First At The Cradle And Last At The Cross

A while back several of us got into a discussion about why angels are often portrayed as women when in the Bible this is probably never true. Since then I've been reminded by a couple of women that angels can and do appear unaware to the rest of us and so may well appear as women. One dear lady told of a personal encounter with two women who may--or may not--have been women. In any event they were there when she needed them. So the discussion goes on.

In the midst of this one of my correspondents mentioned that the Bible itself puts women in a subservient position. The modern word for this is 'sexist.' I said I'd like to correct that impression and so that's what I'm about today.



Let's start with an atheististic view of the Bible and women. This is from Atheneum Reading Room and an article by Julia Hernandez and Al Seckel, Christianity Versus Women.

"Many Christians claim that their religion has raised women from a state of degradation to a higher level of equality. Nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout its history, the Christian religion has deprived women of their right to be treated as equal human beings. Today, Catholic, Mormon and fundamentalist Christian churches still prevent women from taking an equal place among men in their church hierarchies. These churches also oppose equal rights legislation, the right of women to pursue a career outside the home, and the freedom of choice over their own bodies. Why?

 ...Throughout the Bible there is a clear-cut inequality between men and women. Men are considered more important, more useful, more valuable, and wiser than women. The woman's role is to remain silent, obey her husband, and to bear and bring up children. She is to support her husband in all of his decisions. Women are not permitted to have any authority over men. The biblical ideal is always the submissive woman."

You can read more about this view on their site. In response to that I like much of what Jenny Baker writes in an article in the Youth Worker Journal,"Women in Ministry:Re-examining the Biblical Pattern". She points us to the original intention of our Creator. Here's some of what she writes:

"From Genesis 1:26-28, we get a sense of the unity of men and women and the partnership God intends. "Then God said 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.' So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.'

"Both men and women are made in God's image; neither one reflects it alone. Together they're given the cultural mandate, the task of filling the earth and subduing it. God didn't say, "You take care of the home" to the woman and "You do the gathering" to the man. The unfolding and developing of creation was a task they were to do in partnership. There's no hierarchy in Genesis 1."

So far Jenny. In the complementary account of humankind's creation in Genesis 2 we read that the full plan of God could not be completed until Adam had a partner. The Lord God said it was not good for the man to be alone and so he made him a helper as his partner (2:18). As was often explained in commentaries, she was made from his rib to be at his side as his helper. The Hebrew word Ezer refers to one expected to engage fully in the same activities as Adam. The word stresses the complementary nature of the work they did rather than subordination or inferiority. As Jenny Baker points out, in many places in the Old Testament, God is described as our Ezer. Ms. Baker again:

"She is his missing part; together they can do what man alone couldn't. Their relationship is one of intimacy and vulnerability they stand naked together and feel no shame."

We are no longer in the Garden of Eden. We are on the outside, in a world of fallen humankind. One of the results of our sin is this sexist treatment of women. The Bible records it, but the Spirit of God does not endorse it. We catch a glimpse again of God's true intention with the coming of the Son of God into this world through the Virgin Mary, the blessed Mother of God. When Jesus begins his ministry, he treats women as equal to men even though the culture around them did not.

Jenny Baker again:

"When he visits the home of Martha and Mary, he gently rebukes Martha for doing the housework and missing the opportunity of learning at his feet with Mary and the male disciples (Luke 10:38-42). Much to the amazement of the disciples, he has a theological discussion with the woman at the well, someone that society considered beneath contempt (John 4). He is supported financially by women (Luke 8:1-3), tells parables about them (Matt 13:33; 25:1-13; Luke 15:8-10; 18:1-8), and allows a sinful woman to anoint him much to the horror of his host (Luke 7:36-40). Martha's confession that Jesus is the Christ (John 11:27) parallels that of Peter (Luke 9:20). A woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus by a group of men, wanting to trip him up, using her as the bait. When they are shamed and leave one by one, she stays (although presumably she could have slipped away too). Jesus doesn't condemn her as all the others have done but tells her to sin no more (John 8:1-11). And as many have commented, women are first at the cradle and last at the cross. When all the disciples run away and desert Jesus, the women come to anoint him for burial (Luke 23:55-24:1). In a culture that refuses to recognize women as witnesses in court, Jesus allows women to be the first witnesses of his resurrection (Matt 28:1-10) and to personally carry the news to the other disciples."

Jesus came to make all things new. This is a critical area of human relationships that still needs much work. We in the church need to give careful examination to our attitudes toward women. Our example will also influence the world, especially as we emphasize what Jenny says, "Women were first at the cradle and last at the cross."