Daughters of God: Then and Now

Daughters of God: Then and Now
Carolyn Seaton, American University Episcopal-Anglican Chaplain
Kay Spiritual Life Center
March 4, 2007
1 Samuel 2:1-8, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 10:38-42

This evening we are celebrating God's call to women. We can scarcely do that without remembering some of the women of the Bible, who responded to God's call in times so very different from our own and in so many ways:

We remember Eve, whose name means life. She became the mother of all generations. The mothers of Israel: Sarah, Hagar, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah, whose descendants became a nation called by God.

We remember the wilderness women: Jael (whose name means "wild mountain goat," Rahab (fierceness), and Ruth--who were courageous in war and peace.

We remember women who were prophets: Miriam (whose name means 'rebellion'), Deborah ("bee"), and Anna, the aged prophet who was the first woman to recognize Christ when the child Jesus was presented at the temple.

We remember Shiphrah, Puah and Vashti, who stood against tyrant kings.

We remember the nameless Samaritan woman whose testimony brought an entire village to see Jesus with their own eyes.

We remember the sisters of Bethany, Mary (who, in tonight's gospel reading, sat and learned at the feet of her friend, Jesus) and Martha who proclaimed, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."

We celebrate Mary of Magdala, who followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, watched at the cross, went to the tomb and became the first disciple to announce the Easter news: "I have seen the Lord."

We remember Tabitha and Phoebe, called as deacons to serve, and Lydia (whose name means 'bending'), and Priscilla (worthy and venerable) and other women whose homes became the first sanctuaries of the Christian church.

Since that time, countless women, some famous, most not, have given their lives as martyrs; their hearts and minds as mystics, desert mothers, abbesses, writers, teachers; their talents as leaders and Christian mothers; their hands in service to the poor and sick and abused of the world. All this in answer to God's call to serve and love and live as his children.

This evening, we are here to celebrate God's call to you, God's daughters of the 21 st century. You are something to celebrate. You are strong and shining and faithful witnesses to the Gospel. You do, in your various ways minister to the Kay community, the campus, this city, and some of you already, to the world.

Those women of the Bible served God in times and places where their traditional roles were so much more confined than ours. Women of Palestine didn't own property--they were property. Still, they realized their status as daughters of God, and that gave them power even in their socially and politically powerless lives. - Finally, after several centuries, by the time of the early Church, Paul wrote to the Galatians, as we heard in tonight's reading, that in Christ there is neither male nor female.

We have come a long way from early Palestine. We do, to be sure, still have our challenges (more of which I'll mention in a moment--and you will discuss in your program later in the month on "The Stained-Glass Ceiling,"), but first, let's consider what strengths we bring to ministry, both ordained and lay. Listen to the voices of some women now in seminary:

"I believe the great opportunity we all have is to provide a different kind of leadership that values home, family, rest Sabbath and spiritual development."

"I think that there's a difference in leadership in caring deeply about reconciliation and welcome and hospitality that women offer."

"Women understand the need for wholeness and integrating body, mind and spirit."

" . . .female seminarians allow every denomination to rethink the nature of spirituality and how it is expressed through the Church.. . .we support and guide the Church in new and more effective ministry to a world that is crying out for love, solace, and kindness."

I am not one who would argue that we necessarily do any of those things better than the best of male ministers. But we may do them differently. One male member of a Protestant congregation said that women's presence at the altar demonstrates for him the "wholeness of the human family" and remarked that it was especially meaningful when his 8-months-pregnant pastor celebrated Communion on Christmas Eve.

Not everyone waited until our century to recognize women's gift for ministry: Theodore Parker, a New England Transcendentalist, in his sermon, "On the Public Function of Women" in 1840, argued that:

In the business of Theology, I could never see why a woman, if she wished, should not preach, as well as men. It would be hard, in the present condition of the pulpit, to say she had not intellect enough for that! I am glad to find, now and then, women preachers, and rejoice at their success. . . .

If woman had been consulted, it seems to me Theology would have been in a vastly better state than it is now. I do not think that any woman would ever have preached the damnation of babies new-born; A celibate monk-with God's curse writ on his face, which knew no child, no wife, no sister, and blushed that he had a mother--might well dream of such a thing. . .

The popular Theology leaves us nothing feminine in the character of God. How could it be otherwise, when so much of the popular Theology is the work of men who thought woman was a "pollution," and harried her out of all the high places of the church.

However, there are those then and now, in just about every denomination, who will say that, yes, women have manifold gifts and talents--and maybe even intellects; but they should not be used in leadership positions. After all, Jesus was a man. . . .

The same nurturing qualities that women bring to the ministry are also experienced as challenges in some circles. Some argue that they will be too busy raising babies, making macaroni and cheese, and attending PTA meetings that they might not be able to give the same dedication to the Church that a male minister can. Does it sound suspiciously like the business world? More than one female minister has noticed that the upper echelons of Church structure do seem too much like corporate America. (At a conference of female Episcopal clergy ordained more than twenty-five years ago, most agreed that they love being ministers but could honestly take-or-leave the institutional church.)

To those who argue that females just can't meet the challenges of ordained ministry, the writer of a piece published in The Mennonite Reporter listed "ten reasons why Men should not be ordained." Here are a few:

"Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as picking turnips or de-horning cattle. It would indeed be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work."
"According to the Genesis account, men were created before women, presumably as a prototype. It is thus obvious that men represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation."
"Men are overly prone to violence. They are responsible for the vast majority of crime in our country, especially violent crime. Thus they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership."
"Jesus didn't ordain men. He didn't ordain any women either, but two wrongs don't make a right."
"Men can still be involved in Church activities, without having to be ordained. They can still take up the offering, shovel the sidewalk, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. In other words, by confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church. Why should they feel left out?

A number of Protestant denominations have long since determined that women ARE an asset in the pulpit and at the altar. Some began in the early twentieth century, Methodists in 1956, Presbyterians in the 1960's, Episcopalians, who have just elected a female Presiding Bishop, began ordaining women in 1976. However, recent statistics show that the percentage of women in the big pastorates is far less in most Protestant denominations, and that women with the same amount of experience are still paid less than male pastors.

And there are challenges less institutional and more personal. Whether your commitment is to an ordained ministry or a lay ministry, your spouse, your family members may not understand, may not share your focus, may not even respect your decision. You may have to remind yourself that your true and most fundamental identity is as a child of God and a member of the priesthood of all believers.

But I think God calls you whether it is to ordained or lay ministry or to lay ministry. I don't think you are going to be stopped by the church hierarchy or by those around you who don't understand. Remember that those women of the Bible who were women of the wilderness, prophets, and challengers to tyrants, didn't allow themselves to be defined as anything except God's daughters. - I think you will find God's perfect place for your unique gifts. And the opportunities are so wide. Sarah and Miriam and Jael didn't live in the global village. You do. You are needed in the faithful fight against violence against women, against the destruction of God's creation, against poverty and disease and hunger and injustice; against the poverty of the spirit and the diminishment of HOPE wherever it occurs. You belong with your Sisters and Brothers in Christ in those struggles to make real the reign of God.

The Women's Ministries website of the Episcopal church says, "The troubled waters of our time call us to do the authentic work of the gospel . . .Work that is world changing, redefining our notions of success, meaning and belonging in the Church and world alike." The world for which we work is the one described by Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she reflected the vision in Hannah's prayer, which we read tonight,

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." Luke 1:26-1:55

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*Daughters of God: Then and Now* Carolyn Seaton, American University Episcopal-Anglican Chaplain Kay Spiritual Life Center March 4, 2007 1 Samuel 2:1-8, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 10:38-42 This evening we are celebrating God's call to women. We can scarcely do that without remembering some of the women of the Bible, who responded to God's call in times so very different from our own and in so many ways: We remember Eve, whose name means life. She became the mother of all generations. The mothers of Israel: Sarah, Hagar, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah, whose descendants became a nation called by God. We remember the wilderness women: Jael (whose name means "wild mountain goat," Rahab (fierceness), and Ruth--who were courageous in war and peace. We remember women who were prophets: Miriam (whose name means 'rebellion'), Deborah ("bee"), and Anna, the aged prophet who was the first woman to recognize Christ when the child Jesus was presented at the temple. We remember Shiphrah, Puah and Vashti, who stood against tyrant kings. We remember the nameless Samaritan woman whose testimony brought an entire village to see Jesus with their own eyes. We remember the sisters of Bethany, Mary (who, in tonight's gospel reading, sat and learned at the feet of her friend, Jesus) and Martha who proclaimed, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." We celebrate Mary of Magdala, who followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, watched at the cross, went to the tomb and became the first disciple to announce the Easter news: "I have seen the Lord." We remember Tabitha and Phoebe, called as deacons to serve, and Lydia (whose name means 'bending'), and Priscilla (worthy and venerable) and other women whose homes became the first sanctuaries of the Christian church. Since that time, countless women, some famous, most not, have given their lives as martyrs; their hearts and minds as mystics, desert mothers, abbesses, writers, teachers; their talents as leaders and Christian mothers; their hands in service to the poor and sick and abused of the world. All this in answer to God's call to serve and love and live as his children. This evening, we are here to celebrate God's call to you, God's daughters of the 21 st century. You are something to celebrate. You are strong and shining and faithful witnesses to the Gospel. You do, in your various ways minister to the Kay community, the campus, this city, and some of you already, to the world. Those women of the Bible served God in times and places where their traditional roles were so much more confined than ours. Women of Palestine didn't own property--they were property. Still, they realized their status as daughters of God, and that gave them power even in their socially and politically powerless lives. - Finally, after several centuries, by the time of the early Church, Paul wrote to the Galatians, as we heard in tonight's reading, that in Christ there is neither male nor female. We have come a long way from early Palestine. We do, to be sure, still have our challenges (more of which I'll mention in a moment--and you will discuss in your program later in the month on "The Stained-Glass Ceiling,"), but first, let's consider what strengths we bring to ministry, both ordained and lay. Listen to the voices of some women now in seminary: "I believe the great opportunity we all have is to provide a different kind of leadership that values home, family, rest Sabbath and spiritual development." "I think that there's a difference in leadership in caring deeply about reconciliation and welcome and hospitality that women offer." "Women understand the need for wholeness and integrating body, mind and spirit." " . . .female seminarians allow every denomination to rethink the nature of spirituality and how it is expressed through the Church.. . .we support and guide the Church in new and more effective ministry to a world that is crying out for love, solace, and kindness." I am not one who would argue that we necessarily do any of those things better than the best of male ministers. But we may do them differently. One male member of a Protestant congregation said that women's presence at the altar demonstrates for him the "wholeness of the human family" and remarked that it was especially meaningful when his 8-months-pregnant pastor celebrated Communion on Christmas Eve. Not everyone waited until our century to recognize women's gift for ministry: Theodore Parker, a New England Transcendentalist, in his sermon, "On the Public Function of Women" in 1840, argued that: In the business of Theology, I could never see why a woman, if she wished, should not preach, as well as men. It would be hard, in the present condition of the pulpit, to say she had not intellect enough for that! I am glad to find, now and then, women preachers, and rejoice at their success. . . . If woman had been consulted, it seems to me Theology would have been in a vastly better state than it is now. I do not think that any woman would ever have preached the damnation of babies new-born; A celibate monk-with God's curse writ on his face, which knew no child, no wife, no sister, and blushed that he had a mother--might well dream of such a thing. . . The popular Theology leaves us nothing feminine in the character of God. How could it be otherwise, when so much of the popular Theology is the work of men who thought woman was a "pollution," and harried her out of all the high places of the church. However, there are those then and now, in just about every denomination, who will say that, yes, women have manifold gifts and talents--and maybe even intellects; but they should not be used in leadership positions. After all, Jesus was a man. . . . The same nurturing qualities that women bring to the ministry are also experienced as challenges in some circles. Some argue that they will be too busy raising babies, making macaroni and cheese, and attending PTA meetings that they might not be able to give the same dedication to the Church that a male minister can. Does it sound suspiciously like the business world? More than one female minister has noticed that the upper echelons of Church structure do seem too much like corporate America. (At a conference of female Episcopal clergy ordained more than twenty-five years ago, most agreed that they love being ministers but could honestly take-or-leave the institutional church.) To those who argue that females just can't meet the challenges of ordained ministry, the writer of a piece published in The Mennonite Reporter listed "ten reasons why Men should not be ordained." Here are a few: "Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as picking turnips or de-horning cattle. It would indeed be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work." "According to the Genesis account, men were created before women, presumably as a prototype. It is thus obvious that men represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation." "Men are overly prone to violence. They are responsible for the vast majority of crime in our country, especially violent crime. Thus they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership." "Jesus didn't ordain men. He didn't ordain any women either, but two wrongs don't make a right." "Men can still be involved in Church activities, without having to be ordained. They can still take up the offering, shovel the sidewalk, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. In other words, by confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church. Why should they feel left out? A number of Protestant denominations have long since determined that women ARE an asset in the pulpit and at the altar. Some began in the early twentieth century, Methodists in 1956, Presbyterians in the 1960's, Episcopalians, who have just elected a female Presiding Bishop, began ordaining women in 1976. However, recent statistics show that the percentage of women in the big pastorates is far less in most Protestant denominations, and that women with the same amount of experience are still paid less than male pastors. And there are challenges less institutional and more personal. Whether your commitment is to an ordained ministry or a lay ministry, your spouse, your family members may not understand, may not share your focus, may not even respect your decision. You may have to remind yourself that your true and most fundamental identity is as a child of God and a member of the priesthood of all believers. But I think God calls you whether it is to ordained or lay ministry or to lay ministry. I don't think you are going to be stopped by the church hierarchy or by those around you who don't understand. Remember that those women of the Bible who were women of the wilderness, prophets, and challengers to tyrants, didn't allow themselves to be defined as anything except God's daughters. - I think you will find God's perfect place for your unique gifts. And the opportunities are so wide. Sarah and Miriam and Jael didn't live in the global village. You do. You are needed in the faithful fight against violence against women, against the destruction of God's creation, against poverty and disease and hunger and injustice; against the poverty of the spirit and the diminishment of HOPE wherever it occurs. You belong with your Sisters and Brothers in Christ in those struggles to make real the reign of God. The Women's Ministries website of the Episcopal church says, "The troubled waters of our time call us to do the authentic work of the gospel . . .Work that is world changing, redefining our notions of success, meaning and belonging in the Church and world alike." The world for which we work is the one described by Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she reflected the vision in Hannah's prayer, which we read tonight, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." Luke 1:26-1:55 Back to Sermons page Back to AU UMC Home Copyright © 2007. Carolyn Seaton. No part of this text may be reproduced or otherwise disseminated without the express written consent of the author.

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