July 13 Krum Star Article,
Objection number 3, "The Church is Dominated by Males
and Oppresses Females"
The audio recording for this message
can be found here.
For the summer, we’re investigating
a series of objections to Christianity as it is perceived
by those who call themselves spiritually alive but are
very much uninterested in the church as they understand
it. This week, I’m addressing the third of three
objections, “The Church is dominated by males and
oppresses females.”
I find myself taking a deep breath while
sorting out how to address this issue. I am a woman. It
has been a long and occasionally painful struggle to reach
the point where I could integrate what I knew was the
call of God on my life with what I had been taught about
the role of women in the church. For so much of my life,
I sensed that I was welcome in the church only if I showed
up to any meeting with a casserole in one hand and a craft
for the children in the other.
Now, I personally value great cooking and
am in awe of those who are gifted at working with children.
But I am neither a great cook nor am I gifted with children.
I often wonder how my three sons survived
my mothering. School may have taught them the English
alphabet. With me, they were drilled on the Greek alphabet.
I will never forget the time I realized
that my second-grader needed to bring a craft turkey to
school for the Thanksgiving program. In reality, this
was the time for the mothers to show off their handiwork.
I stuck a bunch of Hebrew flash cards in a stale loaf
of French bread I had cut up and used for the body and
head, and then sent my long-suffering middle son off to
school with his prize. Clearly, domesticity is not my
strong suit.
But I love the Word of God and do have
a gift for understanding and teaching it. Where then was
there a place for me? Was it true that in the holy mind
of God women really are just a little bit . . . wanting?
Just not quite fully human? Missing some essential element
so that their gifts and graces must be restricted to a
female only sphere? Certainly, much of the religious world
operates under such an understanding, and that world is
full of good and kind and generous people.
The role of women in the church has been
hotly debated for a number of years. Sincere scholars
and church leaders who operate from the same basic ground
rules come up with radically different answers. My own
personal library contained over 150 volumes dealing just
with that issue until I finally donated them to a university
library several years ago. And my library was only the
tip of the iceberg of scholarship and other writings on
the subject.
Personally, I began to resolve this as
I moved deeper into the Gospels—those places in
the Bible where we are able to read the stories about
the way Jesus interacted with those around him. In the
Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, there is a revealing scene
involving a woman who sought out healing from the hand
of Jesus. Because of her particular malady, she would
have been considered essentially untouchable by everyone
in her society and lived in lonely isolation. Many around
Jesus were simply appalled at her gall in approaching
Jesus. But his response was totally different. Instead
of condemnation, he offers blessing, and makes this lonely
and ostracized woman a part of his own household. These
are words of life and inclusion. These are words of hope
for all people, but especially women.
We’ll talk about it more on Sunday.
See you in church.
Christy
The Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas, Pastor, Krum
UMC
Questions or comments about this article?
Please contact me at christy@krumumc.org
or phone the church office at 940-482-3482.
