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Jesus and The Role of Women Was there a woman in the First College of Cardinals? Some may say yes, and some may say no, but the answer isn t the most important thing. What s most important, is the example Jesus set for us two thousand years ago regarding women. Jesus lived his life, and taught both overtly and subversively, that all people were equal. He taught that God loves everyone inclusively, and that all people, men and women, young and old, married or single, or widowed, were deserving of the same human rights, respects, and freedoms, both on earth and in heaven. However, many of these teachings, have become misconstrued or lost in the patriarchal structure of the church.
The book, In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon, recently sparked a movement in the Christian community asking the question, What would Jesus do? Maybe, this question should be given some serious thought in the way we interact with each other in the world today. It seems to me, Jesus had no difficulty in giving women the same positions of respect, responsibility, or prominence as men. Jesus taught total love, respect, and equality. Consequently, I believe that in the modern day church, women should have all of the same opportunities given to men. The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus, with the belief that all of us are brothers and sisters, and are equal in every aspect, unlike in George Orwell s Animal Farm, where some people are depicted more equal than others are.
The basis for our entire faith, is that Jesus, our Savior, died for us, and rose again from the dead, for the forgiveness of our sins. Over 600 million Catholics and over a billion Christians worldwide, believe in this truth, and are followers of Jesus. The very first disciple that Jesus dispatched to tell the others was Mary of Magdala. The awesome responsibility of spreading the Good News, which has had the greatest impact the world has ever seen, was given to this woman, when Jesus said, Go to my brothers and tell Joseph Finn Page 2 them I am going to my father and your father, to my God and your God (John 20: 17). This factor alone proves to us that Jesus outlook on women at the time, was not that of the norm. If Jesus had the confidence enough in Mary to bring the news of his resurrection to the world, then why, two thousand years later, aren t women up to the task of being disciples?
It is odd to witness how the role of women has changed so much since Jesus time. In modern times, women have fought to change their role of merely mother and keeper of the house to become aggressively active participants in our civic and economic societies. But along with these great gains, they ve lost a great degree of the reverence and respect that they once had. The way Jesus treated women, was somewhat of a challenge to the fundamentalist position of the times.
While Jesus never diminished the importance or the reverence of her responsibilities towards home and family, he did take the position that spreading the word of God took priority. Even though certain rules of the Catholic Church have changed over the years, women s role has not been effected in a positive way. As a matter of fact, it has taken more of a negative turn rather than positive. Jesus lived paradoxically between recognizing and adhering to the traditional roles of women in families, and the teaching that discipleship and teaching about the kingdom of heaven took precedence over patriarchal structures and roles. This teaching of Jesus gave the women of the time the opportunity for spiritual leadership. While Jesus recognized the importance of sexuality in the secular world, he gave it no recognition in the terms of spirituality, both men and women are totally equal in the quest to enter the kingdom of heaven.
They are also equally responsible in spreading the word of God. If Jesus felt that women were capable enough, and responsible enough back then, maybe the hierarchy of the church should think about the words of Charles Sheldon, What would Jesus doIt seems as if the women have taken a step backwards instead of forward. In the times of Jesus, and before, women took on the roles of being leaders, queens, as well as prophecies. In that case, if God saw fit to use them to teach his word at that time, then why should they be used any different now? The fact that women are not used as priests, popes, or bishops today, in my eyes, does not coincide with the way Jesus had wanted things to be. Some traditionalists try to justify today s hierarchy being men by saying Joseph Finn Page 3 that it is this way because Jesus had chosen twelve men to be his apostles, and not twelve women.
However, going by this theory, then why didn t Jesus give the word to Peter instead of Mary at the time of his resurrection? In my eyes, that action by Jesus was part of the word or message, but, as Jesus always did, it was being done metaphorically. He didn t directly come out and say it, but it should be interpreted by the way he went about passing it on. In this case, women should be able to take on the same roles as men able to today.
Whether it is priest, pope, bishop, cardinal, or deacon, there is no reason why women are not capable of taking on these roles. When some people enter into simple conversation, or small talk, about the topic of women s roles in the church, the views and opinions vary greatly. I have even heard women say that they don t feel they should become priests, bishops, etc. When asked why, they simply say because these roles are supposed to depict the closest thing to Jesus on earth, and they feel that Jesus was a man. However, in my eyes, who knows what Jesus was? It is quite obvious that he was a man, however, no one really knows for sure exactly what or who Jesus was.
Due to the little evidence of the Historical Jesus, what he did and said during his earthly life, many things that are believed and said of Jesus, are words that were passed down. Who knows exactly what color he was, or other thoughts like that? That is why the church today, in my eyes, is not necessarily the way Jesus would have wanted it to be. In conclusion, the book In His Steps seems to have opened my eyes to something that I really never would have thought of.
What would Jesus do? What reason would he have to keep women out of certain roles of the church? I feel that some major changes should be made in the today s church in that women are allowed to secure any role, as they did in the times of Jesus. After all, isn t Christianity modeled after Jesus teachings? In that regard, women are not being included as was implied by Jesus words, and certainly not as noted in his actions. 33 e
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