Bible Reading: John 14:23-29
Dear Friends
Pope Francis once spoke of his concern for women to find their proper role in the church. He said, “Women are asking deep questions that must be addressed. The church cannot be herself without the woman and her role.” I agree with the Pope. Women wake up every day to a world of discrimination simply because of their gender. But the most troubling aspect of this oppression is that the church is often found leading it! Many believers have developed a theology that proactively uses the Bible to disqualify women from the most formidable roles of leadership, especially in the church. I am appalled by the number of Christian leaders who are convinced that women are not as qualified, called and/or gifted to lead as men are. The argument for disempowering women is illogical, and unscriptural.
Biblically speaking, while 10 apostles huddled up in a house trying to save themselves, it was only three women (and John) who stayed at the Cross to comfort Jesus in the dark night of His soul. Although Jesus had been telling His disciples for months that He would be crucified and rise on the third day, it was only two women who visited the tomb on that fateful day. When the women found the tomb empty and encountered excited angels, they ran back to the village to tell the “world-changers” that the stone was rolled away and Jesus was gone. Yet only Peter and John even bothered to see if there was any truth to their story, while the rest of the apostles refused to believe. It was Mary Magdalene that first encountered the risen Christ and it was Jesus who instructed her to go tell His disciples that He had rose from the dead. In spite of all of this, (in the name of the Bible) many Christians still disempower women and relegate them to the back seat of the bus. Yet even under the Genesis curse (which placed husbands above wives), Old Testament women were empowered to be prophetesses, judges, queens and leaders.
When Jesus gave His life up on the cross, He became sin for us and thus destroyed the curse that was propagated against us (including the curse that caused husbands to rule wives) in the Garden of Eden. But 2,000 years later, much of the church still has only applied God’s redemption to one gender and relegated women to the ball and chain of the Garden tragedy. The fact is that in the last hundred years, many countries of the world have begun to champion women, giving them places of leadership in politics, in business, in education and in most every realm of society, while much of the Body of Christ won’t even allow them to be leaders in a church of 50 people. We have failed to realize that Jesus founded the Women’s Liberation Movement. He taught women, spoke to them publicly, protected them from the religious community and empowered them to minister.
Some men are insecure; reducing women helps them feel more powerful. Many Christians have misunderstood the Bible with reference to women. Therefore, they don’t want to violate their understanding of the Scriptures to empower women or be empowered as a woman. As a people group, women tend to be less competitive than men, they are not “typically” fighters, they are prone to be more humble and gentle. Maybe this is because they gave birth to everyone on the planet. Men often mistake these attributes for weakness and believe women are not as qualified to lead. This results in women being promoted less frequently than men, or men purposely oppressing women.
The moral is this: We need women to rise up as matriarchs alongside of our patriarchs in every realm of society so that God’s full intention for the planet can be fulfilled. Last week in an unprecedented move our church nominated three women into positions of high responsibility: Revs. Purity Malinga (Presiding Bishop elect), Faith Whitby nominated as Bishop of Central Synod and our own Yvette Moses Cape of Good Hope Synod Bishop nominee. President Ramaposa in congratulating Rev. Purity Malinga said” Her election affirms the centrality of women as leaders across all structures in society”. IGAMA LAMAKHOSIKAZI MALIBONGWE!