The Lopsided Church

" Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying Him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their [own] resources." -- [Luke 8: 1-3].

Just a few weeks ago now, Pope Francis stirred up a storm of hope, when he was asked about the prospect of women becoming deacons in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis agreed to establish a commission to study the role of women in the Church.

It has always been argued that Catholic priests/deacons can be only male, because the original Apostles were only male. I used to think that that meant there was absolutely no evidence in the Bible of any role for women -- except for Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus. And maybe, Mary Magdalene, except her reputation was reflexively sullied by the near constant mention of her having been a prostitute.

I grew up believing that there was essentially no central role for women in a Christian church. How could I believe otherwise?

Church women are merely the "helpers" :

In my parish today, the Rectory office is staffed entirely by women.
The Director of Religious Education is a woman. The Assistant to the Director of Religious Education is a woman.
By far the majority of the Catechist teachers are women.
Many, if not most, of the Eucharistic Ministers, are women.
The Parish Council is largely made up of female members.
The Pastoral Minister is a woman.
Spiritual Direction is offered by the Pastoral Minister, a woman.
The Liturgy Committee is headed by a woman.
The Church Choir is mostly women.
Until last week, even our Cantor was a woman.

Even most of the churchgoers are women. A recent article in the Knights of Columbus magazine "Columbia" asked, almost plaintively, 'Where are the men on Sunday?'

AND YET, everyone at the priest/deacon level is male; and, everyone above that level is male, as well.

This makes for a very lopsided church. . .

I discovered Luke 8, only a year or so ago. Finally, I learned that women DID have a significant role in the early Church. Women were followers of Jesus in a significant way-- they traveled with Him and the Apostles. They "provided for them out of their resources." --[USCCB version].   "These women were helping to support them out of their own means." --[NIV, Application Study Bible]. Given that, at Biblical times, women were not independent financial creatures, their contribution probably "cost"them a lot more dearly than it did even the male disciples who dropped their fishing nets to follow Jesus.

Much has been made of Mary Magdalene, the "First Apostle", who was the first -- male or female-- to have run out of Jesus' tomb to declare Him Risen. Only a few days ago, the Vatican announced that St. Mary Magdalene's commemorated Day had been upgraded from a memorial to a Feast.

Elevating St. Mary Magdalene's day to a Feast gets her a sung Gloria and prayers dedicated especially to her.

Well. It is a start.

I wish we could seriously contemplate the kind of message the Church is sending to its little girls and young women about their Faith. We are being encouraged to do a lot of --(most of ??) -- the work of the Church, but we get no office in the diocese.

As a woman, sometimes I feel like all I am wanted for is my work, not my Faith. I feel like my Faith is somehow considered not as valuable, not as complete, nor as significant to the life of my parish.

I cannot believe that our reduced role is due to our greater sin. St. Paul was the greatest persecutor of his time, yet he became an Apostle. Matthew was a tax collector.

The women described in Luke 8 were not wholly pure, either. Mary Magdalene is described as someone "from whom seven demons had gone out."  Joanna was previously allied with Herod.

Nor is our lesser role due to our lesser Faith. In Luke 7: 36-50, a woman who "had lived a life of sin in the town", wets Jesus' feet with her tears, and dries them with her hair. Despite the Pharisees' revulsion before her presence at the supper, Jesus tells the woman, "Your Faith has saved you."

I can only think that we need to take much more seriously the Scripture from Paul, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." --[Galatians 3: 26-29].

The question is: Do we merely recite this? Or, do we live it?

Consider what would happen in YOUR church, if just for one day, the women stayed home?  I honestly wonder if there would BE a church?

[Related Postings: "Women In Faith", 8/18/14;  "The Banquet", 10/12/14.]

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