
TO SIT AT THE FEET OF A TEACHER
MEANT THAT ONE HAD BEEN OFFICIALLY ACCEPTED
INTO HIS BAND OF DISCIPLES
AND WAS PREPARING TO BECOME
A TEACHER JUST LIKE HIM.
WE KNOW FROM SEVERAL PLACES IN THE GOSPELS
THAT JESUS NOT ONLY ACCEPTED
WOMEN AS DISCIPLES, BUT ENCOURAGED IT.
IN ADDITION TO THE MARY IN TODAY'S TEXT,
WE KNOW THAT MARY MAGDALENE,
MARY THE WIFE OF CLOPAS,
AND MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS
WERE ALL DISCIPLES OF JESUS.
ONE CAN ASSUME THAT MANY OF THE WOMEN
WHOM JESUS ENCOUNTERED IN HIS MINISTRY --
SUCH AS THE WOMAN WITH THE BLOOD FLOW,
THE WOMAN WHO WASHED HIS FEET
WITH HER TEARS,
AND THE WOMAN WHO ANOINTED HIS HEAD
WITH COSTLY PERFUME,
ALSO BECAME HIS DISCIPLES.
THE PICTURE WE GET IS ONE OF JESUS
DOING SOMETHING THAT NO MALE
IN THAT CULTURE HAD EVER DONE BEFORE --
ACCEPTING WOMEN AS DISCIPLES
ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH MEN.
WHEN WE PUT THIS TOGETHER WITH
JESUS INTENTIONALLY BREAKING
SABBATH AND RITUAL LAWS,
AFFIRMING DESPISED SAMARITANS,
BREAKING BREAD WITH TAX COLLECTORS
AND ASSORTED OTHER SINNERS,
AND REACHING OUT TO GENTILES,
WE GET A GLIMPSE OF SOMEONE
WHO IS SO CAUGHT UP IN HIS VISION
OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD,
AND SO CONFIDENT OF HIS OWN AUTHORITY
TO BRING THAT KINGDOM INTO BEING,
THAT THE VERY NATURE OF REALITY
IS TRANSFORMED IN HIS PRESENCE.
THOSE LABELED "UNCLEAN" ARE MADE WHOLE,
THOSE CONSIDERED UNFORGIVABLE
ARE FORGIVEN AND RESTORED,
THOSE EXCLUDED ARE NOW INCLUDED.
NO WONDER THE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL
ESTABLISHMENTS OF THE DAY
FOUND JESUS HOPELESSLY
SUBVERSIVE AND DANGEROUS
AND HAD TO TAKE HIM OUT.
REFOCUSING NOW ON JESUS' AFFIRMATION
OF WOMEN AS FULL DISCIPLES,
THE SAD THING, INDEED, THE TRAGIC THING
IS THAT THE MALE DISCIPLES OF JESUS
COULD NOT HANDLE THE INCLUSIVITY
OF THE KINGDOM THAT JESUS PREACHED
AND SOON REVERTED TO THE MALE-DOMINATED
STANDARDS OF MIDDLE-EASTERN CULTURE.
IN THE PURPORTED FIRST LETTER
OF PAUL TO TIMOTHY --
A LETTER WHICH MOST NON-FUNDAMENTALIST
SCRIPTURE SCHOLARS ATTRIBUTE
TO A DISCIPLE OF PAUL AND NOT PAUL HIMSELF --
PAUL IS REPORTED TO SAY
"I PERMIT NO WOMAN TO TEACH
OR TO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER A MAN."
(First Timothy 2:12)
THIS IS ONE OF THE MAIN SCRIPTURE TEXTS
USED TO KEEP WOMEN IN THEIR PLACE.
THE BEST CONTEMPORARY SCHOLARSHIP
ON THE APOSTLE PAUL
HAS COME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT THERE WERE ACTUALLY
THREE DIFFERENT PAUL’S WRITING
UNDER THE SAME NAME,
WHICH WAS AN ACCEPTABLE PRACTICE
OF THAT TIME.
THESE THREE PAUL’S ARE THE AUTHENTIC PAUL,
A MORE MODERATE DISCIPLE
OF THIS AUTHENTIC PAUL,
AND A REACTIONARY, FASCIST DISCIPLE
OF THIS MODERATE DISCIPLE.
IT IS THE REACTIONARY PAUL,
NOT THE AUTHENTIC PAUL WHO WROTE
THE LETTERS TO TIMOTHY, WHERE OUR QUOTE
“I PERMIT NO WOMAN TO TEACH
OR TO HAVE AUTHORITY OVER A MAN.”
TO COUNTER THIS REACTIONARY PAUL,
I’VE INCLUDES TWO TEXTS
FROM THE AUTHENTIC PAUL.
YOU CAN SEE HOW THESE QUOTES
FROM THE AUTHENTIC PAUL
COMPLETE CONTRADICT THE TEACHING
OF THE REACTIONARY PAUL.
GALATIANS 3:28 IS ONE OF THE MOST RADICAL
TEXTS IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE,
AND PERFECTLY MIRRORS THE ATTITUDE
OF JESUS HIMSELF:
“THERE IS NO LONGER JEW OR GREEK,
THERE IS NO LONGER SLAVE OR FREE,
THERE IS NO LONGER MALE OR FEMALE;
FOR ALL OF YOU ARE ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.”
PERSONALLY, I THINK THIS RADICAL TEXT
CAN LEGITIMATELY
BE EXPANDED THEOLOGICALLY
TO INCLUDE A STATEMENT ALONG THE LINES OF:
“THERE IS NO LONGER STRAIGHT OR GAY.”
BUT THIS ISN’T THE TIME TO GET INTO THAT,
WHICH I HAVE DONE IN THE PAST
AND WILL DO SO AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.
CONCERNING ALL THOSE NAMES
IN OUR READING FROM PAUL’S
LETTER TO THE ROMANS.
IN THE EARLLIEST CHURCH,
THE TITLE AND POSITION OF “APOSTLE”
WAS THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE POSITION
THERE WAS.
PAUL MENTIONS THREE WOMEN – AQUILA,
MARY, AND JUNIA – WHOM PAUL HIMSELF
DESIGNATES AS APOSTLES –
PERSONS EQUAL IN ALL RESPECTS
TO THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS.
I THINK THAT ONE OF THE MAIN PRINCIPLES
OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION SHOULD BE
THAT WHAT JESUS HIMSELF TEACHES
TAKES PRIORITY OVER EVERYTHING ELSE.
IN PRACTICE, HOWEVER, WHAT WE FIND
TAKING PLACE IN MANY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
IS THAT STATEMENTS SUPPOSEDLY FROM PAUL –
ALL OF THEM FROM THE “REACTIONARY” PAUL --
TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER JESUS' OWN TEACHINGS.
ALL SCRIPTURE TEXTS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.
IT IS SIMPLY WRONG TO TAKE THE TEACHING
OF A DISICIPLE OF A DISCIPLE OF JESUS
AND GIVE IT AN AUTHORITY
OVER THAT OF JESUS HIMSELF.
IT IS ASTONISHING THAT IN SPITE OF THE FACT
THAT JESUS HIMSELF HAD WOMEN DISCIPLES,
AND THAT THE AUTHENTIC PAUL
MIRRORED THIS IN HIS OWN MINISTRY,
CHURCHES REPRESENTING MORE THAN
NINETY PERCENT OF CHRISTIANS TODAY
DO NOT ALLOW WOMEN TO BE ORDAINED.
THIS IS A SERIOUS AFFRONT
TO THE INCLUSIVE VISION
OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD THAT JESUS HAD IN MIND.
CHRISTIAN WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE AGES
HAVE BEEN WELL-AWARE
OF THIS SHORT-CHANGING
OF THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS,
AND HAVE PROTESTED IN SOME CREATIVE WAYS.
ONE CREATIVE WAY OF PROTESTING
IS TO WRITE SUBVERSIVE POETRY,
AND WE HAVE TWO POWERFUL EXAMPLES
OF THIS IN THE "AS WE GATHER" SECTION
OF TODAY'S BULLETIN.
CATHERINE OF SIENA AND TERESA OF AVILA,
NAMED SAINTS AND CONSIDERED TO BE
"DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH,"
YET NOT ALLOWED TO BE ORDAINED
AS PRIESTS OR BISHOPS,
TOOK ON THE ALL-MALE HIERARCHY
WITH HUMOR AND ANGER.
CATHERINE OF SIENA, IN HER GENTLE HUMOR,
WRITES:
"ALL HAS BEEN CONSECRATED.
THE CREATURES IN THE FOREST KNOW THIS,
THE EARTH DOES, THE SEAS DO,
THE CLOUDS KNOW
AS DOES THE HEART FULL OF LOVE.
STRANGE A PRIEST
WOULD ROB US OF THIS KNOWLEDGE
AND THEN EMPOWER HIMSELF
WITH THE ABILITY
TO MAKE HOLY
WHAT ALREADY WAS."
TERESA OF AVILA WRITES WITH WHITE-HOT ANGER
CONCERNING THE ALL-MALE HIERARCHY
OF HER CHURCH:
"FROM A DISTANCE
ALL WANT TO ENTER HIS HOUSE.
ONCE NEAR, WATCH OUT FOR THE GUARD DOGS --
BOTH FOUR-LEGGED AND TWO.
SOME OF THEM
ARE CRAZY AS HELL."
AS MEMBERS OF A LOCAL CHURCH
THAT HAS AFFIRMED THE ORDINATION OF WOMEN
SINCE ITS INCEPTION,
AND AS MEMBERS OF A LOCAL CHURCH
WHICH ENJOYS DUAL AFFILIATION
WITH A DENOMINATION
WHICH HAS ORDAINED WOMEN
MORE THAN A CENTURY BEFORE ANY OTHER --
THE CONGREGATIONAL BRANCH
OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST --
WE NEED TO STAND IN SOLIDARITY
WITH WOMEN IN THOSE DENOMINATIONS
WHICH DENY THEM THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE.
WE NEED TO PRAY,
AND TO PRAY UNCEASINGLY,
THAT JESUS' OWN VISION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
COMES TO BE EMBODIED
IN ALL CHURCHES
THAT ARE BOLD ENOUGH TO CLAIM HIS NAME.
AMEN.