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Do the Right Thing

The have always fascinated me because they are largely – 8 out of the 10 – telling us fairly specifically what not to do, which I’ve always thought was limited.

I’ve struggled a bit with that, and even been chastised when I’ve made the point to some theologians, who point out that even with that viewpoint, taken as a whole they are a guide on how to live your life.

They are sometimes loosely compared to the , in as much as they are taken to be an aspirational way to live, as something to aim for. I think I prefer the Beatitudes, because in them offers us a way of life that promises eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven.1

In contrast to the Ten Commandments, Jesus presents the Beatitudes in a positive sense, virtues in life which will ultimately lead to reward, although once again, if taken literally, you must be suffering in some way in five of the eight to be rewarded.

Notwithstanding, becomes the motivation for the Christian. All of the Beatitudes promise us salvation - not in this world, but in the next.

I’m sure that many of us will have doubts about an after life, certainly in the sense of some sort of parallel existence in a dimension that we as yet have no real evidence for. So we should rather then heed the words of Mathew in Chapter 7, where he states that "Ye shall know them by their fruits" – that indeed promises a sort of after life where the memory of the good lives on.

So while the Beatitudes of Jesus provide a way of life that promises salvation, they can actually bring peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations on this earth. 2

But for simplicity, to my mind the two basic commandments of Jesus can’t be beaten as a simple concept:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

One of the references I consulted wrote that according to scholar Walter Bruggeman, the Ten Commandments are not rules for deep moralism.

They are not common sense rules designed to clobber and scold people. But rather, they are the most elemental statement of how to organise social power and social goods for the benefit of all the community. They are meant for the common good of all. 3

1 The of Scotland Weekly Worship Material, http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/47661/4_March_Wendy_Young_3_i n_Lent_formatted.pdf 2 The Eight Beatitudes of Jesus at http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Beatitudes.html

1 So perhaps I should just stop my quibbling?

On this first Sunday of March the passage in John really exhorts us to do more than upend the tables of the money lenders, but to more broadly overturn injustice in the world, the sort that prevents those who labour and toil to produce many of the staple goods that sit on our own cupboard shelves or clothe us from accessing the fulfilling life that our tells us should be shared. 4

So just a bit later in this service we’ll individually reflect on the upending of the tables as we take the third step on our Lenten ritual, offering up coins as a symbol of letting go our want – not need - for wordly riches while so many have so little.

I now move on to a far more daunting, indeed dangerous, topic.

Next Thursday is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate women everywhere for their contributions to the world. Let’s put aside the fact that every day ought to be IWD – and Children’s Day, and Refugee Day …..and just accept that it’s a day to urge others to stand for women’s dignity and value around the world.

There is a lot of discussion about what it means to be a woman, and with each generation we seem to constantly redefine what womanhood is and how women should function within that definition. I think our mother’s generation had a fairly simple view, albeit sometimes challenged, not least by the sisterhood of the suffragettes.

But we’ve moved on - the recent SSM plebiscite expanded to incorporate a whole plethora of orientations that disputed such simple definitions of sex and gender - and roles and expectations.

When the connection between this worship service and IWD became obvious, I researched sermon ideas, prayers and wise sayings. Some of them asked the question: What does it mean to be a woman?

I put aside any notion of trying for a clear cut definition in these times of fluid gender roles, but as one writer noted, there were articles discussing stereotypes, hormones, psychology or biology.

She – and the writer was a she, went on: “How is it that such a powerful, intricate and varied group of people were condensed into such sterile categories with little to no mention of what lies beneath these things?”5

So, given that we have an international Day for them, what is a Woman?

3 Ibid 4 Ibid 5 Seeley Bri, What Does It Mean to Be a Woman at https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bri-seeley/what-does-it- mean-to-be-a-woman_b_5465872.html

2 Some definitions of “woman” that this writer provided:6

1. The female human being (distinguished from man) 2. An adult female person 3. A female attendant to a lady of rank 4. A wife 5. Refers to an adult human being who is biologically female; that is, capable of bearing offspring 6. The nature, characteristics, or feelings often attributed to women.

Do these definitions help? Perhaps, from a ‘singular perspective’ – a phrase she used, some or all of them would fit a particular purpose or context. That last definition is suitably all encompassing, if also suitably vague.

I think I’ll just move on.

Surely the teachings of the Christian Church would help? The has many references, most of which I’m not brave enough to read out in this audience, even accepting that there is an historical cultural overlay that we acknowledge.

There aren’t many that don’t put women into, on the surface anyway, a submissive role. Some interpretations that I read – including by women - managed to turn that around as actually empowering women – it was an argument that I found hard to accept.

As another female writer wrote, ‘the church has played a large part in fighting against unbiblical definitions of womanhood, but, unfortunately, we too often confuse womanhood with wifehood.’

She called this viewpoint confusion: others would call it patriarchal or worse. This approach leaves all women, both single and married, with the natural assumption that their purpose and worth are intrinsically tied to marriage. I don’t need to tell you that, as she says, this assumption is gravely flawed.7

So what is the biblical role of a woman?

Let’s look at the Bible for some guidance, and here I must acknowledge that I have drawn the biblical detail from the writings of others, rather than my own study of the Bible.

Throughout the Old Testament, women were active in the religious life of Israel, but generally they were not leaders, although there were some notable exceptions such as

6 Ibid 7 Allnutt Laura , International Women’s Day: What It Means to Be a Woman in God’s Eyes, article in The Huffington Post on March 8, 2017 accessed at https://answersingenesis.org/culture/international- womens-day-what-it-means-be-woman-gods-eyes/

3 Deborah, who was a renowned prophetess, an honored judge, and an ideal role model for every woman called to lead others.8

She convened her court under a palm tree where "the came to her to have their disputes decided.”

But there was no woman with an ongoing prophetic ministry. No woman was a priest. No queen ever ruled Israel. No woman wrote an Old Testament (or ) book. 9

I think enough has been said: let’s move on to the NT. The situation of women is somewhat better there, but not necessarily anything to cheer about overall. I acknowledge here that much of what I’m about to say is drawn from an article called God’s High Call for Women on a website called Grace to You.10

Contrary to the Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures of his time, which viewed women almost on the level of possessions, Jesus showed love and respect for women. Though Jewish rabbis did not teach women and the Jewish Talmud said it was better to burn the than to teach it to a woman, Jesus never took the position that women, by their very nature, could not understand spiritual or theological truth.

He not only included them in His audiences but also used illustrations and images that would be familiar to them and specifically applied His teaching to them.

There are some very well known examples. For example. to the Samaritan woman at the well in John Chapter 4, He revealed that He was the Messiah and discussed with her topics such as eternal life and the nature of true worship. And in Luke Chapter 10, He also talked to Mary and, when admonished by , pointed out the priority of learning spiritual truth even over “womanly” responsibilities like serving guests in one’s home.

Although men in Jesus’ day normally would not allow women to count change into their hands for fear of physical contact, Jesus touched women to heal them and allowed women to touch Him. Jesus even allowed a small group of women to travel with Him and His disciples, an unprecedented behaviour at that time.

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared first to and sent her to announce His resurrection to the disciples, despite the fact that women were not allowed to be witnesses in Jewish courts because they were considered liars.

In Jesus’ treatment of women, He raised their station of life and He showed them compassion and respect in a way they had never known. This demonstrated their equality. At the same time, however, Jesus still did not exalt women to a place of leadership over men.11

8 Curtis Higgs Liz Deborah: A "Do Right" Woman, in Today’s Christian Woman accessed at http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2007/march/9.22.html 9 God’s High Call for Women, https://www.gty.org/library/articles/A168/gods-high-call-for-women 10 Ibid 11 Ibid

4 But what about the wider Church in those early days?

From the very beginning, women fulfilled a vital role in the Christian church but not in one of leadership. The apostles were all men; the chief missionary activity was done by men; the writing of the New Testament was the work of men; and leadership in the churches was entrusted to men.

Although the Apostle Paul respected women and worked side by side with them for the furtherance of , he appointed no female elders or pastors.

In his letters, he urged that men were to be the leaders in the church and that women were not to teach or exercise authority over men. Therefore, although women are spiritual equals with men and the ministry of women is essential to the body of , women were excluded from leadership over men in the church.12

Fortunately, we have moved on from those days – although many would argue that even across the Christian Churches – or perhaps some of them - we still have a long way to go. It is fundamental to our society and culture today that men and women stand as equals – and it is equally fundamental that this is an equality that should be global.

I wish all women, however defined, a happy International Women’s Day, and pray for a time that there is no need to have a special day to focus attention on the status or treatment of just under half of the world’s population.13

Amen

12 Ibid 13 This statement taken from Bauer, , A story of drinkers, genocide and unborn girls, updated on Oct. 18, 2016, accessed at https://qz.com/335183/heres-why-men-on-earth-outnumber-women-by-60-million/

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I have tried to acknowledge the many sources I accessed online accurately (it was a reverse engineering process), particularly where I have quoted verbatim. I acknowledge the original authorship, and do not seek to claim ownership where acknowledgement is missing.

References and Acknowledgements:

The Eight Beatitudes of Jesus at http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Beatitudes.html

Great Commandment, article in Wikipaedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Commandment

The Church of Scotland Weekly Worship Material, http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/47661/4_March_W endy_Young_3_in_Lent_formatted.pdf

Seeley Bri, What Does It Mean to Be a Woman at https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bri- seeley/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-woman_b_5465872.html

Allnutt Laura , International Women’s Day: What It Means to Be a Woman in God’s Eyes, article in The Huffington Post on March 8, 2017 accessed at https://answersingenesis.org/culture/international-womens-day-what-it-means-be- woman-gods-eyes/

God’s High Call for Women at https://www.gty.org/library/articles/A168/gods-high-call- for-women Article adapted from the Grace Church elders’ distinctive on “The Role of Women.”

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh, Mary: Portrait of a Woman Used by God, accessed at https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/mary-portrait-of-a- woman-used-by-god.html (Referenced as © Revive Our Hearts. Used with permission. Excerpted from Portrait of a Woman Used by God by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.Content provided by OnePlace.com.)

Lehner, , 10 Examples of Feminine from Women in the Bible, blog article on 2 June 2016, accessed at http://unlockingthebible.org/2016/06/10-examples-feminine-courage-women-bible/

Green, Linda. Four Influential Women of the Bible (and What They Teach Us), blog on 20 November 2014 accessed at http://unlockingthebible.org/2014/11/influential-women- of-the-bible/

Curtis Higgs Liz Deborah: A "Do Right" Woman, in Today’s Christian Woman accessed at http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2007/march/9.22.html

Bauer, David, A story of drinkers, genocide and unborn girls, updated on Oct. 18, 2016, accessed at https://qz.com/335183/heres-why-men-on-earth-outnumber-women-by-60-million/

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