By Far, the Stronger Sex ...

Remember those “He man” bubble gum comics back in the day?  For those of you asking what is bubble gum, just try to humor an old man.  Way back in the 1950’s version of America, when men were men, and women were … let’s just be kind and say the object of men’s affection.  Yes, we all know they were considerably more than that, I’ll get there.  The comic strip of the day pictures a 90lb weakling, who goes to the beach and gets sand thrown in his face, by the big muscular strapping “He” man of the day.  Should you identify with the 90lb weakling, all you needed to do, was respond through correspondence (yes, snail mail, it was a thing), and the company who created this awesome advertisement, would send you a gallon of it’s patented muscle growth formula which you could presumably add to your diet.  The results, as also pictured in the comic strip, would be that you would now be bigger than the other guy, get the girl, and live happily ever after.  And yes, all this was packaged with huge chunks of bubble gum with certainly enough sugar to cause an elephant really nasty weight gain.  Just about everything you need to know about the perfect vision of America in the 50’s can be summarized through this ad.  Easy to see, it was wrong about nearly everything.

For starters, my wife married me for my brains.  I had hoped it was for my sense of humor, but she has none, so that makes sense.  If it had been for my body, she got “JIPPED” (another ancient word meaning she suffered a huge disappointment in expectations, it was a thing.)  My body went from bone skinny, eat 3 large pan pizza’s at Pizza Hut and not gain an ounce, literally – to – eat water, gain 20 pounds.  Look at a candy bar, gain 20 more.  You get the idea.  Right now I am proud to say I maintain my weight within a 10 pound range, I am considerably less proud to let you know the baseline of my scale before we start talking about the 10 pounds.  So why does she continue to stay with me after three plus decades and counting?  You could be cynical and say it is for my money.  To which, I would fall on the floor laughing, asking what money?  Yes I have been a millionaire before, and yes, I have been bankrupt before too.  I have had long stints of executive work, and few fairly long stints trying to create my own business that just never got anywhere (turns out I am not a sales man).  So if my wife expected me to be rich, or to be a “He” man, she never came close to getting either.  So much for why women choose men, and even more a mystery, why they stay with them.

Given how much I love my wife today, you could say that is the reason.  You would be right … today.  But for as much as I love her now, I have wounded her far greater in those three decades.  She swallows her pain, forgives me, moves on, finds herself on her knees with Jesus – and is now living with those answered prayers.  Who has the strength to do that?  Not men.  We throw in the towel the minute the going gets rough.  We don’t have the stamina to deal with pain that lasts for years, let alone months, or days.  Sure men can gut it out, man up, and face a lot of mess.  But most of the mess we face, is the mess we make.  To have the iron will to forgive, to choose to forgive, to live without the past clogging your every day of the present – that takes strength.  Inner core strength.  Not the kind that nets you a six-pack abs, but the kind that nets you answers to prayers you pray for as long as the pain lasts.  That is nothing like a “He” man at all.

One part of that ad that was so mistaken, is that the girl does not go home with you because you are bigger than the next guy.  If she does, brace yourself, she will be moving on inevitably, because there is always another guy bigger than you.  She might just as willingly have gone home with you, when you were the 90lb weakling who put his faith in God, and bases his commitments in the concrete of faith, rather than the strength of will that is defeated in the moment.  That kind of strength in commitment, to follow Jesus, not to try to lead Him, is a strength we all need.  But I find women have it.  Men are still looking for it.  Here is a case in point.  Matthew records the aftermath of the death of Christ in his gospel in chapter 27.  There are almost no men mentioned, one or two at most.  Keep in mind Jesus had 12 male followers at the time.  One hung himself, so down to eleven.  One in extreme grief for letting faith go, when challenged by a mere servant girl, who accused him of nothing more than association with Jesus.  Three times he denied that.  He is now consumed by shame, not showing an ounce of strength.  And he was supposed to be the little rock.

Matthew does not record it, but John the beloved was there through all of this.  And Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin would play a role.  But the ones with cast iron faith, were the women.  These women risked their own lives, and virtue, just by being at this scene facing all of these cruel men who raped women without even a second thought.  It was part of their training, and expected of them when they conquered a people.  There was no respect of women.  Women were objects at best.  They could be bought or sold, raped or forced into marriage, no choices left to them of any kind.  This was their lives at the time.  Yet their faith in Jesus was so strong, their love for Him so unmutable, that they refused to be anywhere else.  Now I ask you, who is the stronger sex?  The one who can defeat you at arm wrestling, or the one who can love you when everything else in your life fails, and fails again.  These women remained in place with Jesus AFTER He has died.  He was dead.  No arguing it.

Matthew picks up in verse 55 saying … “And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: [verse 56] Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.”  Notice Matthews carefully chosen wording, he states, “many” women were there watching from afar.  Many, is a whole lot more than you can say for the men, down to John, possibly Matthew as he is writing this.  How many women does it take to outnumber the 12 minus one?  And if they did outnumber the men, are we certain we give the fairer sex its due for being the stronger sex?  And look at what Matthew casually weaves into his description of these “many” women.  That they ALL ministered unto Jesus, and you can imagine the rest of His followers as well.  These women, the many, were all silent disciples already playing a ministering role, that is a supportive role, to the best of their abilities while all the events of Jesus’ life played out.  They followed Him.  They believed in Him.  They were forgiven and set free by Him.

Mary Magdalene probably was forgiven the most by Jesus.  Jesus removed demons from her seven times.  She was the known prostitute who was prostitute no longer.  Mary the mother of James and John, had once asked Jesus for primary positions for her sons.  Jesus had to defer those positions to the will of His Father.  But she felt comfortable enough with Jesus to make the ask.  And Jesus loved her enough to share the Truth with her in His answer.  Jesus’ mother was also there.  Likely His sisters as well.  Then there was Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus who of the women there, likely had the most hope in what would take place.  For they had seen the words I am the Resurrection and the Life, play out in the raising of their dead brother Lazarus.  Probably also in that crowd was the woman at the well in Samaria, who became the first notable evangelist, converting nearly her entire region by pointing them to Jesus.  By contrast was the woman who had hemophilia and merely touched the hem of His garment.  No one had ever tried that kind of crazy thing before but it worked.  And from then on, everyone lined the roads, doing it as well, and finding the same positive results.  These were women of cast iron faith.

They were there because of the Day of Atonement.  They had traveled to Jerusalem in part for tradition and in part to see Jesus be crowned king as everyone was sure would happen.  But alas, a twist of events brought on by the betrayal of Judas, and the hatred of the men who were religious leaders, and now they were there to witness the object of their divine love up on a Roman cross.  And now dead.  But these women had what men do not.  They were not alone.  They drew strength and encouragement from each other, even though their hearts were breaking.  Tears flowed, yet strength remained.  Jesus was dead, yet still they persisted.  Men did not.  Men were logical, once death sets in, the story was over.  But women were strong enough to peer through the tears and wonder with hope “if” the story was truly over.  Mary and Martha had seen it keep going.  It is certain they shared that hope with the others.

But to avoid being eaten by dogs, which is what happens to bodies after their crucifixion, logistics must now be made most important.  Matthew continues in verse 57 saying … “When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: [verse 58] He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.”  Christ would not be eaten by dogs in a mass grave.  He would be buried because of the humility and courage of Joseph, who would make no profit from this.  Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin.  His money would buy him a certain degree of favor with greedy men.  But to align himself with Jesus would make him an immediate outcast with them.  Further, Joseph’s act of kindness, would continue to fulfill prophecy, so Joseph would be even less popular with religious leadership now.  And Pilate, who could not wash the guilt from his mind and soul, consented knowing it would anger the priests.  Pilate being blissfully unaware he too was helping to fulfill prophecy about the burial of Jesus.

Matthew continues in verse 59 saying … “And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, [verse 60] And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. [verse 61] And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.”  Matthew talks about Joseph wrapping the body of Jesus in a clean linen cloth.  But to do that, the body would have to be wiped away of all the blood first.  The crown of thorns would have to be removed.  The cross taken down, and spikes removed from His hands and feet.  Any ropes untied.  And hardest of all, His back which had so many chunks of meat removed from it by the cat-of-nine-tails whip with the glass shards tied in the ends would have to be carefully wrapped to try to keep what was left of Jesus in place.  Joseph was one man.  He likely had servants to help.  But the other hands that helped in this horrific process were the hands of the “many” women who were there with tears flowing.

Cast iron faith that can prepare the body of Jesus for burial.  They were burying their Messiah.  There would be NO Roman overthrow, as all this blood was witness to.  Their own persecution was to continue throughout the days of their lives.  Lost hope.  Lost dreams.  Yet still, love demanded they be here, and do what must be done, to give honor and love to their Lord.  If you ask me, it is these women who have earned the place on the right and left hands of Jesus in His Kingdom when it comes.  They did the hardest work anyone will ever have to do.  They did it with broken hearts.  And they did it with love, because of love, because love can make cast iron faith in a woman, if she lets it.  The body is then carried to a new tomb that has never been used before.  Another detail of the prophecy.  Jesus is carefully laid inside, and then a large stone is rolled in front as the door.  The women are there the entire time.  They have seen and helped with every detail.

By contrast, witness the groveling of men at the time.  Matthew continues in verse 62 saying … “Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, [verse 63] Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. [verse 64] Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. [verse 65] Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. [verse 66] So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.”  First, Friday the day is over, and Sabbath is here, it will continue until sundown.  Priests had made a ton of rules about what can and cannot be done on Sabbath.  They include rules about how many steps can be taken, as well as million other harsh and stupid regulations none of them based in any kind of love for God, or man.

Yet against their own statutes the Priests go to Pilate and beg for a Roman seal, and a Roman guard to watch over the dead body of Jesus.  Only now do they fear the disciples might regain enough courage to steal the dead body of Jesus and try to make up a lie about it.  So Pilate grants them a Centurion, likely the same one who was there at the moment of Christ’s death.  But there is more here than may at first meet the eye.  Centurion is not just a rank, it is an indicator of how many men are under his command.  Chances are good there were a hundred men assigned to this grave guarding duty.  After all, it would be a good break from all the other ugly things Roman soldiers are assigned to do.  There would be only as many as 12 men in opposition, unarmed men, who generally were fishermen and tax collectors, so the odds would be highly in the Romans favor.  Romans would not just send 5 or 6 guys to face 12.  They would send 100 to overwhelm 12 should a skirmish take place.  And with that many, it would be a cake walk.  You could effectively relax for a Saturday and Sunday (the weekend as we know it).  Not likely to be fighting.  Not likely to be facing anything unusual.  Even if Jesus was the Son of God, He was dead now.

But who was there intermingled with these wicked soldiers?  Mary Magdelene and the other Mary, sitting against the grave.  Mary Magdelene was likely not afraid of men like this.  She had seen and serviced her fair share in the past.  She may even know some of these men personally.  Romans did have coin after all.  But neither she nor the other Mary who had always minded her virtue were inclined to forfeit any of it now.  They remained heart broken.  But somehow unable to leave the scene of the continuing crime.  Women with cast iron faith, who even now, had the courage and strength to be in a place long abandoned by male disciples.  Those male disciples would not risk getting anywhere near a Roman soldier as they were paranoid and sure they would be arrested and killed just like their Master, maybe even worse.  Yet the women who faced the same risk, made entirely different choices.  Choices steeped in love.  Love that built a cast iron faith, that could not be shaken by Roman cruelty, or Roman steel.

Who then, by far, is the stronger sex?  And if we can recognize this, it does not diminish our masculinity.  It informs and educates it.  We can cloak our masculinity in the same love, that builds the same faith it does in women.  Our strength can be measured in our commitments made in the concrete of faith, rather than the quicksand of our will.  Our love can be measured as the only yardstick worthy to be used, never again to use the number of pounds we benchpress in a gym.  Our bodies to be given in service of others, not the vanity of self.  And what will emerge is not a confusion of the sexes, or the roles of our sex, but the unity in which both of us come to the cross, do what must be done, in spite of broken hearts and lost dreams.  Yet still in the back of our minds, a nagging hope, of knowing what the words “I am the Resurrection and the Life” mean.

 

Conspiracies Uncovered ...

It is really hard to watch the news (pick any channel) for any length of time, and not begin to see a conspiracy behind a given event.  We used to call those folks conspiracy theorists (or nuts), now we just call them uncle 😊.  But where once we believed in the “good” of our institutions, or at least in the attempt to do good by our institutions; now we lose faith them in from the barrage of what we see on any news channel at any given point in the day.  Happy stories on the news are hardly even imagined.  If it bleeds, it leads, is still the mantra (perhaps a horrible reflection of who we are).  And this has never been truer since the advent of cable news (thanks Ted).  So to join the ranks of the conspiracy “team” (trying to be polite uncle), all you really need to do, is connect some of the relatively obvious dots.  Getting anyone to admit there actually was a conspiracy; or trying to prove one in the face of constant denials, keeps most of this stuff where it started out – in the backrooms, and dimly lit nocturnal abodes of the less-than-savory. 

And frankly, there has been a lot of practice to get a conspiracy right since the first one launched in heaven itself more than 6,000 years ago.  Imagine a pristine environment where a lie had never been told.  Imagine having the complete trust of anyone you came in contact with, because they did not know even what a lie was.  This was the condition, when Lucifer invented lies and began to dabble to perfect his new craft.  Before you know it, nearly a third of the heavenly angels (his peers), were convinced that God was an ego-maniac who would kill you for disagreeing with Him.  The first conspiracy was to overthrow God and take His place running the universe.  It failed.  But it has taken nearly 4000+ years for the Truth to come out to the rest of the universe, and the clock is still running here on planet earth for humanity.  The universe has made up its mind about the character of God.  We can’t seem to get our act together on that topic.  We are not quite sure Satan is wrong.  Just look at the imagine of God most Christian churches present when they talk about hell fire and eternal torture.

Assaulting God’s character and trying to overthrow Him may have been the first conspiracy against God, but it would not be the last.  Oh sure most of us have heard about the one at the Tower of Babel, when man decided the first time, to take his salvation in his own hands and build a tower so great not even God could flood it again.  Yeah, that one did not do well either.  But then comes one of the most dastardly conspiracies of all time against God.  The one where the religious leadership of His church, decided (under Satanic inspiration, but not much needed there), to kill Jesus Christ – just not on feast day – in case the people might get a little upset.  Yeah, it sounds a little crazy on a lot of levels.  But it was a conspiracy.  And of all things, Jesus knew every detail.  He did not nothing to stop it.  But He did unmask it, and try to warn the ones who would be impacted by it, perhaps to offer a last hope of salvation for them (even if it would be rejected again).

Matthew records this conspiracy for us, in his gospel, picking up in chapter 26 and verse 1 saying … “And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, [verse 2] Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.”  Catch the key word there that reveals the conspiracy, the word betrayed.  Someone Jesus trusted was going to turn Jesus over to someone else who hated Him and had in mind to kill Him.  Where there is more than one person working towards a nefarious goal, you by definition, have a conspiracy.  But here is the kicker, Jesus knows it is coming.  He even knows when.  Not because He has a spy keeping Him up to date, but because you simply cannot do anything that God is not aware of, even if it is still just an intent in your heart.  That’s scary.  At least, that is scary for those of us who think we actually have “secret” sins.  The only thing secret about them, is that for a while they may still be in dark from our peers here, but eventually the Truth will out.  And for God, even before we take action, our thoughts, and our motives were known.

Matthew is not subtle about it as he continues in verse 3 saying … “Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, [verse 4] And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. [verse 5] But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.”  This just blows my mind.  It was NOT the Romans who started this conspiracy.  Everyone likes to conveniently blame them because eventually they played a role in it.  But that is just convenient memory.  The truth is that the head of the religion handed down by Jesus Himself to Israel, to Moses, to David, to Solomon, to all the Prophets and Kings that preceded Him – that One true religion – was determined to kill its Author.  Can you imagine the Pope, and the archbishops of the Catholic church, just determined to kill anyone that ever disagreed with them?  Too soon?  Or can you imagine on a more personal basis, what the leaders of your church might do to hang on to power and money even today?  People have always killed to hang on to power or money.  We just seem to forget when they do it to the least of these, they do it to Christ.  However in this case, these Pharisees were just “actually” doing it to Christ.

Matthew wastes no time connecting the dots of the warning of Jesus, with the reality of what followed it.  Even though Jesus had unmasked the conspiracy, that conspiracy formed, and continued to plan and carry out its goals.  Notice too, they were not out to just assassinate Him, instead they wanted to take Him with subtlety (and not on feast day).  Hypocrites to the end.  We must kill our God, but not on one of His special days.  Not much different than folks today I know of, who have no love of the poor, and would be happy to see them go anywhere “else”, even if that means they go away to die in hunger.  As long as they are not here in our church on our “holy” day while we are trying to get our worship on.  We are busy “worshipping”, we have no time for the inconvenient distractions of people who are hungry.  We have on our “good” clothes, and don’t want to get messy.  Get a job.  Go away.  Anywhere else.  Just don’t disturb us while we worship.  And we have the audacity to call what we are doing “worship”.  But it is so easy for us to see the “least of these” and just not see Christ.

The disciples just seem oblivious to what Jesus said.  It’s like they went deaf for a few sentences or something.  There is no record of any reaction to it.  They don’t start buying swords to defend their Lord, (but perhaps Peter did, or at least he got his sword out of storage).  They don’t start looking to find the culprits and reason with them, perhaps diverting them to another course of action.  They don’t start praying for them.  Just nothing.  Life goes on, like if no warning had been given.  How eerily familiar.  But someone heard what Jesus said.  Someone who was listening, like perhaps what all women do, even when men think they don’t.  Matthew continues in verse 6 saying … “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, [verse 7] There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.”

How incredible.  We would like to think this woman was Mary Magdalene.  It is convenient for men, that all the heroic things that take place in the New Testament scriptures are done by Mary Magdalene, that way there is only “one” exception to rules.  But Matthew (who knew Mary Magdalene) does not name her so.  Ok so if not Mary Magdalene, then perhaps it was Mary or Martha one of the sisters of Lazarus who were also devout followers of Jesus.  But Matthew knew them as well, and did nothing to call either by name here.  Which by process of elimination, means this woman was a devout follower of Jesus, and unnamed to history – that would mean there is more than one exception to the rule, or perhaps better still there was never any rule in the first place where it comes to the roles of men and women as they follow Jesus Christ.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit is in charge of that, or should be.  Nonetheless, this woman was listening to the sad proclamation of Jesus, and she did something about it.  She did all she could.  She likely spent as much as a year’s wages (maybe more).  In short, she gave everything she had.

But no good deed goes unpunished, even within the church it seems, even the new church.  Matthew continues in verse 8 saying … “But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? [verse 9] For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.”  Given what will follow with Judas in only a few verses further, it is easy to assume this was at his instigation.  Judas was likely the one who carried the money for the poor, so putting a few gold coins in his purse might have appealed to him.  Again convenient memory.  Matthew is careful to use the word “disciples”.  When there is more than one person engaged in a nefarious action there is by definition a conspiracy.  If it were only Judas, everyone would have been all too happy to cast the blame solely on Judas.  Keep in mind this gospel was written well after the facts.  But it was not just Judas.  Peter, Matthew, perhaps John and yes, perhaps Judas too – were ALL too happy to complain about this woman’s good deed.  They were collectively guilty, not singularly so.  And they had the nerve to be angry about it.  Here is the “new” leadership of the church angry with a woman, for giving all she has to Christ.  How eerily familiar. 

Matthew continues in verse 10 saying … “When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. [verse 11] For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. [verse 12] For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. [verse 13] Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.”  Jesus defends the woman, and her act of love.  He testifies that this act should be remembered as the gospel itself is remembered (and so Matthew records the entire incident, even to his own shame).  Jesus also calls out the hypocrisy of false motives if “anyone” intended to pocket some of the gold coins in a purse they might be carrying for the poor.  The leadership of the new church is rebuked for criticizing the act of love a woman has done for our Lord.  So strange that our modern churches remain so steadfast on a course of criticizing any woman for how she may be gifted to serve her Lord through love.  We still do it, and read these passages as if they are nothing more than history – no lesson for us here.

Matthew again is not too subtle about connecting the dots as he continues in verse 14 saying … “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, [verse 15] And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. [verse 16] And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.”  People have always killed to hang on to money or power.  If Judas must bear the rebuke of Jesus over a few coins this woman wasted, there are other ways of making money, money he will not have to share with the poor either.  And here is where our hearts should break.  Judas cast out demons.  Judas healed the sick.  Judas was a missionary in partnership with one of the other twelve, commissioned by Christ to spread the gospel in earlier days.  That means Judas was a witness, who spoke, who healed, who had the Holy Ghost within him while engaged in these actions.  And yet it is Judas who throws his whole relationship away, and for what?  A few coins?  A perception of an insult or rebuke?

Judas would rather give up his role in church leadership and join a conspiracy to kill his Lord and ask yourself for what?  What would you give up a close relationship with Jesus over?  What conspiracy would you want to join?  Is it a conspiracy for wealth that drives you.  Would you focus more on career to bring you what you think you need (like Judas may have done) – than to sacrifice your job, or your promotion, or your career trajectory - in favor of time with Jesus Christ, even if only revealed through the least of these?  Judas is a cautionary story for us.  Not of betrayal, that’s too easy.  It is of forsaking victory in favor of self-service.  Even when he was directly warned by Jesus that “someone” close to Him would “betray” Him.  The conspiracy was already unmasked.  There was already a light shining in the corners.  Yet Judas ignores the warning and joins it anyway.  As usual this conspiracy against God did not work out well, nor would any other.  They may have appearance of success in some limited fashion.  But in reality, they continue to fail.  Because to fight God, is by definition, to fail.

It is also worth noting that “group think” does not make you right.  There was an entire array of church leaders engaged in the same conspiratorial plot, the same ideas.  They may have had varying motives, but they nearly all wanted Jesus dead.  And the ones who might have disagreed with this stance were certainly quiet about it before time.  Having your entire church leadership of one mind on any given topic is great for unity, until they are united in doing the wrong thing.  To try to determine the right or wrong of a thing in our by-design very-gray-world, ask yourself – what love will this thing show to the least of these, or what love might it take away.  Don’t try to hide insults and hate speech behind the wall of doctrines, claiming you are merely doing God’s work.  That same excuse came right out of Caiaphas’ home that night word-for-word in the matter of trying to kill Jesus to protect the church and “save” the people from His incessant focus on love.  If you find yourself already in the conspiracy, drop out.  Look up.  Go back to Jesus and ask Him what He would do.  Then try to listen and do what He leads you to do.  That might be the distinction to tell if you are in a conspiracy or not – are you following Jesus’ lead; or are you deciding what must be done next.

 

Mis-Interpreting Doctrine ...

Start with a bad premise, and you will end in a bad place.  There are many books, authors, and scriptures in our collection of both Old and New Testaments.  But both the Old and the New “Testaments” are supposed to be testaments of the love of our God who is bent on our redemption and reconciliation with Himself.  If you remove that guiding principle of a loving God whose entire mission is to redeem you; the lack of love you apply when reading and interpreting scripture can be used to form some very hateful doctrines that focus more on punishment than they ever will upon reconciliation with our God.  That focus on punishment is a very human thing to do, a very human perspective.  You could go so far as calling it a natural one.  We are content when the wicked are punished for what they did to us, or to those we love.  But the evil in the heart of the wicked is not changed or removed from the hate they earn from us; no, if anything that mutual hatred is only amplified by more hate.  Evil is removed when it is confronted with the love of Jesus Christ that has the power to change how we think, how we love, and why we do what we do.  It is not hell that changes the wicked, it is surrender to the love of Jesus that does.  Hell can put an end to the life of one bathed in wickedness.  But Jesus can take that same life, end the evil in it, and show that person what it truly means to live once freed from the evil that is like a cancer upon our souls.

Throughout history, many have opened scriptures who did not understand who our God is, and what redemption is all about.  They have a notion of it, but no personal encounter with it.  So the doctrines they create; they reason are based upon texts in the Bible, sometimes a collection of them, where the conclusion seems reasonable, logical, and Biblically based.  Yet those conclusions should, and could have been denounced by pure common sense – if not by examining them through the lens of a loving Jesus Christ bent on our redemption.  We could begin for example with how women are depicted in doctrine.  The fact that Eve sinned first, and as a result, was asked to take a secondary role in the support of her marriage with Adam.  Not fighting with him, but choosing to defer to him, reminding him of the love of God, to help build him up and keep relations in the family harmonious through self-less service, this was a sampling of what was asked of her.  Men degenerate how women are treated throughout history until during the time of Moses they are completely secondary citizens.  Women could not hold property, without a male heir, or husband to affirm their ownership.  Was this what God intended?  NO.  The entire life of Jesus affirms this in how “He” treats women.  But in the minds of men, who lack the perspective of a loving God who would have sent His Messiah for Eve alone if it were Eve alone who sinned, it is now how scripture came to be interpreted.

Even to our day, the roles of women in the church are still debated.  Even though there have clearly been women who were prophets.  Women who first encountered Jesus even before He had ascended to His Father.  Women who first carried the gospel to the disciples who were still cowering in fear.  Women who headed the charitable services in the Early Church.  And women in our day who have clearly been given the gift of preaching and teaching.  Yet somehow, despite all the evidence of the Holy Spirit on these topics, some continue to believe “scripture” is very limiting on the roles of women in the church.  Not surprisingly those men who choose to continue to believe the roles of women are “limited” in the church, also have very definitive notions about the roles of women in a marriage.  These men preferring subservience by edict, rather than a woman choosing to serve her husband and family by becoming the chief support person of both.  A choice she makes only because her God asked her to, and in His wisdom, she finds a fulfillment no other choice could offer.

But a wife choosing to live in service is not about power or dictatorships, it is about redemption and reconciliation – the absence of self-love, and the embrace of the love of Jesus – through a choice.  When a man dictates this role, the marriage is doomed at the outset.  Treating women like property, and denying them property rights, is more akin to treating women like animals, not like people.  Even if culture develops traditions of these types, that does not mean scripture agrees, or that God wishes this.  It is the evil in the hearts of men looking for a doctrinal basis to remain evil.  Choosing to serve is a reflection of the love of Jesus.  Demanding what is due, is not the way of Jesus, nor should scripture be used to try to justify a “do it or else” mandate.  So the farther back in history we go, the more oppressive men are related to the roles, and rights, of women.  How marriage is seen then, in the days of Moses, is a reflection of how oppressive society was against women in general.  A bad premise, ending in a bad place.

Enter Matthew writing his gospel to his fellow Hebrews; it was the Sadducees turn at attempting to trap Jesus.  The Pharisees had failed.  They were up.  They determined to attack Jesus on two fronts; first on how a woman (treated no better than property) would wind up in heaven.  And of course implicit in that, a denial the resurrection could exist because of the kinds of problems it would create in perfection.  The Sadducees had come to the conclusion that life itself was a one-and-done proposition.  Doing good then, was a way to keep God from torturing or killing you early.  This is a punishment centric view of the Old Testament, and surprisingly similar to what some evangelists teach today.  But it is based on a bad premise, and it leads to a bad place.  Matthew picks up this story in chapter twenty two of his gospel.

Beginning in verse 23 it states … “The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, [verse 24] Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. [verse 25] Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: [verse 26] Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. [verse 27] And last of all the woman died also. [verse 28] Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.”  So many things to unpack here.  To begin, the laws of Moses, written in Deuteronomy to which the Sadducees refer should be understood in context.  The children of Israel were former slaves.  Their every movement was dictated by the will of the Pharaoh as carried out by their taskmasters.  They did not understand freedom, or what it meant to be able to do anything without anyone telling them “no”.  So the precepts Moses outlined in that book (of duties) were designed to put some practical limits around their societal behavior.

In those days, women were hardly treated better than cattle.  They could not hold property without a male heir, or husband to validate the claim.  That was NOT what God intended, but this was such a cultural norm, the people were nowhere near ready to abandon this kind of practice.  So the scenario outlined above by the Sadducees in such a callous way, was actually intended to benefit the woman in question – allowing her to raise up an heir to hold her property and namesake in Israel.  It was targeted at keeping her in the family (as a recent widow) rather than turning her out into the streets to find a stranger somewhere who might be willing to take her in.  In fact, as this duty or precept is written, should one of those brother’s refuse to marry her – he would be publicly ridiculed in Israel for failing to protect her rights through this arcane practice.  Was it ideal?  No.  Was it what God intended, or wanted for His precious daughters? No.  But it was a safeguard to keep them from having a tragedy of losing a husband become an even greater tragedy of losing everything they knew.

Ignoring the fact that Moses was actually trying to protect widows (for which he writes quite a bit more in Deuteronomy), the Sadducees present this as a resurrection dilemma.  The Sadducees are fairly certain there is no good answer to this riddle, and that they will humiliate Jesus while getting Him to acknowledge there is no resurrection at all.  But they would be disappointed.  Jesus responds in verse 29 saying … “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”  Those words are haunting and they echo through time, all the way into the sanctuaries we visit each week while we worship God, and cling to premises that end up in bad places.  “YE DO ERR”.  Let that sink in for a minute.  These men were SURE of their doctrines.  They did not just casually read the scriptures, they lived in them.  They read every day.  They debated every day.  They honored the scholars among them who made new discoveries and debated the merits of each one.  They did not just stumble on their beliefs, their beliefs were the results of generations of scholars who reached the same conclusions.  ALL of them wrong.

Are we any different?  Do we become so comfortable resting on the work of our church forefathers, and the conclusions they reached, that no message from outside our walls can ever penetrate our thinking?  Are we so sure we are right about everything, we have no more room to learn, only room to recite.  But the words of Jesus to these church leaders echo down to us.  Ye Do Err!  We look at scriptures with the lens of punishment and an angry God, and therefore come to conclusions He never intended us to reach.  Just like they did.  What is more, just like them – we deny the POWER of GOD!  We do not account for it in our thinking, or in our doctrines.  Some would like to say that this is a specific example of Jesus telling the Sadducees that they are mistaken about the resurrection.  But they were also mistaken about marriage, the roles of women, divorce, the value of women, and what love looks like in heaven.  Worst of all they underestimated the power of God.  Perhaps we are all just as guilty on all of the above topics.

Jesus continues in verse 30 saying … “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”  First, there WILL BE a resurrection.  News I am certain they did not want to hear or accept.  Second, in the “resurrection”, not in all eternity, or the earth made new, or a hundred other points or descriptions we have about heaven, but at least during the resurrection and perhaps for a while thereafter – there will not be people getting married and more importantly nobody getting divorced.  Keep in mind how we think of this institution has degenerated a long ways since Eden.  And our notions of forever need quite a bit of adjustment where it comes to a single partner throughout eternity.  Being like the “angels” – can anyone tell me if angels have a special partner or not, like something we would refer to as marriage on earth?  Show me the scripture please that explains this, outside of this reference right here. 

What I do believe is meant by being like the angels is an understanding of perfect love we have no idea about today.  Perfect love you could think of in a number of examples.  Imagine every person in heaven looking at every child in heaven (babies, kids, rugrats, you know the younglings) and loving each one as much as you would have loved your own child.  Imagine every man loving every other man as much as you would your own father, son, or brother.  Imagine every man loving every other woman as much as you would your own mother, daughter, or sister.  Only the love of a special intimacy remains untapped in the scenario of perfect love, and the power of God might account for that quite nicely, as it is God who picked Eve for Adam in the first place.  But perfect love decimates the ideas of treating any woman as a second class anything.  Instead perfect love treats everyone else as the greatest person ever.

But Jesus was not content to leave the Sadducees in their error on their main topic of descension with the Pharisees and with the entire purpose of redemption and reconciliation in the first place.  So He continues in verse 31 saying … “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, [verse 32] I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. [verse 33] And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.”  Jesus points out, that without a resurrection, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be dead forever.  God is not the God of the past alone, He is the God of the present, and of the future.  There will be a future for them as when the resurrection comes, they will be redeemed and reconciled to the side of Jesus Himself.  Just as all the other children who sleep in the hope of our God will see.

The crowds were amazed at this.  Are you?  A bad premise leads to a bad place, but a premise based on His love can lead to an astounding place.  As a woman and wife, are you ready to make service to your husband and family the choice that brings you fulfillment every day.  Never seeking for what you deserve, or what you have earned, but only for what you can offer.  Separately, and having nothing to do with how your wife has chosen to live -  husbands, are you ready to choose to love your wife and family so much, that you would literally lay down your life for them, and while you draw breath find ways to demonstrate that love for them so that they never doubt your heart on any day they draw breath.  No wife should wait for her husband to live this way, before she reciprocates.  And no husband should demand anything from his wife, before he is willing to show her the full measure of his heart and dedication to her own.  It is a different way of thinking to decide “how” you are going to love regardless of what others do.  If this seems foreign to you, take your life to Jesus, surrender to His love, and watch what happens to you.  It is breathtaking.  And it is beautiful.

But the traps for Jesus had one more shot …

Hell Hath No Fury ...

There is an expression we sometimes use, most often associated with a woman rejected, or deceived.  But while we may like to convey the idea that the anger of a woman is no small thing, I believe the real fury the kingdom of Satan prefers is the mass casualties of war.  When Satan is able to convince us we need to kill each other (for whatever reason), he wins.  It does not matter which human side of the war wins, the idea that both sides participate, is a victory for Satan.  Murder has the same effect, but its victims are too limited for the kingdom of Satan.  Mass casualties works better for him.  And if, in those mass casualties you can end the lives of children, you have hit the satanic jackpot.  Ending the lives of the most innocent, the lives of those who had the most life left, is the best fury hell has to offer.

Every time hell gets to show us a glimpse of this fury, they rejoice, while we suffer and die.  When Jesus came to our world, it is only logical that He will be at His weakest as a baby.  If hell was going to make an attempt on His life, better sooner than later.  Herod had already determined to kill Him.  So there was already a human patsy to take the fall, and very willing to participate.  Herod was a jealous king; infantile, deranged, obsessed, and very unpredictable.  Herod was not much different than any jealous spouse has ever been, but regarding his kingdom and power, not the love of another person.  But what was to transpire was not just a random series of events.  It was foretold.  It was a look into the heart of evil, a look at the fury of hell, a revelation of how far Satan will go in his quest to kill the source of all love.

Normal people have rules.  Normal people, even ones who have committed murder, do not usually focus on babies as their preferred targets.  Babies hardly understand what is going on.  Only the parents are left with the pain of loss that cannot be comforted in this world.  But Satan has no human version of normality.  His kingdom has no limits defined by our sense of right and wrong.  Nothing is too far.  Nothing is ever wrong.  Killing babies for sport is just another entertainment venue in the kingdom hell would rule.  And Herod was about to distinctively prove this point, not just for us.  Not just to fulfill prophecy, but that the universe of witnesses could see this was no bluff, this was no test, this was and this is, who Satan is.  And if left to our embrace of sin, this is who we would become.

Matthew begins by setting the stage for the anger of Herod as his plans to kill Jesus will not be so easy to accomplish.  In chapter two of his Gospel beginning in verse 12 saying … “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”  The Magi or kings and nobles of the East, were warned of God to return home a different way, never to return to Herod’s courts again.  Imagine the context.  They have followed a miraculous star here for hundreds or thousands of miles.  They arrive to see Jesus.  And immediately God appears to them in a dream, protecting the life of His baby Son.  Surely this is the long waited for Messiah.  But the warnings did not end here.

Matthew continues in verse 13 saying … “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”  The Magi leave first.  There will be no accidental witnesses to where Joseph will take his family.  Then the angel comes again to Joseph (I wonder if Joseph knew his name by now).  The angel warns them to flee into Egypt until he rescinds this warning.  Herod is bent on killing Jesus.  If Herod can find Jesus, Jesus is dead.  It will take divine protection to keep Jesus from suffering this fate whether as a baby or even as a small boy.  But what was happening was not a series of random incidents.  Even the evil of Herod was foretold, both the cause, and the effects.

Matthew continues in verse 14 saying … “When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: [verse 15] And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”  Some timelines put this sojourn to Egypt lasting about seven years.  Over this time other siblings would be born.  Even though Joseph was a carpenter by trade, the gifts of the Magi would have gone a long way towards sustaining this young family in Egypt.  They could have secured the purchase of a home (or rental of).  They could have secured food, tools, and supplies; particularly considering the young family had little to bring with them.  But Matthew again reminds his audience that the Messiah would be called out of Egypt, as Jesus was, by the prophets ages ago.

The story of Herod and aftermath continues in verse 16 saying … “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.”  Herod did to the people of Israel what Pharaoh had done so long ago.  Herod orders the death of all children (presumably male, but Matthew fails to make this distinction), two years and under.  In addition, this scripture expands the reach of Herod beyond Bethlehem to “all the coasts thereof”.  Herod was not going to make any mistakes of omission.   If Jesus was nearby He would be killed.  But even this evil was foreseen.

Matthew continues in verse 17 saying … “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, [verse 18] In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”  Matthew adds the voice of the prophet Jeremiah to the growing list of Old Testament prophecies that are fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.  It would appear one cannot go more than 5 or 6 verses in Matthew’s Gospel without finding a reference to prophecies of the past fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.  Yet even the epitaph of Herod finds prophecy to fulfill.

Matthew continues in verse 19 saying … “But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, [verse 20] Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.”  The Angel of the Lord, as promised, rescinds his warning of those who sought the life of young Jesus.  I should imagine there was no parade of those paying respects at the funeral of Herod.  He had killed their children.  He was probably the most hated man in all of Israel.  That comes when you kill kids.  But even in this infamy there is no place of honor for Herod in the kingdom of Satan.  Satan does not grant honor, only apathy.  Satan has no heroes, only those he would kill again and again.  Such is the fury of hell.

Matthew continues in verse 21 saying … “And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. [verse 22] But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: [verse 23] And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.”  Even the unplanned responses are chronicled in prophecy.  Joseph was to return to Bethlehem, but fear kept him from doing so.  Joseph who had so often heard the voice of the Angel of the Lord, as they return, loses trust in that voice and turns aside to Galilee, to Nazareth to be precise.

This was not God’s intended plan, but it is what Joseph did.  What might have been different for Jesus if He had returned to Bethlehem.  Would His acceptance by the leaders of the religion been better if Jesus had been closer, and a full-time resident of the City of David?  The Angel did not instruct Joseph to do as he did, fear caused that action.  It was unplanned, even from the perspective of Joseph.  But it was still prophesied about and cited by Matthew.  Fleeing to Egypt was a result of the fury of hell.  Returning and winding up in Nazareth was a response of fear.  How often do we respond in fear, no matter the assurances of our God?  How often do those responses wind up making our lives worse, instead of better?

This was to end the Gospel of the Hebrews regarding the topic of early years of Jesus.  As Matthew would continue writing, he would jump ahead to the ministry of John the Baptist.  Much is lost to us of these formative years.  We assume Jesus kept His hair in the style of the Nazarene’s.  We assume He was taken to Passover every year.  We know about His encounter with the Temple Priests when He was twelve years old.  But Matthew covers none of this.  Perhaps because these events were not as prominent in prior prophecies.  Perhaps Matthew was more interested in tying the Old with the New, and stories of the childhood of Jesus would not facilitate that goal as well.  In any case the Gospel of the Hebrews was nowhere near an end …

 

Ordaining Women ...

Separate but equal?  How can we divide people based on an arbitrary criterion and simultaneously expect equality post division?  The Supreme Court of the United States finally came to see the wisdom of eliminating arbitrary divisions in order to affect equality.  But the church seems reluctant to do the same.  The church seems content to segregate based on sex, and sometimes even on race, or age, yet continue to expect equality in the work of Christ.  After all, the Bible does seem to identify certain roles for men that it does not seem to state women should perform.  This has led some modern folks to decry the scriptures as based in the prejudice of the day, and the prevailing sexism in Middle Eastern cultures.  But if we are to accept the Bible as our cornerstone of faith, unaltered, and speaking only truth, what should be our position on equality in the church.  Is it OK then to ordain women to the ministry of Christ?

To begin I think it important to understand how the word of God comes to mankind.  In the beginning, God Himself walked in the Garden of Eden with both Adam and Eve.  He spoke to them both.  He treated them both as His children.  He did not choose to speak alone, and only with Adam, trusting Adam to relay His messages of love to Eve.  Instead He showed Eve the same respect He showed Adam, and the same love.  Later, God spoke through Miriam, the sister of Moses, as His prophetess.  Moses already had direct communication with God.  Aaron, his brother, was already God’s high priest in the Sanctuary services.  Yet despite both of these men in elevated positions, God still spoke His prophecies through the mouth of their sister Miriam.  One could argue that Moses was the leader of the people, and Aaron the leader of the ministry, yet Miriam’s role was no less important to the people of the Lord.  And Miriam was not the last woman to serve the Lord in the role of prophet to His people.  Others would follow.

In the days of Christ, there is much focus on His disciples and work they performed.  But when the friends of Christ are mentioned there were at least three – Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.  Two of the closest friends of Christ were women.  He counted them as His friends.  In addition to saving Mary Magdalene from stoning, He also accepted her gift in washing His feet, and seemed to take a genuine interest in her life.  Christ speaks openly to the woman at the well.  He rewards the sickly woman who touches merely the hem of His garment.  He compliments and blesses the widow who gives her last two mites into the offering – elevating her sacrifice ABOVE all the rich Pharisees who gave much money into the coffers.  Christ heals the daughter of the Roman Centurion and holds out this Gentile’s faith as an example for the Israelites to aspire to.  Christ showed through His own life and ministry that the lives of women were as important to Him as the lives of men.  He spoke with women directly, not through their husbands or other intermediaries.  He held direct conversations with women.

The counsel given to men regarding their wives, was to love their own wives more than they love themselves.  Were men to honor this counsel, the problems in marriages would all but disappear.  Women are NO less important to God, or to His work, than are men.  So assuming that God values each of us the same, does not mean He intends each of us to be exactly alike.  There are some men who are excellent speakers, and could make excellent evangelists.  Other men, not so much.  We tend to gravitate towards those who appear endowed with the gift of evangelism, and away from those who are not so blessed.  It is the gift of God’s Spirit that determines our ability to fill a role in His church, not our age, not our sex, not our race, nor our education and seemingly natural abilities.

“And a little child shall lead them.”  How often have we quoted the words of Christ, and ascribed them to some cute thing done by one of our kids.  But to consider that a little child would lead us full time appears to stretch our credibility.  Yet Samuel was called to God at the age of seven.  Christ taught the most learned men of His time, at the young age of 12.  Ellen White began a course to God that started in her teens.  All of these past servants of God were not called in their old age, but in their youth, even when youth was not such a prized commodity.  Being 12 years old would not afford Christ much respect in a community of older learned Rabbis who spent lifetimes acquiring wisdom – yet they were so intent to hear His words they stayed for 3 days listening to Him teach.  What was surely a baby in their eyes, had such a clear understanding the love behind their scriptures, that ALL were captivated by His teachings.  A 12 year old.

We ignore our youth as being too inexperienced to really lead us on a sustained basis.  We cynically disregard their idealism as being not based in the real world.  Similarly we set aside the wisdom of our much older folks as being “dated” and based on a life in the past that no longer represents reality.  We look at the differences of people from other races and cultures and decide it is better to “allow” them to meet and group together and worship however they like, rather than attempt to integrate “how” they worship into our own services.  Then we attempt to develop ministries to meet the unique needs of groups of people based on age, or sex, or race – thinking that meeting unique needs can only be done through segregation.  But this was not the approach Christ took.

Christ so valued children, He stopped what He was doing and took time to minister to them first.  Christ so valued women, He spoke directly with them, and was found in their company – even the ones whose reputations were not so stellar.  Christ so valued those of different races and cultures that He personally took time to heal the daughter of the Roman oppressor, and accepted help from the Foreigner who bore His cross.  Christ instructed Peter through a dream that Peter would understand. that the Gospel was meant for all, not for just the Jewish people.  Age was not a barrier to Christ.  Sex was not something to be segregated against.  Race was no obstacle.  Culture was no wall to Him.  Literally ALL were included in His work, His love, and His ministry.

“Where two or three are gathered together” – note He did not specify two or three men, or two or three people of certain ages, cultures, races, or even doctrinal persuasions.  He said two or three who gather in the name of Christ.  Our church was to include all.  The gifts of the Spirit were to include all.  The Holy Spirit was not confined to merely men of a certain age, and a certain race.  Instead the Holy Spirit was poured out on ANY who would accept the gospel and this gift.  Any who were willing to serve the cause of Christ were eligible for this outpouring.  And ALL were blessed as the Spirit saw fit, and the church had need.  Not everyone was called to be a preacher, or teacher, or evangelist – but it did not matter who was called to these tasks.  Whether young or old, men or women, Jew or Gentile – all served, and many died martyrs of persecution for their faith.  The enemies of God did not spare women, children, or foreigners – they killed any who claimed the name of Jesus.

In our day, we limit God, by limiting through our own expectations “how” and to “whom” His gifts should be poured out.  Instead of accepting whoever He chooses, we disregard those who do not come in the appropriate packages; according to the standards we have setup.  The Pharisees missed the Messiah in doing a similar approach.  Our church should cast down the barriers of prejudice based in human tradition and human wisdom, and allow the Spirit to determine where and to whom He will pour out His blessings upon.  If a woman is called to preach, teach, or evangelize – then praise God she is willing to serve, and He is willing to reveal Himself to us through her.  She should not be denied ordination based on our collective “wisdom”.  It is our job, our duty, to accept the will of the Spirit, not to try to define it.  It is our job to accept the wisdom of Christ, not to try to override it based on our own ideas.  If God calls a seven year old girl, from an Inuit culture in northern Alaska, with different traditions and cultures than our own, to be our next evangelist – are we to supersede the ideas of God in this regard?  God forbid we refuse His guidance.

And while we should not deny God His ability to pour out the gifts our church needs on whomever He sees fit, we should also avoid conferring roles to those who are clearly NOT called to serve in the capacity they desire.  We may think ourselves fit to serve in a particular capacity, but if the Holy Spirit does not bless our efforts in this regard, it may be that we deceive ourselves as to where we are actually supposed to serve.  We should not ordain a woman simply because she is a woman, no more than we ordain a man simply because he is a man.  We should instead look for the influences of the Spirit, and the lives and skills that have been clearly touched by God and seek to honor His will in so doing.  We should include everyone in our desire to serve God, disallowing no one based on our preconceptions, nor forcing anyone into a role they are not fit to hold.  We should in a word – follow the will of God, not attempt to define it.  Were the church to do this, the questions of women and ordination would completely disappear.  Children would lead more often than they do.  The aged and elders would carry the respect they deserve.  And the cultural diversity found in the world, would be reflected in our worship services and ALL would benefit as a result.  In short, the church would become UNITED under the banner of Christ, without any form of segregation based on any criterion.  This is what Christ intended for His church; perhaps we could forsake our own wisdom and get back to His plans.