Today's Scripture Reading (August 8, 2021): Job 42
In "An Echo of Things to
Come," Australian fantasy author James Islington writes, "If a builder and an architect sit at the same table,
does one role become more like the other? Or do they work better together
because of it?" It is a good question. Who
would want to live or work in a building where there was a war between the one
who physically built it and the one who originally dreamed the building into existence? But it is not
just a challenge for builders. Anything worth doing in life requires teamwork and people willing to be experts
in one area without trying to be experts in all areas. Division is the enemy of accomplishment everywhere
that we look. We can't
be divided according
to what we see as our differences, including a division that is based on race or gender, and
somehow believe that we will accomplish something good.
Yet, sections within the Christian movement do precisely that. For centuries, we have restricted the
ministry of women to working with children and other women, or maybe ministering to different cultures on the
mission field. But as far as the Western Church is concerned, that has become the domain of men, and we are
weaker because of it.
We have depended, or blamed, our reliance on men to
run the church on the writings of Paul. And yet, there is plenty of scripture, including in the writing of Paul, that argue for a radical equality between the
sexes. Paul depended on women like Priscilla to run the Church in Corinth,
where she was likely part of the team that planted the Christian Church in that
city, and then later in the church in Rome as well as other places in the Roman province of Asia. When writing to the Galatian church, Paul argued that racial, economic, and gender differences
disappeared in Christ. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor
free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). The early church was built on the idea that in
Christ we are equal and that radical equality means that any of us can be
called to complete any task or fulfill any role in Christianity. So, why did
Paul give us such gender-specific information? Well, the answer to that
question is relatively basic. While the emerging church was egalitarian, the dominant
society was male-dominated. If the new church were going to make a difference in
the world, it would have to play, at least partially, by its rules.
The story of Job finishes with what we might call "The Reinstatement of Job." And part of that reinstatement included the birth of ten children to Job and his wife; seven sons and three daughters. But the detail that the story gives is not about the male children but rather the female progeny. We
are told the names of Job's
daughters, but no names are given for any of
his sons, and that the daughters shared an inheritance with their brothers, a radical
decision for the male-dominated
culture in which Job lived. Feminists might be offended by the comment that the
girls were beautiful, but I am sure that the statement meant nothing
demeaning. (And if I am honest, I
think that my very talented daughter and granddaughter are beautiful too.) Job was proud of his sons, but he was equally proud
of his talented daughters.
The
difference between then and now is that the culture we live in is no longer a
male-dominated society. And if we want to have a positive effect on our world,
we need to follow Paul's example and make a change. It is time to embrace the
radical equality that has always been a part of the DNA of the Judeo-Christian
tradition. Today, more than at any other time in history, we need equality if
we are going to move forward, with a bravery that rivals that of Job
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 11
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