Tag Archives: Women

Mothers and Fathers

Hannah praying for a childLiving in the Spirit
November 9, 2015

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 1:4-20

After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: ‘O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.’ –I Samuel 1:9-11

There is probably no greater role for a woman than being a mother and no greater role for a man than being a father, if for no other reason than the very future of society is in each parent’s grasp. I doubt if most people choose to have children because of the impact they will have on society but it is still true. The sole worth of the women of the Hebrew Bible, however, seemed to be defined in their ability to bare a male heir. Woe to the women who only had girls or never conceived.

Many would view this as an injustice today but the worth of women varies across the world. Some societies continue this ancient tradition while others, like our own, value employment primarily held by women less than employment primarily held by men. Across the board women are paid less than men.

Jesus valued women not just for their child baring potential but for who they were and the contributions they could make to the fruition of the kingdom of God. He obviously valued mothers, particularly his own as he assured she had someone to care for her as he hung dying on the cross. Jesus’ main goal seemed to be the fulfillment of the kingdom of God and to that end he required the talents and skills of all God’s children male and female. Still does.

Prayer: God, help us to see the worth in each person and help us to foster the development of every child, boy or girl, to reach their fullest potential. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Mercy

Women in workplaceLiving in the Spirit
November 12, 2014

Scripture Reading: Psalm 123

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
   for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill
   of the scorn of those who are at ease,
   of the contempt of the proud. — Psalm 123:3-4

When we implore God for mercy, we are recognizing that there is something that needs correction or even forgiveness within ourselves. We are asking God to go beyond meeting us halfway and filling in a gap we cannot. Our scripture today, however, is asking God to show mercy on us because we are having difficulty dealing with the contempt and scorn that others are foisting on us.

I am a basketball fan (Thunder Up!) and have learned from watching many games that the one who is often called for a foul is the one who is responding to a sneaky foul the officials did not see. The barriers to success in life are often the small things that distract us from our tasks like a those sneaky fouls. Whether we like it or not, sometimes addressing those distractions may be key to fulfilling our calling. The need for mercy arises at this point because the ways of avoiding those distractions are not always easy.

I learned at a very early stage in my career that I had to pick my fights as a female trying to work in a male dominated world and that generally meant not sweating the small stuff. Thus, I chose to ignore the off colored comments and stories, neither joining in the laughter nor complaining nor taking them to heart. I found that most of the perpetrators lost interest when they could not get a response from me. They found, when it came to a matter of importance that impacted our work that I could be a formidable foe when I needed to be.

While things certainly are not perfect today for women in the workplace, particularly related to salary equity, the world has changed a great deal since I began working in the 1960’s though I still rely on that mercy prayer to get me through the rough places. For there certainly are times when I need to ask for mercy for things I have done, I still need that prayer for God to fill in the gap when my plea for mercy is related to how I respond to others.

Prayer: Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Christ’s Bride

Living in the Spirit
July 2, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 45:10-17 

Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;    forget your people and your father’s house, — Psalm 45:10  

I just returned from the national, actually international, meeting of the women of my denomination where we celebrated wholeness. Although the meeting was totally focused on the roles and responsibilities of women in the church, I was very impressed by the husbands who were there supporting their wives. We had a family center in the worship hall where the younger children were allowed to participate as they could in the service or do other activities at times more appropriate to their ages. Some of the young fathers were actively engaged in shepherding these children freeing their mothers to be full participants in worship and sharing ideas.

My niece accompanied me on this trip. She has been much engaged for several months in helping her daughter plan her fall wedding. It has been a year of change for my grandniece, she graduated from college, started her first professional job and will be married in the fall. I experienced and interesting crossover of thoughts as I moved from the meeting to conversations related to the wedding and was struck by the importance of equity in our lives as a part of wholeness.

Our scripture today describes a bride, a princess actually, preparing for her wedding to the king. It says she must forget her family. Genesis 2:24, often quoted at weddings, which states: Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. In either case these are very strong words describing the action that bride and groom takes when they become one: forget—leave.

The traditional wedding vows in American goes something like this : I, (name), take you (name), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part. There is a give and take understood in this relationship that is more than equal. It includes the ebb and flow of life as we meet it where at one time one may be strong and the other weak, at one time one may lead and the other follow, but there is equity in everything.

Jesus uses this type of relationship to describe the bond between the Christ and the church (See Mark 2:19 or John 3:29). We are called to wholeness and oneness with Christ where we share in his mission with the full weight of his support. We two must forget our former way of being, step out in faith like a young man or woman leaving home for the first time and grasp the hand of the one who will always walk with us in all of life’s adventures. It is a remarkable gift of love.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for sharing yourself so totally with us that we may be whole as one with you. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.