A Blessing for Our Global Moment
As evil seems to triumph and order crumbles,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
When terror seems to overtake, leaving victims in its wake,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
As violence against children replaces their education,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
When resolve seems too expensive to expend,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
As human systems slow and hope in them fades,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
When the temptation to despair haunts,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
As You form the bold spirits who will prevail in adversity,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy.
A Few Words About Women in the Military in Honor of Women’s History Month
Being a woman is not dull or easily defined or stereotypical or just one thing. There is an ancient middle eastern saying, “A wise woman builds her house, the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.” If there were two things I would like to encourage you in today it would be 1) build your house, 2) don’t tear it down with a little bit of history sprinkled in.
Let’s start with that brief history. Very brief.
In Ancient Mesopotamia girls had two options, and that’s only if they were rich 1) get married to someone they don’t know or 2) become a temple priestess aka prostitute. Let’s skip ahead a lot of years to the roman empire. Women were property, unless they were wealthy and their husband died. They were literally written into law as an object to be owned. Having a baby girl was not valued because she couldn’t carry on the family name and archeologists have found, in the water systems of Rome, bones of thrown away newborn babies girls deemed “not worth keeping”.
Fast forward again to 2021 and the UN has released the numbers, as they surveyed the world they noticed that demographically there are over 200 million women missing. Practices like “gendericide” or gender selective abortions is still common practice in multiple countries around the world. What this means is that the deadliest three words in the world are simply, “It’s a girl.”
And before we point too many fingers and let our jaws drop in horror, let’s remember that women have been serving in the military for many decades, but were not seen as doing such or even given uniforms until several years AFTER World War II. And it wasn’t for about another decade that that extended to black women. From the late 40s to the 70s, several decades after women were allowed in the service, pregnancy was prohibited. If a woman were to become pregnant, planned, unplanned or assault, she had only two options: to be separated from the service or to abort the baby. Forced abortions were not uncommon. This is especially shocking because abortions were not even legal in the country. It took a female attorney, who later began a supreme court justice, to have that overturned as recently as the late 70s. And around that same time the first female chaplain was legally permitted to join the service.
Oftentimes, the difference between wisdom and foolishness is the immediacy of pain. What’s going to hurt right now? That’s probably the wise way to go. And for over 100 years women in the US military have been denying the way the rest of the world has chosen to see them and serve their country at great personal risk and cost. Over many, many years, we have built our house.
A wise woman builds her house, the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
My first job, around 10 or 11 years old, was working for my dad’s construction company, doing job site clean up and demolition, once in a while building something too. What I learned early on is it is a lot faster to tear down a wall than to build one. Sledgehammers are no joke. You feel successful faster. There are moments when we can look at where we are now, with the dominance of sexual assault and harassment and we can feel like there is a lot to tear down. There are deep, deep wounds and pain that have been inflicted. Being a woman is, by its historical experience, is proven to be painful. And we stand on the shoulders of women throughout history who have accepted that and chosen the painful way, the road of wisdom. In doing so they’ve changed policies, changed environments, changed value systems. They have been doing the hard work of building. Don’t tear it down. Instead let’s give those coming after us the tools to keep building
How? By having the courage to start at home. I dare you. Everyone wants to change the world, no one wants to start with themselves. It is easier to start a new program than it is to look in the mirror. It is easier to point fingers at someone rather than face your own deficiencies. My encouragement to you would be to build your own house and don’t tear it down by starting with yourself first
We have come through a lot, we have a lot more to go through and God-willing we’ll get somewhere good. Know where you come from. In summary I’d like to leave you with this blessing:
Invoke the learning of every suffering you have suffered.
Gather all the kindling around your heart to create one spark to nourish the flame.
Allow a new confidence to come alive to urge you towards higher ground where your imagination will learn to engage difficulty as its most rewarding threshold.
A Blessing for Our Moment
Some moments pass before we are done experiencing them.
Grasping for answers, grappling within ourselves, gaping at one another.
Courage, my beloved friends, courage to befriend your dissenters.
May you break the habit of dismissing differences without curiosity.
Blessed is the curiosity bestowed in humility, not outrage.
Listening is humility. And pride not something to be proud of.
May your actions be without accusation or sarcasm.
High roads become low when the low road is called high.
Why Weren’t Women Among Jesus’ Disciples? – (Pt. 4 of “WOMEN PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN LUKE ACTS AND ROMANS”)
“If God thought women should be leaders, then why didn’t Jesus have any women among His disciples?” The next sentence went something like, “I’m not saying women can’t lead, I’m saying that I believe the Bible, and the Bible for some reason seems not to allow it.”
This conversation transpired during one of my first semesters in seminary. So common was it as the defense for a strictly hierarchical perspective of men over women that it was mechanical. My explosive response was not to my credit. To this day I probably still owe a few apologies.
As I learned more about interpreting the Bible, I realized the story it revealed was different from the one I assumed and had been told. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” is an odd start to a book. It can read presumptuously because rather than defending the idea of God, it proclaims the reality of God. (Apologetically it is quite unhelpful unless circular reasoning is your thing.) In a similar way to how the Bible declares the existence of God, it just has women leading — preaching, learning, being theologically educated, autonomous and financially savvy. It’s not shocking or an argument that the authors are strategically making. It’s so common and normal in Scripture that we can miss its significance. It’s not a position that’s so radical that the authors spend their pens defending it, it just is. Yet, our cultural moment is different from theirs so my pen will be spent on it.
A proper perspective of women in Scripture should include more than menstruation regulations in Leviticus, restrictions on speech and actions in 1 Timothy 2 , and regulations concerning interrupting services 1 Corinthians 14. Certainly the previously mentioned passages should not be treated lightly, but the hermeneutical principle is that we move from what is clear to what is unclear. Those places in Scripture are some of the most misunderstood, highly contested parts because they are unclear. Instead, I invite you to read the Bible with me a little more completely and at a later date we can explore those together with their proper context. Feminists and chauvinists alike. Let’s begin in 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, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 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.”
Since context is king the first question asked ought to be, “After what?” In so asking, it is uncovered, that an account of Jesus forgiving a woman who had lived a life that had missed the mark in every way, but who poured perfume on his feet, using her hair as a towel to dry his feet. Her highest glory (her hair) )daring to touch on his most unclean part (his feet) thus adding insult and humiliation to herself. This was at an all-male dinner party, as was the custom of the time, women would eat separately. In this setting, Jesus was the only male who dared to break the custom and speak directly to her. He used it as an instructive moment to make a point about forgiveness and faith in general, and also to stand up to men for women specifically. It was both. He saw perfectly the woman and the men. It was important that the men see Jesus, fully God and fully human, speaking to a woman who was an outcast in every way about her faith – a topic reserved for men.
It is after this that our passage of interest begins. Our guide, Luke, draws our attention to Jesus’ disciples, the people who were with him as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God. What is a disciple? According to the Greek (Mathetes) a disciple is a learner, an apprentice or a pupil. Someone who would be with their teacher and practice their teacher’s way of doing things.
Who was among the disciples? In Luke 8:1-3 we are told, there are “The Twelve”, a group we are quite familiar with, as well as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Suzanna and many others. I can already hear you thinking, “Wait, wait, wait, what the text says is that ‘these women were helping to support them out of their own means.’” Valid. That is exactly what it says. What it also says is that these women were among those traveling with Jesus, learning to do things the way the Teacher did them. Who did that? Disciples.
Frequently when reading one of the Gospel, it is easy to mentally substitute “the disciples” and “the Twelve” in one’s own mind. However, that is not what the text does. It is clear about which grouping it is talking about when it talks about them and signals each change for each given context in the pericope (or section of the book). Chapter 8 of Luke defines this group of people traveling with Jesus and then refers to them as a whole as disciples (Luke 8:9, 22, 24). In chapter 9 there is a clear shift, a sorting out of people that happens among the disciples. Luke 9:1, “When Jesus had called the Twelve together…” This is definitely only talking about the 12 men whose names we know and were called to be apostles. Then there are the disciples as a larger group being spoken to privately (Luke 9:18-27). Then there is the transfiguration with Peter, John and James (Luke 9:28-36). Immediately following there is a shift back to the larger group of disciples for the rest of the chapter (Luke 9:37-62).
This private conversation in Luke 9:18-27 is our focus. This is when Jesus asks them who people think he is and Peter confesses famously, “The Messiah of God.” Then something curious happens, Jesus says,
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life…” Yes, certainly it says that, no one is arguing, what’s interesting is that this private statement made to his disciples is referenced again at a very important moment: the resurrection. Let’s fast forward to Luke 24:1-12. The women came to Jesus’ tomb with spices for his body, they are met by an angel who tells them, “He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day raised again.’ They remembered his words.”[Emphasis added] Woah. Pause. Wasn’t that a private conversation between Jesus and his all male disciples? How would the women have known about it? Great question, they wouldn’t have unless they were among the disciples. It can be confidently concluded that since they were named in the list of disciples (Luke 8:1-3) and in private conversations with only the disciples present (Luke 9:18-27), that women were and are disciples as much as men.
In the next chapter of Luke, chapter 10, something curious happens, Jesus sends out a larger group of disciples to practice what he had been showing them. Let’s look at Luke 10:1-3, 8-11, 16-20:
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves… 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ … 16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
If the women, Joanna, Mary, Susanna and others were named among the disciples traveling with Jesus (Luke 8:1-3) and included in private conversations with Jesus (Luke 9: 18-27), it would necessarily follow that they are included in this group as well. They were sent out to drive out demons, cure disease and preach the kingdom of God, all things they have just witnessed Jesus do as his disciples. They are supposed to have an immediate application of the things they have seen.
Seeing this does not take imagination. All it takes is reading the text for what it has to say. As someone with a high view of Scripture, with it necessarily being authoritative, context being king, time and place matter and moving from what is clear to what is unclear (my interpretive principles) women are clearly among the disciples and clearly were part of the 70-72 disciples sent out to prepare the way for Jesus by preaching the kingdom. To try and make it say something else would be altering the text. Altering the text is far, far outside of my comfort zone. Here we have again in the book of Luke women preaching the Gospel… to men.
Here’s what’s interesting. It’s not a big deal. Women being among the disciples is not a big deal. Women preaching the Gospel, not a big deal. It’s just how Jesus does things. If it’s not a big deal to Jesus (even in that hierarchical cultural context), it should not be a big deal to us either. None of this should be surprising since Jesus turns everything on its head anyways.
If you are not uncomfortable just yet, there are a few reasons why you should not believe me. Here’s some of them, feel free to add to the list.
- The obvious reason that you should not believe is that all the of the twelve disciples were male thus making it seem clear that everyone else was too.
- Another reason why you should question heavily what I am saying is Jesus traveling with married and unmarried women alike would appear to be scandalous.
- Not to be ignored is the actual discomfort there is in changing our imagination’s image of how Jesus went about ministry. To read the Bible and question your mental picture (explicitly or implicitly) is profoundly uncomfortable. It can seem like the Gospel itself is at risk.
I will leave you with chapters 8-10 of Luke’s gospel and my own list of potential trouble spots. Read the chapters. Examine the passages. Since our greatest shared interest is knowing and obeying the revealed word of God in the Bible, may we turn our attention in that direction. Women preached. Women led. Women were disciples. Women are not the point. Jesus is. The eternal purpose of God is the point. This is what I see the Bible clearly saying, no twists. I have my own answers to my own three objections of why you shouldn’t believe me, but I will leave them here for you to wrestle with on your own.
If I could now go back and respond to those seminarians and professors, I might interject, “I am not saying that women have to lead or preach or be discipled. I’m just saying that I believe the Bible and for some reason God seems to allow it.”
According to John MacArthur, Elizabeth and Mary Preached the Gospel (Pt. 3 of WOMEN PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN LUKE, ACTS & ROMANS)
“Maybe it’s a belt?”
“I think it might be a skinny scarf,” I recommended in response to my sister.
“It could be a plant hanger thing without the pot,” Mom’s musing was unconvincing.
Whatever it was, it was handmade. And this exchange was a regular Christmas ritual growing up. Once a year we would get a box of handmade items from someone we knew. This was the impetus for a lively guessing game about what each item inside might have been intended as. This guessing game served two purposes 1. to inform a semi sincere thank you note for the sender and 2. pure amusement.
It is much the same with preaching. Preaching is definitely something, but what? It can be hard to name. Though I’m theologically educated, and I preach often, I am not considered an expert on homiletics (the art of preaching or sermon writing). Instead I’ll turn to some prominent thought leaders to define preaching for us including, John MacArthur, Eugene Peterson and Timothy Keller. Here are their respective definitions. (The articles associated with their answers are linked in their names below for context.)
“Maybe we could just make a contrast. Sometimes you hear people say, ‘Expose the text.’ That is not the verb. The verb is not ‘expose.’ That is one thing. The verb is ‘exposit.’ That is a specific verb, and what it means is to explain. An exposition is an explanation. That is as simple as I can make it. Explain the meaning of Scripture.”
“There is an old style of expository preaching that just has to do with that went on, but no, preaching has to do with what’s going on. But it’s what God is doing, going on, not what I’m supposed to do or can’t do or shouldn’t do or should do.
Keller defines expository preaching as preaching which,
“grounds the message in the text so that all the sermon’s points are points in the text, and it majors in the text’s major ideas. It aligns the interpretation of the text with doctrinal truths of the rest of the Bible (being sensitive to systematic theology). And it always situates the passage within the Bible’s narrative, showing how Christ is the final fulfillment of the text’s theme (being sensitive to biblical theology).”
So according to the experts on the topic, preaching is an explanation of Scripture in light of Christ, grounded in the text, that has to do with the current goings on of God. Approximately. Given this idea, let’s now turn our attention to the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke.
Mary comes to see Elizabeth, both women are pregnant with significant historical, religious figures and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit (the first person to have this happen in the New Testament). She proclaims,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:42-45, New International Version)
These famous words form more than an elaborate greeting. They make up the first sermon preached by a woman in the New Testament. This is a strong statement. It needs to be examined and cross examined against the working definition of preaching being “an explanation of Scripture in light of Christ, grounded in the text, that has to do with the current goings on of God.”
Is Elizabeth explaining Scripture in light of Christ? Yes. In her sermon, Elizabeth is referencing Judges 5:24, 1 Samuel 2:1-10, and Deuteronomy 28:4. What is significant about these passages is that Elizabeth is reaching back into the Old Testament to stories of women (Jael, Hannah and mothers in Israel) and bringing them into the current moment to demonstrate their prophetic purpose and present application. “The current goings on of God” one could say with accuracy. What Jael, Hannah and the mothers of Israel looked forward to was Christ, the Messiah. What Elizabeth was recognizing was the Messiah before her. Elizabeth exposits the texts she had heard taught in synagogue and in her home for her entire life. Christ is being announced through the exegesis of the Bible by Elizabeth.
Is she talking about the current goings on of God? Yes.
Is she then preaching according to the experts? Yes. Elizabeth preaches by expositing the text of the Old Testament (her Bible) to Mary, showing the current application of those passages to Mary and conversely to a much larger audience as this story was relayed over and over again and eventually written down to become a founding document of the Christian faith tradition.
Mary responds to Elizabeth by preaching her own sermon. What she preaches is so significant to the Christian faith that it has received its own name: the Magnificat. Many have labeled this a song, but that is not what the Bible calls it. Naming it a song is a prescription given to it, an assumption rather than how Mary’s words are actually positioned. It is clear that her sermon draws on various Psalms, but that does not automatically categorize it as a song. This should be familiar as it is common in 21st century America to quote song lyrics in sermons and conversations, that does not mean that the situation has suddenly become a musical. Instead of singing, Mary preaches by explaining Scripture in light of Christ, grounded in the text with application to the current goings on of God. It reads,
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
Mary is preaching about the greatness of God’s glory, His mercy and justice as it relates to her ancestors as she brings herself and Elizabeth into that story as well. Her word for the moment is realizing where they fit within the “narrative arch” and putting the center of attention back on God for including them. It could be that she is roughly drawing on her cultural heritage. Except that it is demonstrable though that she is bringing the her Bible to bear in the present moment.
Is Mary explaining Scripture in light of Christ? Yes. Mary explained the meaning of Scripture for the present moment. She definitively references Deuteronomy 5:10 (“…showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”), 1 Samuel 1-2 (too long to quote here) and Psalm 34:2-3 (“I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me let us exalt his name together.”) and then expands on each passage she references with precision. This is so unexpected that the common assumption is that Mary is “filled with the Spirit” just like Elizabeth, but the text does not say that. These words are her words. Her tone draws heavily from the inspiration of the Psalms, her culture’s book of worship and prayer, much like a hymnal used to be and a projector system now is for us, but this is not a one-to-one correlation. Mary’s sermon is her sermon, one that uses the Old Testament to understand and process the current moment.
Is she talking about the current goings on of God? Yes!
Is she then preaching according to the experts? Given Mary’s thorough breakdown and insight into her Bible that she is verbalizing to someone else that speaks directly to their specific situations and more holistically to their culture moment, Mary is preaching according to the experts.
Let me name the obvious pushback: these women were only speaking to each other. Most Christians have no issue with a woman speaking at a women’s event. So even if they were “preaching” it was not to men and therefore is irrelevant in the conversation of women preaching the Gospel. Fair point. However, Luke, a man, carefully researched his story and considered it necessary to include these two women’s sermons in his letter to another man (Theophilus) which has become Scripture and is therefore authoritative in the lives of men and women alike. Sermons preached by women reached far beyond “women’s ministry” and squarely into redemptive history or God’s story of bringing peace between humanity and divinity.
All of this to say, according to John MacArthur, Eugene Peterson and Timothy Keller’s definitions, Elizabeth and Mary preached the Gospel. It’s not a scarf or a pot holder thing or a belt, their words are sermons that continue to shape our understanding of the Gospel.
A Blessing for Our Powerless
A Blessing for Our Powerless
What I desired now names what I have given up.
“Justice!” They said, “Stand for justice!”
What I see toppling is my hope for integrity.
“Fairness!” They said, “Be fair minded!”
What I witness is indecent amercements.
“Imagine a world where…”
Where what? Death thrives? Injustice never dies? Discipline is deserted?
My mind’s eye cannot see. My eyes’ already occupied by treachery.
PEACE! be still.
Cost assessed may not be worth the price and ransoms must be paid lest they be debt.
Comfort in the music of chaos comes in measures of rest.
Wisdom’s voice reminds of ancient stones unmoved.
Love unfairly portions out communities of belonging.
Capture a renewed vision, one that is true, holy and wholly not up to you.
WOMEN PREACHING IN LUKE, ACTS AND ROMANS – Principles for Reading and Studying Scripture (Pt. 2)
Libraries are places that, for me, are temples. The smell of books, the incense. The librarians, the priests. Growing up, weekly trips to the library were practically a requirement, making me quite familiar with the people who inhabited this holy space. There were the two young political activists collecting signatures outside, the children’s librarian who had all purple everything including hair, the kind security guard who kicked people out for using the computer for too long and the weather beaten gentlemen who were constantly reading the papers. Sometimes these folks would talk to me, a fiery haired, freckled, wide-eyed little girl and tell me about how the Bible was crazy and how the end times were coming and they could tell from the news that God was judging us and the rapture was coming soon! All I had to compare them to were my Sunday school stories and a few memory verses.
I listened. I was confused.
Anyone can stand up and claim that they know something about the Bible. They can write articles, make pithy statements and jab away gleefully without ever explaining where their knowledge comes from. As I grew older and received a theological education, I realized that how you read the Bible is very, very important. There is an entire type of study dedicated to it called hermeneutics. There are guidelines that have been developed over centuries to help us understand the Bible. There are multiple schools of thought, some much more respectable than others.
How then do I study Scripture? What rules do I follow as I examine Luke, Acts and Romans regarding women preaching?
The guidelines I will share and the view of how the Bible works together to tell one story, are the very ones that I have been taught by theologically conservative professors. I respect their admiration and approach to Scripture, sharing in their belief that the Bible is the Word of God with no flaws in it therefore making it authoritative. I was taught and I believe that different parts of the Bible are to be understood differently. I’ve heard it said, and I would affirm that the Bible is to be read literarily, not literally. The Bible is made up of stories, histories, philosophies, laws, letters, poetry and songs all working together to reveal a nuanced view of the Divine One. It all works together to tell one story, but it does so with many different genres, eras in history and authors.
The Bible consists of two major section called the Old and New Testaments that are then organized into smaller sections. The way we read and understand the Old Testament is different than the New Testament. Why? Because they were written at different points in humanity’s relationship with God. Another way to say it would be, different times, different covenants. The way that God has chosen to relate to us has changed because of the life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.
The books of the New Testament were “breathed by God” through human authors. They are reflecting back on the Old Testament and re-navigating what it says about God in light of our expanded knowledge of God through the person of Jesus. That’s a fancy way of saying, Jesus gave us a lot more to think about. God never changed, what God had revealed about the Divine was expanded. We didn’t, couldn’t and don’t know everything all at once. This is referred to as progressive revelation.
Those are some building blocks about the Bible. Back to the all-important question, what principles of interpretation do I use in reading and understanding Scripture? Even though there are many, I’ve chosen to condense them into four.
- Scripture is authoritative. I always start here. The text is what I am aligning myself to. It is not something to be explained away. It directs my life because I am convinced that it is fully inspired or God breathed.
- Context is king. A verse cannot mean whatever I want it to mean. There are multiple layers of context that need to be considered including the meaning of the words used in the original language, the verses immediately surrounding it, the book it is found it, the greater context of the testament it is found in and the entire cannon of Scripture. The phrase to live by is, “Let Scripture interpret Scripture.” Personal feelings are important, but they are secondary to what the text says and what the text says about what the text is saying. I notice what arises in me, name it and then try to discern why that is happening.
- Time and place matter. When something happened is important. So is where it happened and who it happened to. These are things that help inform understanding. They also prevent immediate application without great consideration to what is happening, giving space to meditation and study. Direct application to the western 21st century from the ancient near eastern 1st century will generally always miss the mark.
- Move from the clear to the unclear. And not the other way around. When trying to understand something that is difficult, start with what you know. What is clearly seen in the Bible? From that place, go back to what is unclear because after all, “Scripture interprets Scripture.”
Many, many chapters and books have been written on the topics of hermeneutics and biblical interpretation. This is simply a short summary of where I have come to operate from after many years of study under theologically conservative teachers, pastors and professors. The main point is that on any Biblical topic, moving beyond the words of the Gospel and the Bible to determine the meaning does not align with the wisdom of my faith tradition. I also remind myself that just because something sounds nice or has been said for a long time (even by people I look up to and respect), does not mean that it is true or worth repeating.
These principles will guide how I discuss women preaching the Gospel in Luke, Acts and Romans. They are no secret. I invite you to judge me according to them.
I hope that you will listen. Perhaps you will not be as confused as that fiery, freckled little girl at the library.
WOMEN PREACHING IN LUKE, ACTS AND ROMANS – Biblical and Personal Authority (Pt. 1)
What have you heard about the issue of women in ministry? Scratch that question, it’s too big. What does the Bible have to say about women preaching the Gospel? Even this a query that could fill volumes that no one would ever read, so for now the focus will be on women preaching the Gospel in the books of Luke, Acts and Romans. There is a phrase in biblical studies that goes like this, “A text without a context is a pretext.” Essentially it means that you can’t take something out of its context and assign meaning. For a moment, let’s apply that principle to authorship as well.
When I was quite small, less than ten years old, I dreamed of hosting revival services in my parent’s garage. No joke. Toy catalogues would come in the mail at Christmas time (these were publications that looked like websites printed out on semi glossy paper). I would circle the keyboard, the microphone and the guitar. Clearly I needed to lead worship for our unsaved neighbors with my nonexistent musical skills and then preach to them so that they would know Jesus and be saved from hell. I had planned out how to invite them, who would help me and where to get the chairs for all ten of them to sit. Of course if more than ten came, chairs could be added in the driveway or floor seating would be available. It was a surprisingly advanced plan for a child. My parents never purchased from that catalogue. My grand plans of revival were thwarted. Yet something of that dream lingered within me.
Many years later as a teenager, I had developed into a self-serving, self-focused girl primarily concerned with her image. That all shifted one weekend at a youth camp. Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” captured my heart. I wanted to pursue Christ by obeying that passage. It was my first “life verse”. Having grown up in conservative evangelical church and as a homeschooled daughter of an elder in a nondenominational congregation, I embraced the practices of daily Bible reading, regular prayer, serving wholeheartedly and Scripture memorization. These were facets of my life that had developed many years before my heart had been bewitched by the Word of God. The wealth of Scripture that had been stored up in me along the way.
In my rigorous note-taking and church-attending, I had caught the idea that to follow Christ as a female I needed to stay away from the front of the church. My place was behind the scenes… just like all the women in Scripture. Then why did people respond to the message of salvation when I preached? When I tried to name it, I knew I was called to preach. I couldn’t piece it together. I wanted to obey Scripture. I wanted to follow the great commission to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). This was the core question for me: Am I wrong or am I understanding it wrong?
Many people have looked into women in Scripture with varied approaches. Predictably, their findings have varied. Some have ventured beyond the confines of the traditional sixty-six books saying it is an incomplete canon (or record of what God has said). Recently this perspective has come to sound something like, “the loving and progressive God with whom we identify, is continuing to progress in self-revelation to humanity therefore it is time to continue to move with that forward invitation and away from the barbarian habits seen in an ancient patriarchal text”. Another commonly heard view is that, “believing the Bible is good and well, and staying within the books of the Bible is a lovely thought, but don’t be tempted to be so foolish as to believe that the Bible is anything more than fanciful metaphor and illustrative poetry veiling deeper truths of the mysteries of meaningful life”. Still others will add their voices to the din announcing that a loving God certainly didn’t mean any of this and it was all the work of corrupt and evil men devoid of all justice or true emotion. What is needed then is a return to justice and emotion, setting aside the silliness of Scripture. Perhaps my tone reveals my thoughts on these views.
Within protestant, conservative, evangelical realms, there exists a deep passion for the Word of God. It is embedded in our history, has been defended with our lives at times and with our words often. Given this distinctive of our faith tradition, it is imperative to begin this conversation by acknowledging that I am not coming to the Holy Scriptures to critique their content. On the contrary! I fully affirm the authority of the Scriptures defined as the Old and New Testaments which make up the complete canon. I affirm that the Bible is divinely inspired and inerrant in the original autographs. I believe that nothing should be taken away from it or added to it. In light of this, I believe that it is my role as a Christian to sit under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit and explore the pages of the revealed Word.
It just so happens that women preaching the Gospel is a topic of particular interest to me as a woman who regularly preaches the Gospel. It should be mentioned that this could certainly pose an issue of inherent bias. In crime investigation shows I see emotionally involved detectives bowing out of cases to maintain the integrity of the case, similarly disqualifying myself from the conversation has frequently seemed liked the ethical decision. It was presented to me as the “high road” by several professors in seminary, given my bias and emotional entanglement on the topic. But at the same time, my deep desire to obey God drives me to discover more about it. “It” being whether or not I am actually permitted to do the things that I “feel” called to do. If what I am doing is genuinely off limits because I am a woman there is no question to me that I must set aside my feelings and obey the Word of God. But who better to speak about being a woman created in the image of God from Scripture than a women created in the image of God trained in studying Scripture? I’m not sure.
Every student of theology is taught that they must continually learn to recognize and name their own biases that could lead them to misrepresent the text. These biases are deeply rooted in our spiritual stories. At the same time we must hold our stories of redemption with gratitude before God, realizing how they mirror His Gospel narrative and draw others to Him too. I recognize, along with every other theologian, that no one comes to the task of interpretation from a static posture. Being designed by God as a woman does not disqualify me from speaking about being a woman in the same way that believing that God predestined you to believe in predestination does not disqualify you from studying predestination in the Bible.
This is my invitation, come with me to explore what the Bible, in its authority and inerrancy with the Spirit as our helper and guide, has to say about women preaching the Gospel in Luke especially and Acts and Romans eventually.
A Blessing For Our Grief in Losses
Loss and grief are a mighty pairing,
Many have been reshaped by their appearing.
In your losses may you have compassion not comparison.
May empathy be your harmony.
In all of these losses may you realize it’s worth shamelessly grieving.
May comfort move slowly to you.
In the midst of your losses and your grief, may resilience be your faithful companion.
May you feel the ground under your feet.
In your knowing of loss and grief, may you know even more intimately the One who weeps,
May you know the gracious gentle One.
May you feel loss deeply,
May you grieve it freely,
May you never be truly alone.
______________________________
What have you lost?
Loss of your job,
Loss of your freedom,
Loss of your connections,
Loss of your time,
Loss of your importance,
Loss of your spontaneity,
Loss of your certainty,
Loss of your plans and structure,
Loss of your anticipated celebration,
Loss of your friends,
Loss of your education,
Loss of life.
A Blessing for Our Politicians
For you who are damned if you do and damned if you don’t,
Peace to you, a confident surety of the intention of this moment.
For you who are desperately looking for the least worst way,
May you known Wisdom’s voice as she calls to you above the din.
For you who see the suffering brought on by misinformation,
May truth tellers graciously prevail around you.
For you who have been betrayed by the people you were chosen to serve,
May you receive the Love beyond yourself to endure in your purpose.
For the you who feel powerless in power, when power was never the point,
May you have hope that remains as you remember your influence matters.
For you who are publicly shamed by others looking to steal your honor,
May you retain honor as you speak empathically to the fearful.
May you know that faith communities encompass you in the Divine.
May you hear the echoes of our intercessions for you.
May you catch wind of our gratitude for you.
May your heart have encourage, because we’re damned if you don’t.
studentinheels 