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Jun. 24th, 2007 11:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adiva_calandiaIt's Sunday, so I get to babble some about religious stuff. This week's topic is an idea that's been rolling around in my head since Easter, when one of our more conservative priests (I've ranted about him before, calling him Fr. Earnest) started talking about those who came to Jesus' tomb after he'd risen.
The Catholic Church won't let women be priests; at least one reason for this (besides "Basically, we say so," I mean) is that the apostles were all male. The apostles were the first priests, through Jesus' word, and since Jesus didn't make any women priests, we can't break tradition.
And yet the Gospels are filled with examples of women following Jesus with as much, if not more, faith than the guys.
Let's look at the facts, then, shall we?
The Catholic Church won't let women be priests; at least one reason for this (besides "Basically, we say so," I mean) is that the apostles were all male. The apostles were the first priests, through Jesus' word, and since Jesus didn't make any women priests, we can't break tradition.
And yet the Gospels are filled with examples of women following Jesus with as much, if not more, faith than the guys.
Check out last week's reading, from Luke:
So there were women traveling with Jesus and the twelve, and what's more, they were providing for the guys.
Later, Luke says:
So they weren't just camp followers, as it were -- they were students, as well. We've got a sampling of the women's involvement in Jesus' life while he was teaching (I don't really need to go into Mary, right? She was his mother. That's enough).
Now let's look at their involvement in his death and resurrection.
According to Mark, after Jesus is captured, his disciples "all left him and fled." (Mk 14:50) Peter follows at a distance for a while, denies him three times, and then apparenty disappears for a while. When Jesus dies and is buried, the only friends with him are the women:
Matthew says the same thing (Mt 27:55-56, 27:61); Luke says that the women weren't the only ones watching him die, but again, they're the ones who go to his tomb (Lk 23:48-49, 23:54-56).
Three days later, the first person to see the empty tomb, or the risen Lord, depending on who's writing, is Mary Magdalene, the woman who listened to his teachings, bathed his feet, watched him die, and visited his tomb to minister to him in death as in life (Jn 20:1-2, Lk 23:54-56, 24:1-11, Mk 6:1-13, Mt 28:1-8). She sees what's happened, believes, and runs to tell the guys -- who don't believe.
Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.
--Luke 8:1-3
So there were women traveling with Jesus and the twelve, and what's more, they were providing for the guys.
Later, Luke says:
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. ... "... There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
--Lk 10:38-39, 42
So they weren't just camp followers, as it were -- they were students, as well. We've got a sampling of the women's involvement in Jesus' life while he was teaching (I don't really need to go into Mary, right? She was his mother. That's enough).
Now let's look at their involvement in his death and resurrection.
According to Mark, after Jesus is captured, his disciples "all left him and fled." (Mk 14:50) Peter follows at a distance for a while, denies him three times, and then apparenty disappears for a while. When Jesus dies and is buried, the only friends with him are the women:
There were also women looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome. These women had followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him. There were also many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
--Mk 15:40-41
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid.
--Mk 15:47
Matthew says the same thing (Mt 27:55-56, 27:61); Luke says that the women weren't the only ones watching him die, but again, they're the ones who go to his tomb (Lk 23:48-49, 23:54-56).
Three days later, the first person to see the empty tomb, or the risen Lord, depending on who's writing, is Mary Magdalene, the woman who listened to his teachings, bathed his feet, watched him die, and visited his tomb to minister to him in death as in life (Jn 20:1-2, Lk 23:54-56, 24:1-11, Mk 6:1-13, Mt 28:1-8). She sees what's happened, believes, and runs to tell the guys -- who don't believe.
Let's look at the facts, then, shall we?
- Women were taught by Christ along with men.
- The women often showed great faith and repentance, according to Christ -- sometimes even greater than the men.
- The women ministered to Christ, at least one of them in the same way Christ eventually ministered to his disciples, by washing his feet; few passages show the men ministering to him in a similar way.
- The women stayed with Christ when he was arrested; the men ran.
- The women stayed with Christ when he died; the men hid.
- The women attended to Christ's body, immediately after his death and three days after; his disciples stayed in hiding (Joseph of Arimathea's a good guy, though).
- The women believed in the risen Lord; the men didn't believe until they could see him, in spite of his repeated teaching that he would rise from the dead.
