Back to the blog!

Back at long last after an extensive layoff for work, travel and research.   Looking forward to a summer of blogging!

So far, 2010 is shaping up as quite a dispiriting year for feminine spirituality.  The RCC continues its strong stance against female ordination or any kind of female leadership (no surprise there), the Anglican communion is experiencing a significant worldwide push-back against female ordination (although women have been ordained in the U.S. church since the 1970s, England only permitted women to be ordained about 15 years ago and has been permitting protesting dioceses to opt out, which more and more are choosing to do), and even some Protestant denominations in the U.S. have started to "de-fellowship" congregations with female pastors in order to pressure women out of leadership roles.   Polls show increasing numbers of Christians (including women) agree that women should not be permitted to lead in the church.  

A letter-writer to the New Yorker recently opined that based upon all of the above, one can only conclude that Christianity is for men only, and all women should leave the church.  An interesting point:  Christianity is technically not a religion, it is a faith based upon the Resurrection, so one could argue that if women are excluded from ordination, they are excluded from the pews as well.

The purpose of this blog is to examine the many ways that Jesus has ordained women in the spiritual sense, and how this is not recognized by the male-imposed bureaucracies that have been created over the centuries.  Is there any chance that women will overcome these barriers in our lifetimes?  Probably not, especially given the above-referenced backlash against what little progress was made in the late 20th century.   I think it is interesting (and more than a bit discouraging!) that in the 1970s, many people predicted that by the year 2000, women would have full parity with men in every area - education, business, religion - but we now see that a decade into the new century, not only are we far from parity, we seem to be losing ground from 20-30 years ago.   What are the reasons for this?  

     

Mary and Peter

It's interesting that Jesus is so confident of Mary's love that He proclaims it to others (see John 12:7, Matthew 26:10-13, Mark 14:6-9).   Peter, on the other hand - not so much (see John 21:15-17).  What do you think the difference is?

About those apostles...

The fact that Jesus chose 12 men and no women to be His apostles is frequently cited as the reason for excluding women from formal ordination and full participation in the church (the fact that Jesus is male is actually the primary reason, but we'll get to that later).  But consider:  Jesus tells us again and again that those who are first will be last and those who are last will be first, and that we should not take the place of honor.  And we know that the men Jesus chose were not exactly the cream of the crop (it's generally understood that Jesus deliberately picked those who were weak in faith to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit in their transformation).  So why do we presume that Jesus excluded women because they weren't good enough, and that that's a bad thing?  He apparently chose men because they weren't good enough - as they proved again and again - and neither that fact nor the sorry history of the church's male leadership over the centuries has been enough to exclude men from leadership! 

More Re: The Better Portion

"The Lord looks out from heaven on all the human race, to see if any act wisely, if any seek God.  But all are unfaithful, altogether corrupt; no one does good, no, not even one."  Psalm 14:2-3

I think it was Rick Warren who noted that we're not called "human doings" - we're human beings!  Authentic spirituality is about being, not doing.  There's nothing wrong with being a "Martha" and finding a calling in service.  It's natural to want to see tangible "fruit," to feel that we are "productive" and that our efforts are "paying off."  But the important thing is to keep our hearts and souls centered on God.   This is why Jesus says we must be "born again" - we must become new beings, born of spirit, centered on Him, not ourselves.

(Recently I saw a car displaying several anti-Christian bumper stickers (very common in the part of urban Los Angeles I live in), one of which defiantly proclaimed: "Born OK the First Time!"   Of all of the misguided atheism I've seen recently, that may be the best example of truly not getting it!    Being "born again" is not a "do-over" because there was something wrong with our first one (LOL!);  it's the spiritual process by which we receive God's Spirit and align with God's purpose for our souls.)

Mary of Bethany is the only person in the Gospels who really "gets it" prior to the Resurrection and Pentecost (am I wrong - can you think of anyone else? Let me know...).   She is all about being, not doing.   She doesn't "do" things, she just "is."   This seems deeply mystical to me (remember that in Jewish tradition, Wisdom is often personified as a woman).   Mary represents not subservience to men, as some feminist commentators have unfortunately alleged, but the embodiment of Wisdom - God-centered love.   

What Mary Has Chosen

As we begin to examine "the better portion," first let's consider this awesome observation from Oswald Chambers:

"The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, "I am my own god."  This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis - my claim to my right to myself.  When Our Lord faced people, He paid no attention to the moral degradation of one nor any attention to the moral attainment of another.  He looked at something we do not see, namely, the nature of man."

(My Utmost For His Highest, 2008 edition)

It is unfortunate that we often equate Christianity not with devotion to Jesus, but with outward manifestations of conventional morality.  This is especially true when it comes to women, as religion has been used to control women's behavior for as long as there has been religion.  

Isn't it amazing that while we may be swayed by what we think is moral or immoral, Jesus never is?  Jesus never scorns the depraved, nor is He impressed by the scrupulously religious.   His love and praise for Mary is based not upon her conduct or social status, but upon her total devotion to Him.  And her devotion to Him is based upon her grasp of the truth - that He is her Savior, the One who will deliver humanity from original sin.

What Has Mary Found?

What Mary knows - prior to the Resurrection, prior to Pentecost - is that Jesus is the Son of God, the Incarnate Word.   She reflects this in her worship of Him in Luke - to the exclusion of worldly concerns - and her demonstrated understanding of His radical teaching in John 11 by washing His feet (prior to His express instruction to His male disciples in John 13) and (perhaps) her deliberate association with the "immoral woman" of Luke 7:37:  just as Jesus will cast Himself as a common criminal in His final Passion, she casts herself as among the lowest of the low, a woman scorned by polite society and "religious" people.  And of course, by anointing Jesus she shows that she knows He is the Messiah and she anticipates His death, a prophetic act that wins His praise.

Note that whenever Jesus refers to His impending death to His male disciples, they either don't understand or insist it won't happen.  Mary shows that she understands and accepts what Jesus must do.  And, as Warren Wiersbe puts it, "Mary's adoration not only revealed her love, but it brought joy to His heart, exposed Judas's sin, and gave the church an example to follow" (Bible Commentary - New Testament (Thomas Nelson, 1991).

Mary is the example for the church - all followers of Jesus - to follow!  Not because of what she does, but what she manifests - her all-consuming love for Jesus, the centering of her life on Him as the source of life and spirit, her complete emptying of her self in favor of Him and His will.

Proof, in case you need it, of the existence of God!

In looking over the last post, it struck me as extraordinary that Jesus expressed such a view of women!  The view of women as "radically equal" is not accepted even today, where women are denied even the most basic legal rights (such as the right to control their own bodies, the right to own or inherit property, etc.) and routinely subjected to all manner of physical and sexual abuse.  (it's sad to have to consider true equality with men as "radical," but we all know that's true - even in the church, women are barred from priesthood by some denominations and are denied certain missionary and evangelical work by some Protestant denominations.)  No other first-century religious figure would ever say or think such a thing.   It could only come from a divine source - from God.  And maybe that is why Jesus expressed it through His relationship with Mary (and Martha too), rather than in express words.

Calling all....

Regarding my first post in which I noted as interesting, the fact that Jesus calls Mary to him in John 11:28 - I posed the question as whether that is the only time that Jesus asks to see someone - ?

It's important to note that Jesus is asking for a particular person (Mary), as opposed to calling someone to him.   Jesus is both fully God and fully human; as God, He is always calling all of us to Him at all times.  As Man, people seek Him out; He usually doesn't go looking for them.  

Does He call Mary to Him in John 11:28 to expressly show that women are called just as men are?  Remember that in first century Israel, women were considered little more than property - an unmarried woman like Mary was even less respected - and Jewish men did not even worship in the same part of the temple as women.  For Jesus to call Mary out of the house to meet Him on the road seems quite extraordinary to me.  Does the house represent the Old Order - the traditional view of religion which Jesus is about to upend - and does Jesus call Mary out because He prefers to do this in partnership with her??  Certainly Jesus doesn't need Mary to raise Lazarus - but still He clearly wants her there.

This seems to raise a couple of important ideas that will be explored here.  Jesus may not "need" Mary in order to raise Lazarus, but the fact that He includes her seems very significant.  Note that in all of Jesus's interactions with Mary, He implies that she is prophetic, that she sees something that no one else sees except Him.  He doesn't just grant permission to Mary to do things, as that would imply a patriarchal system in which a woman must seek a man's permission.  Rather, as He puts it in Luke, He states that she in essence already has something that belongs to her (and He will not take it away).   Jesus views Mary (and therefore all women) as fully equal with men as part of God's created order.

It's interesting, as mentioned earlier, that Jesus partners with a woman in each stage of His Incarnation:  with His mother in His birth, with Mary Magdalene in His death/Resurrection, and (I believe) with Mary of Bethany in His life/ministry.   Jesus's mother and Mary Magdalene are well known even to non-Christians and have been written about for centuries, and I believe that is because they conform to traditional female archtypes which are non-threatening to patriarchy:  Jesus's mother is the Perfect Woman, both mother and virgin; Mary Magdalene is the Fallen Woman, the prostitute/sinner who needs a man to rescue and redeem her.   Mary of Bethany, in contrast, is utterly non-traditional and does not conform to any accepted female archtype; therefore she is threatening to any established patriarchal order and much less likely to be upheld as an example or examined by the church.

Mary does get some recognition as a "contemplative" who is praised for centering on Jesus and as an example for women seeking religious vocations, but I believe this is far too narrow an interpretation of what her presence in the Gospels in meant to show.

Voicing Bethany

The title, it is hoped, conveys the purpose of this blog:  an attempt to articulate something that is in many ways ineffable - the mystery of Mary's relationship with Jesus, the spirituality of Bethany as a place that was important to Jesus, and the spirituality personified by the women of Bethany. 

It is hoped that this blog will be a place to explore aspects of female Christian spirituality that are all too often ignored, despite the obvious importance of women to Jesus in His earthly ministry.

Centuries of misogyny have resulted in deplorable conditions for most of the world's women.  As Richard Stearns notes in The Hole In the Gospel (Thomas Nelson, 2009):

"Compared to her male counterpart, a girl growing up in the developing world is more likely to die before her fifth birthday and less likely to go to school, since girls are often forced to work rather than attend school.  (As proof, two-thirds of the world's 800 million illiterate are women.  In Niger, only 15% of the women can read.)  She is also less apt to receive adequate food, heath care, and economic opportunities, but more apt to be forced to marry before age 16 and to be the victim of sexual and domestic abuse.   Some two million children, mostly girls as young as 5 years old, are part of the growing commercial sex trade around the world.... [women who manage to survive] are denied property rights and inheritance in many countries.  In fact, women own less than 1% of the world's property.  They also work two-thirds of all the world's labor hours, but earn just 10% of the world's wages [citations omitted]."

Any committed Christian will know what Jesus would think of this!  How can we create Bethany in the world today?  Let's look at Jesus's vision of equality and humanity for women that is radical even by today's standards (and difficult for many people in the world - and even in the church - to accept).

(BTW, if you haven't read Hole In Our Gospel, I highly recommend it!!)

A few observations to start...

Some interesting observations about Mary of Bethany just to get us started (happy to hear from anyone out there who is interested in this subject!):

John 11:28:  is this the only place in all four Gospels that Jesus asks to see someone?? (the someone, of course, being Mary - although it is interesting that we only learn of this through Martha and not from Jesus directly)

Mary appears just three times in the Gospels, but each time, she is kneeling at Jesus' feet.  (In John 12, she goes one better and anoints His feet.)  This is, of course,  the traditional posture of a rabbinical student at the feet of the Master - except that only males were allowed to be rabbinical students at the time.  Anointing of feet is an entirely different subject, to be explored later...

In all three appearances, Mary does something that violates religious or cultural norms.  In Luke 10, she assumes the position of a scholar at Jesus' feet (which, as noted above, is traditionally for men only) and ignores the traditional female role in the kitchen (prompting criticism from Martha).  In John 11, she is presumably sitting shiva for Lazarus' death (did the tradition exist then?), but she leaves the house when Jesus calls her.  In John 12, she not only presents Jesus with an extravagant gift, but does so rather scandalously, by unbinding her hair (unheard of for a woman to do in front of any male other than her husband) and using it to wipe His feet (prompting criticism from Judas).  

Of course, Mary's scandalous anointment echoes that of the "immoral woman" of Luke 7:37, which has resulted in much confusion of Gospel female identity over the centuries.  Centuries of tradition holds that the unnamed "immoral woman" is Mary Magdalene, but there is no scholarship to support this and most NT scholars doubt it.  The similarity between the act of the "immoral woman" and Mary's anointing in John has also led to a tradition of identifying them as the same woman, or just treating all three - Magdalene, Mary of Bethany and the "immoral woman" - as the same woman (known as Mary Magdalene), presumably to avoid confusion (or to create more!).  And so we arrive at the sexist root of much historic NT scholarship that treats all women as fungible/interchangeable and unimportant.  As we will see, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene both occupy very different (but equally important) roles in the Incarnation.  

In two of Mary's appearances, she is criticized by the truly clueless (Martha and Judas), but is defended by Jesus (Martha gets a gentle rebuke, Judas a harsher one).   Jesus' defenses of Mary are fascinating and will be examined in detail later.  Note that each time, He aligns Mary with Himself, implying that she possesses knowledge of a mystery that is otherwise known only to Him (!!).

Since Mary and Jesus seem to have quite a meaningful relationship, why is Mary not present at the Cross?   As noted above, for nearly two thousand years - from about the fourth century until the 1960s - the Roman Catholic Church expressly taught that Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene were the same person, apparently because (among other things) Mary's absence from Calvary could not otherwise be explained - although clearly Martha and Lazarus weren't there either.  All Christian traditions today acknowledge that Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are two different women, but for some reason, just about all Christian theology pertaining to women is based upon Mary Magdalene.  Much prayer and meditation has discerned a solution to the why-is-she-not-at-the-Cross issue, which will be discussed later.) 

While it's true that Mary (or Maryam, or Miriam) was a common name in first century Israel, it's still no coincidence that the three women who figure most prominently in the three stages of Our Lord's Incarnation - His birth/Incarnation, His life/ministry, and His death/Resurrection) - are all named Mary.  (again, more to come on this)

Finally, it's worth noting that throughout the Gospels, Jesus us always teaching, preaching, rebuking, correcting... except when it comes to Mary.  (Jesus doesn't even hesitate to shut down His own mother!  See Luke 8:21, John 2:4)  As far as Jesus is concerned, Mary can do no wrong - even when she IS wrong (and I think she does get it wrong in John 11:32 - what do you think?) - when Mary is forlorn and weeping in this chapter, instead of correcting her, Jesus' emotional response is reminiscent of Psalm 18:7-20 - in other words, He races to her rescue (and Lazarus is raised).  

First Post: Re Women's Spirituality

"Martha, Martha, you are fretting and fussing about so many things; only one thing is necessary.  Mary has chosen what is best; it shall not be taken away from her."  Luke 10:41-42 (Rev. Eng.)

"My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it - and I won't take it away from her." (Id., New Living Trans.)

Embarking on an examination of what Mary has discovered.  In some translations it is referred to as "the better portion."  What is it exactly and what does it mean to us as women who follow Jesus?

Most Christians understand Mary and Martha as representing the two sides of Christian spirituality - mission/service (Martha) and contemplation/worship (Mary).  If you are a "Martha," opportunities for Christian service abound.  But if you are a "Mary," aside from regular worship (which is a given for all Christians regardless of temperament), how is your calling expressed?

I began meditating on Mary as my NT counterpart a couple of years ago and have been quite surprised by the deep meaning to be gleaned from this passage and Mary's other appearances (just two, in John).  Offered with prayers for all women who seek to follow Jesus with deeper devotion and understanding!