worship

Good morning friends,
Our reading today reveals a fascinating picture of worship. The worship Paul describes is highly participatory with leadership shared among the whole congregation. The congregation expects to hear God speaking through each of them in prophesy and praise. When God speaks to someone sitting in the pews, the person speaking at the moment should be quiet and allow that person the change to be heard. Let's allow ourselves to be challenged by this word as we think about worship.

As far as Paul's words here about women go, they really don't make any sense. Paul himself relied on female leaders and recognized at least one woman as an "apostle of the Lord" so it doesn't make any sense for him to say that women should be silent in church.

Blessings as you seek to hear and share God's voice,
Sam

1 Corinthians 14:26-39

26What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. 28But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. 29Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. 32And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, 33for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.


(As in all the churches of the saints, 34women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. 35If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?) 37Anyone who claims to be a prophet, or to have spiritual powers, must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. 38Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. 39So, my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues; 40but all things should be done decently and in order.

a symbol of authority

Good morning sisters and brothers,
This is my least favorite passage in 1 Corinthians. Passages like this made me distrust Paul for a long time and continue to keep many women from connecting with this apostle and with church tradition. The important thing to remember here and elsewhere is that Paul was a product of his time. He grew up in a culture that was convinced that women and men were not equal. The law of Moses didn't allow women to be witnesses in trials, and Greek philosophy understood men to be logical and women to be overly ruled by emotion. Paul's reading of scripture here is suspect as well. Going back to the creation story he says that men are created in God's image, but women are created in man's image. In fact women and men are both made in God's image.

Before we totally discount what Paul has to say here, notice that he does expect women to prophesy. Despite Paul's shortcomings, he knew that God spoke through women as well as men. He was simply trying to figure out how to help the church follow God in a challenging world. Like all of us, he had blind spots and imperfections, but he also has much to teach us.

Blessings as you keep faith today,
Sam

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 2I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you. 3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ.


4Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head, 5but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head—it is one and the same thing as having her head shaved. 6For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a veil. 7For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. 8Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. 10For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.


11Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman. 12For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from God. 13Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled? 14Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him, 15but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16But if anyone is disposed to be contentious—we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.

interconnections

Good morning friends,
A passage like this one can feel like just a blur of names that don't mean anything to us. At the same time these "greeting" passages help us put together a picture of the early Christian church. One thing we notice is that even though Paul had never been to Rome, he knew a lot of Christians there. Some of them he knew because they had traveled for work or ministry, suggesting that many of the leaders in the church led very mobile lives. We also see a closely interconnected church with strong relationships even over large distances. Prisca and Aquilla, named here, worked with Paul in Corinth because they were tent makers like he was. Acts tells us that they had been living in Rome but were expelled by the emperor along with all the Jews. Apparently at this point they are back there.

Another thing that is important to notice in this passage is the presence of women in leadership. Many Christians have trouble with Paul, rightly, because of some of his teachings about women. While we can't erase those harmful words, we also read them knowing that Paul did support women in ministry. Many scholars believe that Phoebe was the person who delivered this letter to the Romans and would have read it publicly in the church. We also notice Junia whom Paul calls "prominent among the apostles" who was in prison with Paul. Over all, we see a strong role for women in the early church, a role that has continued to today, thanks to God's help and the faithfulness of generations of women. May we make the most of our ministry opportunities that God and the sacrifice of the Christians who came before us make possible.

God bless,
Sam

Romans 16:1-16

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, 2so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well. 3Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 4and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. 6Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you. 7Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.


8Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also. 14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Christ is risen

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving friends,
As a refresher, the passage before this ends with, "And the women saw where Jesus was buried, went home and prepared spices for anointing. Then they rested on the sabbath in accordance with the commandment." Notice that the first resurrection announcement is to women, but even the disciples don't quite believe them. Jesus welcomed people without distinction, especially in Luke's Gospel, but we disciples have never done as good a job of that radical welcome.

This morning I'm grateful for time with family and for ministry with you. I'm incredibly thankful that death couldn't hold our Lord and that he always goes ahead of us to challenge and lead us.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in, they did not find the body. 4While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”


8Then they remembered his words, 9and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Paul's limits

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today's reading is one I sometimes wish wasn't in scripture. Passages like this one have soured a lot of Christians on Paul because of his limited thinking about women and their role in the church. We believe that God speaks to us through scripture by the power of the Holy Spirit; we also believe that people, with all their flaws and limits wrote the Bible. Paul was a man of his time who inherited a hierarchical way of thinking about relationships between men and women and among other groups.

Some scholars believe that Paul was careful to support these then traditional beliefs about women because women in the church were given greater leadership roles in the church than in society at large, and he wanted to make sure the church wasn't seen as too radical when it came to social relations. We know that Paul wrote to women as leaders in the church. It's even thought that a woman was the initial public reader of the Letter to the Romans, maybe Paul's most important letters. So certainly he is not consistent about "not allowing a woman to teach." Ministry always happens in a real time and place with people who are not perfect. We bring our biases and mistakes into our ministry. Fortunately, God still works through us to minister to the world. Paul's writing and the churches history on gender relations is a mixed record. From Paul's pen we also get perhaps the best statement on equality anywhere: "There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, but all are one in Christ Jesus." We long for the day God's kingdom will erase all divisions between people, saying, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Blessings,
Sam

1 Timothy 2:8-15
8I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument; 9also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, 10but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. 11Let a woman learn in silence with full submission.

12I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

courage and closing

Good morning friends,
Today we come to the end of Colossians. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do with these closings with all their names and housekeeping business. At the same time they give an interesting view of what the church was like at that time. The picture that emerges is a large, but fairly intimate network of Christians. Pretty much wherever Paul goes or writes, he knows people. In this particular closing there are a couple of things that play off yesterday's reading nicely. For one thing, we see Paul's greeting to Nympha, a woman who hosted a church in her house. Even though Paul reinforced the traditional teachings about family life and a woman's place in it, he also worked in ministry with many women who held leadership roles in the church. Some scholars suggest that one reason Paul was so careful about maintaining the traditional teachings was that the Christian church was constantly pushing the boundaries of women's roles and Paul wanted to avoid too much outside attention to that fact.

Another name that is especially interesting is Onesimus. Onesimus was a slave who ran away and ended up with Paul, where he came to Christ. The whole letter of Philemon is written to Onesimus's owner asking him to forgive Onesimus and asking him to release his claim on him. So again, while Paul tells slaves to obey their masters, he also is far from seeing slavery as a total claim on the slave. If you're curious, Philemon is a fascinating piece of persuasion and a really short read. One part of Paul's letters that can be confusing is that here and in several other letters he says something about writing the greeting with his own hand. It was common in Paul's day to have a scribe do the physical writing of the letter, and that's probably what Paul did. He often added a personal touch by writing part of the closing himself, though the end of Galatians makes it sound like his handwriting wasn't very good. A final part of this closing that makes me stop short is that Paul reminds his readers that he is writing from prison. We might question the way he saw the world, but we can't doubt his courage and commitment. He clearly put his life on the line and ministered in all kinds of situations most of us would be afraid to go near. I pray God help us follow Paul's example of courage, faith and thought as we seek to be ambassadors of Jesus today.

God bless,
Sam


Colossians 4:7-18
7Tychicus will tell you all the news about me; he is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord. 8I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts; 9he is coming with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here. 10Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him. 11And Jesus who is called Justus greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. 13For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. 15Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. 17And say to Archippus, “See that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord.” 18I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

veils and prophesy

Good morning friends,
Amazingly enough, yesterday was my first anniversary at Laurelton. Time really flies, and it's been a blessing to serve with you this last year. Today's reading is a tough one. We see clearly here that Paul was a man of his time and inherited the limits that come along with being a product of his environment, just as we all inherit the limits of our environments. Some scholars have argued that this section might not be original to the text, but was inserted later. I appreciate Paul, so I would like to believe that, but I'm not convinced.

Paul assumes here, as his audience assumed, that women and men are not equal. Some of the language he uses to express this is pretty shocking to us: "the husband is the head of his wife" and "If a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair," stand out especially. I don't think we can honestly understand the text without admitting that this is Paul's assumption. With that in mind, I'd like to say three things that soften Paul's project before moving on.

First, Paul assumes here that women are going to have public leadership roles in the church. He wouldn't tell them to wear a veil when prophesying if he thought they shouldn't prophesy in church. This idea is also supported by the fact that Paul acknowledged women leaders in the early church. He often mentions Priscilla as a leader and he refers to a woman named Junia as an apostle. Second, it seems one of Paul's concerns with limiting the role of women was how it would be perceived by those outside the church. He may have feared that "too much" equality would make people outside the church ignore the message because of the packaging. Third, Paul has a sense that the radical transformation that comes with being "in the Lord" changes the relationship between the sexes. Here he writes, "In the Lord woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from God." More radically in Galatians he writes that in Christ there is no longer male or female.

What Paul says is often helpful, but it is not speech directly from God. One of Paul's arguments for women being subordinate is that God is the head of Christ. That's not the only time Paul makes a statement about Christ's subordination to God in this letter, either. A few centuries after Paul, this question of the Father and Son's relation was a topic of controversy and the Church affirmed that Father, Son and Spirit were co-equal and co-eternal. Of course the church at that time didn't examine the possibility that women and men were equal as well. It's also obvious that Paul is making much of his argument from cultural beliefs. While women still often wear their hair longer than men, we don't think of it as shameful for women to have short hair or for men to have long hair. It's interesting that in most pictures people paint of Jesus and the apostles they all had long hair, even though Paul says that's shameful. Paul didn't know everything, but let's not allow his limits to keep him from hearing his helpful advise on many other questions.

Blessings,
Sam

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

2I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you. 3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband is the head of his wife, and God is the head of Christ. 4Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head, 5but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head—it is one and the same thing as having her head shaved. 6For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a veil.

7For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man. 8Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. 10For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

11Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman. 12For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; but all things come from God. 13Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled? 14Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him, 15but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16But if anyone is disposed to be contentious—we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.