OK all you women out there – do you hear what the scripture is clearly saying? Get to work! There’s wool and flax to be spun – food to be harvested, stored and prepared! Don’t be lazy, get out of bed early and get breakfast going and assign all those servant girls you have their tasks so they can get going in serving us men too!
And while you’re at it buy some land will you! Plant vineyards (your husband’s not going to be happy unless he has some good wine mind you) and besides, all that digging and plowing and weeding will make you strong!
Stay up late and make things you can sell so you can supplement the family income – give some of it to the poor and volunteer some of your time to take care of the needy (you wouldn’t want to become spiritually bankrupt would you?)
And by all means make sure you have prepared for inclement weather! Make some stylish foul weather clothes for the family – I mean BE PREPARED WOMAN!
And don’t forget to show how proud you are of your husband and the “important” work HE does. Be thankful when he is recognized! And oh yeah – you are to fear NOTHING – be wise – a teacher – always kind . . . And of course there’s the household – make sure you take care of that.
The fact is – you should NEVER be idle!
Trust me. If you do all these things you’re children will one day make a point of calling you: happy. That’s right – “happy.” And if you really stay after it your husband may even tell you that, “As good as some women may be, you surpass them all.”
Charm? Beauty? What are those? Get to work! There are people to please out there! And besides – if you really stay after it, you might even receive a share of the fruit of your hands as well as public praise also. Don’t you see just how good life can be for you?
Good. No one is throwing anything at me yet.
Well – that’s certainly one way to read the Psalm. And many do just that – to them the words are simply an example of the “slave status” of women in a patriarchal society – that the expectations placed upon women by the psalmist are unrealistic, if not abusive . . . and that this particular passage simply has little to do with the inspired word of God.
But maybe there is a different way to look at it. Maybe it can be seen as an acknowledgment and affirmation of something else that God is trying to say. Maybe there is more going on in this text than just the prejudice that our modern context seems to demand.
First of all, this long list of tasks, attributes and chores of the “good and capable wife” is NOT something that I think the Psalmist (or anyone else) ever contemplated happening in one day, one month, one year – or even fully over the course of lifetime. But that’s the way we tend to read it.
It is, in reality, a very detailed compilation of many of the duties a wife MIGHT be required to carry out – but I don’t think they were ever intended to act as a litany of what ALL “good and capable” wives MUST live out – regularly – to keep their status as “capable and good.” As if all wives were expected to buy land and plant vineyards as well as design and make linen goods to be sold in the market – along with all the other day to day tasks that a mother and wife is required to carry out during the various stages in their lives.
Imagine trying to perform all these Herculean tasks with 4 children in the household that are ages 2, 4, 6 and 8 – as ours once were. I can tell you that if daddy-o is looking for some home-grown wine and extra income from craft sales he better make sure he stops by Kroger and the Dollar Tree on the way home and plan on staying up plenty late working on them himself.
Imagine asking a first century wife to do the same – when families averaged three times the size they do now and who were operating out of a sand floor rock slab house, where just keeping enough water around for the kids and the goats took up a big part of the day.
“Where’s my wine from this year’s wonderful grape harvest honey? Do you have that extra money you made this morning at the market? Are the kids bathed? And how about that dinner – is it ready yet?
Right?!!
The opening verses should clue us in to the “general nature” of what the Psalmist is saying: “A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12She does him good, and not harm,all the days of her life. Clearly these are the kinds of things a capable wife MIGHT do over a lifetime.
But that’s just “worldly” clarification that I want to bring to this passage. And I suppose I could go on and talk about Paul’s famous words that speak to the heart of the marital relationship – how husbands are to honor their wives and “to love them as Christ loved the church . . .” How while women are told to “submit to their husbands,” that it is fully incumbent upon the husband to honor her and treat her with the respect, dignity and the precious sense of worth that she has already shown him – and that it is ultimately in their submissiveness to God together that they stay in right relationship with one another – and that their relationship stays in right relationship with Him.
But I’m not going to expand on that – because what I really want to talk about isservanthood and the extraordinary honor and glory that the God of creation has bestowed most especially upon and through women – in a way that many of us in the modern world (with our redefined and overlapping roles) STILL very much seem to miss.
And the reason for that, of course, is that men and women DO have a whole new context in which we see the world and one another and the relationships between us – and the evolution of that relationship over the last 2000 years makes perfect sense.
But we mustn’t allow it to blind us to the heart of God’s teaching such that we miss the affirmation of his truth relevant to the beautiful giving nature of women and the TRUEcall to servanthood that is found in our Old Testament scripture. Because life – and our relationships – are not about who gets it easiest – or who is “the greatest” – or keeping score and somehow perfectly “balancing” the value of one particular work against another.
Rather life is about SERVING – the sacrificial giving of our “selves” to one another – in any and every possible way we are able. And to better grasp that, all we have to do is go the words of Jesus. Here now the Word of the Lord.
GOSPEL MARK 9:30-37
30They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” 32But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
33Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” 34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.35He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
The grass withers and the flower faded but the Word of the Lord endures forever.
I remember when I first considered the point I am about to make. It came to me right smack dab in the middle of leading a Disciple Bible Study class at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church. And I have to laugh at the Spirit’s timing. It was our Tuesday morning class – the one we had designed to meet at that time to accommodate young mothers – many of whom were dropping their children off at preschool there – and others that came in after their children had caught the bus to school.
We were a group of about 14 women and me – in fact, Tupper used to call it “Stuart’s Harem Class” and he often wondered how I got out of there alive after some of the lessons. “It’s easy,” I told him. “You just become one of the girls. And sometimes as a man that means holding your tongue.”
Well, I’m not exactly sure I was ever able to really do that well, but on this particular day something in the scripture we were studying relative to the role of women in the Hebrew culture and the words of Jesus caught me – and the truth of it seemed to whisper itself so clearly – and somewhere in the middle of the discussion I stopped holding my tongue and finally said:
“You know, when you really think about it, women – by virtue perhaps of nature and their nature – have been given the most Christ-like roles in life – ARE the most Christ-like in many ways. And yet so many seem to strain against those roles in lieu of embracing the servanthood that Jesus said is the most important thing we must do – that which is so fundamental to the kingdom.
You could have heard a pin drop. Which is not normal for a class of 14 women who talk to no one else but small children all day.
The conflict was clear. The supposition was right. You can’t argue against the fact that Jesus calls us all to servanthood – this morning’s passage from Mark leaves little doubt for that. And you can’t argue that women – traditionally and often by necessity – tend to be far more gifted, able and required to offer up just such genuine servanthood – to their children and spouses and to one another. Indeed, it would seem that most women – at least as Jesus both spoke of and modeled REAL servanthood – are naturally far closer to his makeup than (most) men.
And if that’s the case – shouldn’t they (and everyone) embrace it more instead of less?
The pin laid there a while – maybe as it is right now. Because you kind of have to think about it. Our modern minds are trained to say, “Wait a minute – isn’t this some insult to my gender and my ability to do anything I want? I mean I am . . .” but then the thought is interrupted and the other voice speaks: “That’s right – more Christ like. By both nature and your nature. Nice realization, huh.”
They all stared at me somewhat suspiciously. So I said it again. “Yes – I think you were made in God’s image to be more like Jesus the Son when it comes to servanthood – and as best as I can tell that’s pretty high up on His list. ”
The pin laid there a while longer. Finally, one of them – who was normally less talkative – said, “I think he’s right. I think maybe we are . . .” I was tempted to ask the two among them who were once practicing lawyers which part of their lives had been the most fulfilling. But I didn’t. I think we all knew the answer.
Of course, the argument breaks down if you try to declare this as an absolute truth in ALL ways. Men do have attributes that are perhaps more in line with Christ call to do and be certain things – speaking the truth in love, perhaps – especially when it comes to children – and effecting discipline (the root world of disciple) – also especially again, when it comes to children.
And I am not saying that this is ALWAYS the case – please don’t pin me to that. Rather, I am speaking in a very general sense. The average wind speed at my farm is perhaps about 6 MPH. That doesn’t mean it isn’t dead calm at times – or blowing a full gale at others.
But the truth seems self-evident – generally speaking, men and women have different strengths and weaknesses and of those, women’s seem to be more suited for the Christ-like roles we are all called to. I don’t think I could possibly pay them a greater compliment. Nor point out a more fundamental weakness among men who by nature seem to want to chase down the far more worldly prizes in life.
Finally, I think it’s important to look at how Jesus makes his final point relative to this call to servanthood that he tells them they must respond to if they are indeed going to be “great.”
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Whoever WELCOMES a little child in Jesus’ name (not becomes like one – which is, of course, another reference in scripture) but whosoever WELCOMES one.
Interestingly, (and to further the point) this is, of course, the most obvious thing that women naturally seem to have an innate gift for – so completely above and apart from men. And equally obvious is that from the world’s perspective a child has nothing to really offer – no money – no real material gifts – no influence to be used – no physical strength to tap into – no highly developed mental prowess or skills to offer – in a worldly sense “nothing to be gained.”
But of course in a “what’s truly important sense” there is EVERYTHING to be gained – for our children (who are our future) depend upon our unconditional love. “You want to be great?” Jesus asks them? Then don’t debate among yourselves as to who has the most money – the most sway over others – the most influential friends and the best country club membership . . . Welcome a little child Who has NOTHING to give you (in worldly terms) – but EVERYTHING to give you in Love’s terms . . . and then you will welcome both me and the Father . . . and there is no “greatness” greater than that!
We are ALL, of course, called to a life of servanthood – wherein we become part of the greatest love there is – God’s love for us – that is in turn joined and made manifest in our love for one another.
And if you need to find a good example of that just look to your wife – or your mother – or any other women – who so naturally and beautifully lives out the love she has been given by the creator of us all. She will be happy to help.
– Stuart Revercomb
https://peacesermons.wordpress.com/
