20220916 THE PLACE OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
16 September, 2022, Friday, 24th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 © |
If Christ has not been raised, your belief is useless
Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses who have committed perjury before God, because we swore in evidence before God that he had raised Christ to life. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.
But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 16(17):1,6-8,15 © |
I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
Lord, hear a cause that is just,
pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer:
no deceit is on my lips.
I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God.
Turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Display your great love, you whose right hand saves
your friends from those who rebel against them.
I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
Guard me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings
As for me, in my justice I shall see your face
and be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory.
I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 8:1-3 © |
The women who accompanied Jesus
Jesus made his way through towns and villages preaching, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others who provided for them out of their own resources.
THE PLACE OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 15:12-20; LUKE 8:1-3]
The coming of Christ had brought about a revolutionary way of looking at God, law, rituals, sinners and the poor differently. Many of us might not appreciate the cultural revolution that Christ brought about with His message of freedom and respect for all. In the first place, He changed the way the Sabbath was practised and understood. This was one of the most upsetting changes that caused the religious authorities to oppose His ministry. The second cultural and religious change Jesus made was the way He regarded sinners and even the Gentiles. He welcomed them and even ate and drank with sinners, prostitutes and tax-collectors. In their days, such people were to be avoided lest by contact, one would become ritually unclean. The third impact was the way He regarded the traditions of the Jews. Whilst not rejecting them, they were considered by our Lord to be secondary and certainly must not be followed slavishly but only as a means to grow in one’s interior life with God and love for fellowmen.
Today, Jesus introduced another revolutionary cultural shift in the way He regarded women. Just earlier on, He accepted the repentance of the woman who was known to be a notorious sinner. He accepted her sorrows, tears, kisses and ointment to the dismay of Simon the Pharisee who invited our Lord to his house for a meal. Today, the gospel recounts how some women accompanied Jesus and the Twelve in His ministry proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. “With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others who provided for them out of their own resources.”
What is significant is that the gospel that Jesus preached reached out to all people of different social status. The mention of Mary Magdalene who had seven demons cast out from her and Joanna who was the wife of Herod’s steward, Chuza, meant that the gospel had attracted all sorts of people regardless of their social standing in society. Indeed, it was wonderful to see that although they were all from different social classes, they could work and collaborate together to support Jesus. They did not give Him trouble by fighting among themselves. But for the love of Jesus, they were willing to collaborate in unity simply because they recognized that they were all recipients of Jesus’ love and mercy. As such, no one was better than the other. But they all contributed from their resources to the Lord’s needs. As beneficiaries of grace, they become supporters of our Lord.
Truly, this has always been the case. Even the Twelve apostles were very diverse. They had different backgrounds and social standing, different temperaments, and political affinity. Yet, they were all called by the Lord to work together as a team, headed by an uncouth and impetuous fisherman! But they left everything, whether it was their nets or profitable tax business to follow our Lord. Whenever the Lord touches us, we will do the same as well. Whenever we have been loved, we will follow. For His sake, and in union with Him, we will give up our ambition and self-interests for the greater good of the mission.
Indeed, faith in Jesus and the resurrection should transform our life and thinking. This is what the second reading is inviting us to do. For St Paul, the resurrection, which is the centre of our Christian Faith, must change the way we look at life. Faith in the resurrection should impact our life here because of the hereafter. With the resurrection, Christ showed that love is greater than hatred, truth triumphs over falsehood, good over evil and life over death. With the resurrection, there is nothing that we cannot do or hope for. This is what faith in the resurrection requires of us.
This is how we too must review the place of women in our Church today. In the history of the Church, the role of women working side by side with men has always been the practice. Indeed, the first witnesses to the Resurrection were women. Mary of Magdala was called by St Thomas, an apostle to the apostles. He said of Mary Magdalene, “Just as a woman had announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life”. They were the ones who gathered with Mary and the apostles at prayer in the Upper Room whilst waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Since then we have had women religious and women leaders in organizations to lead the Church. This is why the Church has always sought to defend the dignity of women and their vocation. The Church especially honours those women who bravely witness to the faith by their fidelity to the Lord, bringing up their children in the faith, strengthening the family unity and yet are leaders in their community, society and in the world.
This is the basis for a greater call for more women to be involved in the ministry of the Church. If Jesus had accepted the support of the women in His ministry, there is no reason today to deny the place of women in our Church. We must reckon the importance of women in the work of salvation right from the start, involving Elizabeth, Mary, Anna the prophetess, Martha and Mary, etc. Against the prejudices towards women in those days, Luke underscored how our Lord treated them with respect and admitted them into sharing His ministry of proclaiming the Good News. Indeed, later on, St Paul made it clear that there is no distinction between Jew or Greek, slave or free, no longer male and female for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (cf Gal 3:28) We are all co-heirs in grace.
The Church must reconsider a greater role for women in the Church. Of course, it must also be clear that men and women have distinct roles in life as well. The unity of men and women in leadership must not cancel out their diversity. Every one of us, man or woman, is unique and equal in the eyes of God. Yet not all are called to serve humanity in the same way. A man can never give birth or become a mother. The role of a father is distinct from that of a mother. Men and women are created differently to complement each other. It is the blurring of roles that has caused much confusion and disunity rather than unity. Certain irreplaceable roles of women and men flow from their sexual identity.
What is equally edifying is that although the women during the time of Jesus were unable to take an active and public role in the mission or preach the gospel, they found other ways to serve the Lord. One must never think that we should only serve in positions of honour to feel that we have served the Lord. Regardless of which position, there is no service to the Lord that is redundant. In truth the greatest servants are those who serve in the background, unknown and yet their services are so critical to the mission or the event. Such people know themselves and although never taking the limelight, are contented to know that they have contributed their part in the success of an event. It is all for the glory of God and not about themselves. What is important is, who can serve the Lord and give Him glory.
Having said this, it would certainly not be in the interest of the Church today to continue denying women leadership positions in the Church. Today, the role of women has changed much. They are in the same workforce as men. Today women are equally educated and as accomplished as men in many areas of life, whether in education, business, politics and even in Church. It would be a loss to the Church today if we continue to exclude women from contributing in the area of leadership and decision-making. They cannot be relegated just to doing the mundane and routine tasks of the ministry. Today, we need more women theologians and teachers to deepen the place of women in society, and to give a feminine approach to some of the theological and doctrinal issues. Significantly, the hierarchy is opening up the way for women to assume Church leadership, even if theologically and doctrinally, they are not able to share in the ordained ministry. But I think there is more to be done and the clergy must find a place for women to support them in their ministry. Women are not a threat but a boon to the hierarchy and the Church.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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