Am I a feminist? Perhaps!

A Reflection on The Blessed Virgin Mary

“Mary” by Tim Okamura

See what you think of this...some of you may find it a bit graphic...

"Sometimes I Wonder"  by Kaitlin Hardy Shetler

Sometimes I wonder

if Mary breastfed Jesus.

if she cried out when he bit her

or if she sobbed when he would not latch.

and sometimes I wonder

if this is all too vulgar

to ask in a church

full of men

without milk stains on their shirts

or coconut oil on their breasts

preaching from pulpits off limits to the Mother of God.

but then I think of feeding Jesus,

birthing Jesus,

the expulsion of blood

and smell of sweat,

the salt of a mother’s tears

onto the soft head of the Salt of the Earth,

feeling lonely

and tired

hungry

annoyed

overwhelmed

loving

and i think,

if the vulgarity of birth is not

honestly preached

by men who carry power but not burden,

who carry privilege but not labor,

who carry authority but not submission,

then it should not be preached at all.

because the real scandal of the Birth of God

lies in the cracked nipples of a

14 year old

and not in the sermons of ministers

who say women

are too delicate

to lead.

I have been told I am a feminist...if I am, I’m sure I’m not a very good one. There are those who say men cannot be feminists anyway, and maybe it is so. We’ll set that aside...

What I do know is that women’s role in the church has been undervalued, under-represented, side-lined and even suppressed for two thousand years. 

Times are changing, but only just. The CofE has ordained women as priests for 25 years, but there are still many, mainly traditionalist men, despite seeing the huge ministry offered by women, quite frankly the salvation of the CofE in these decades, who still militantly oppose women priests and bishops. 

Only this week on the appointment of a very eminently qualified Bishop of Chelmsford, Guli Francis-Dehqania, black multinational woman, I saw a post addressed to the ABC that said, “Dear Fr,” that form of address speaks volumes, “Dear Fr ...I think she is an extraordinary woman however I must ask you when will the day come when the CofE takes seriously in earnest its commitment to the five guiding principles and appoints without hesitation traditionalist Anglicans to diocesan roles in that spirit of respect and risky love we hear so much about?”

I think the last sentence is confusing – traditionalists never seem to risk anything. It’s possibly an ironic comment – an attempt at humour to disguise the venom in the attack. The simple underlying message is, “Yes she’s well qualified, but not to be a priest, let alone a bishop”. Perhaps the male traditionalist Anglicans feel threatened by such an exciting appointment. I don’t. 

What saddens me is that the very branch of the church, the Anglican Church, that reveres Saint Mary so much, is the very wing that opposes women in powerful ministerial positions, often, as I am told, Mrs Thatcher said of some of her female political colleagues, suggesting they are “too emotional to carry responsible roles and should stick to making the tea”.

The Blessed Virgin Mary was an extraordinary woman, rather a girl!  Of course, to answer the question in the poem, she breastfed Jesus...before that she went through an unplanned pregnancy, in times when prenatal care was not quite as it is today. Pregnancy was a hugely dangerous condition. To cap that, she rode on a donkey while heavily pregnant. I can’t imagine that – I guess few of you, even the women can’t imagine that!  And then a lonely birth in unsanitary conditions, with no anaesthetic or medical care. She was hard and tough...not the quaint, tranquil, clean Mary depicted, mainly by men, in numerous paintings over the centuries. 

She effectively founded the Christian Church – the first person to recognise Jesus as the Messiah – and respond to his call. She carried a huge responsibility with humility, inner peace and dignity, just look at the Magnificat. What a contrast to many of our male political leaders! Inarticulate babbling buffoons. 

There is not a single more important person in the history of humanity than Mary, except Jesus himself!

We should celebrate Mary’s incredible role in bringing our Saviour into the world – so isn’t it extraordinary that women are still, across the world, but even in this country, in relatively few positions of authority in the church, commerce and politics, because men, rash generalisation I know, but men generally have always considered themselves to be superior. 

My prayer for today is that women, the right women, in all countries are entrusted with the responsibility they deserve. I believe the world will be a better place, because there are so many women like Mary – tough, hardened, able to take huge responsibilities, yet with a beauty and a treasured inner peace that I feel Mary must have had to bear what she  had to. 

I pray, with The Blessed Virgin Mary, for women everywhere. I praise God for the contribution they make to the well-being of humanity and I pray that their potential is unleashed to make this world a better place. 

I commend this to your prayers too.

And as a bit of humour, though with some interesting serious feminist theological thinking behind it...

Just tell me the truth!

In our present secular society, there is an on-going debate about real news, fake-news and the value of people’s opinions on many topics. There are many people who are crying out for the truth to be told in all situations. So, we must ask the age-old question from the times of Plato, what is truth?

It is all part of the familiar science and religion debate.

I suppose it can be reasonable to think that truth must be factually demonstrable and proven. But consider this simple picture, a roundabout. 

We all know which way to drive round a roundabout. In the UK one turns left to go around. A worm looking up at the roundabout would say, correctly, that the traffic is going anti-clockwise. However, a bird looking down on the same traffic would say, also correctly, it is going clockwise. They are both telling the truth and are factually correct. Then again, if you are not in the UK but in a country where they drive on the right, exactly the opposite is correct. So, the truth depends not only on your viewpoint, but also on your culture.

Another example is measuring a straight line drawn on paper. You would have thought that the line has a very precise length. Then one must consider the danger of parallax error. Looking at a rule, which has a finite thickness from slightly different angle will mean that the viewers all read different lengths. 

One can only state that the middle one in the accompanying image is the most accurate, not that they are actually right. Then again, particularly if your rule is metal it will expand and contract with temperature changes at a much greater rate than the line on the paper. So, how long is the line? What is the true factual length? The truth depends on your viewpoint again and on the conditions and the environment in which you currently find yourself.

Some ascertain that only science will reveal the truth about the universe and that faith is conjured up from spurious fables. As far as religion is concerned, Jesus is not alone in claiming to be “The Truth”; adherents to many faiths claim to have found enlightenment and truth.

Science is based on theories proved by observable, objective and replicable evidence published in papers. Faith relies on evidence based on immersive, subjective, personal experience and millennia of testimonies. But both have a good track record of intelligent, academic, discriminating followers.

I feel we must be very careful if we are casually dismissive of statements from science, any religion or any person’s viewpoints. We must surely not dismiss anyone’s opinion of the truth about life, its origins and meaning, whether based on scientific theory or religious faith. While no one wants to be misled by fake-news or deliberate falsehoods, and we should be discerning of the obvious scam or satirical publication, a tolerant and inclusive view of scientific facts and personal religious experience must surely be the path to human wholeness. It is neither one nor the other which holds all the answers to our present predicament.

Einstein said, "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”. In my view, only the two together can lead us to an understanding of the real truth about life.

The Big "C"

I’ve heard it said a remarkable number of times even in the last few days that you don’t have to go to church to be Christian; that to be “spiritual” is not to be “religious” or aligned with a religion. People tell me they believe in God and explain that they have some notion of a higher power, but they don’t feel the need to worship. I’m told by them that they pray, especially when times get tough and maybe sometimes to thank God, but not often. There is a general belief in an afterlife (I always ask this in funeral meetings to know where I stand), though the pressing materialism of this temporal world gets in the way of thinking too much about it. While I know what is being said in all these cases, I cannot agree with it anymore. Faith is personal, yes, but faith in a gracious, unconditionally loving God requires a big response, not a mediocre take-it-or-leave it attitude. It demands a commitment. Now I’ve said it, the big “C”, commitment, so lacking in the disposable, easy-come easy-go world today.

The question is what is that commitment? Initially coming to faith or growing further in faith is an individual choice, but it is not a path one can walk alone. Rarely do people realise their faith without the guidance of another person or other people empowered by the Holy Spirit. Nurturing and fostering the sparks of faith is much easier if one enjoys regular fellowship, prayer and Bible reading with other believers – not necessarily more mature Christians, as we all know “out of the mouths of babes…” Isolated the tiny embers can so easily grow cold, unless they are drawn together and fanned into life. This is the big “C”, commitment to each other, a promise to love and support each other in faith.

Moreover, we all have our God-given skills, gifts and talents, but none of us is really an expert of all, nor can we or should we do all. We need each other like a body has many parts, which work to make up the whole organism. Christians together form the complete Body of Christ here on earth now. We are his eyes, hands and his feet, every cell of his body. Of course, this image is not original. St Paul wrote eloquently in 1 Corinthians 12 about it. Being part of a body requires us all to pull our weight; we need each other and God needs all of us.

For us today I feel we need especially to share in the Body of Christ in Communion for two good reasons. Firstly, as a Eucharist or Thanksgiving in response to all he gives us, not the least his gracious love shown in Jesus’ sacrifice remembered in the service, but also in sheer awe at this wonderful creation (ah, yes, I crave silence in worship). Secondly, because by receiving the consecrated bread we sacramentally become the Body of Christ full of his Holy Spirit, empowered to live and work to his glory, genuinely inspired. All this requires the big “C”, commitment to worship – regular, weekly worship focussing on Holy Communion with other Christians as part of the church, the Body of Christ. Corporate religion is the only way by definition; it is Christ incarnate in the world.

Accepting that mainstream religious organisations have not always got it right (and for that we must repent), without them our spiritual platitudes about belief in God and saying our occasional prayers are hollow. You cannot be a Christian and not go to church as often as you can. 

Wellbeing

I preached this morning on the Israelites' need for physical water in the wilderness contrasted with their spiritual need to trust God, alongside the story of the Samaritan woman’s conversation with Jesus as she drew physical water at the well, during which she received what she really needed, the spiritual Water of Life.

Suddenly, as I spoke, I was struck by the wonderful double meaning of the word “wellbeing”. It may be obvious to some, but I had not seen it before, that “well-being” is “being by the well”, drawing the Water of Life from Jesus.

Many people feel that to have wellbeing all you need is a healthy diet and exercise regime; this is only part of the picture. We all have an innate, inner craving for nourishment for our souls. Yes, we need physical sustenance, food and water, daily, but humans also need spiritual sustenance daily. The only way to get the latter is by being constantly by the well, drawing that spiritual water through prayer and Bible reading.

In the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, his beautiful, gentle evangelism was exemplary – not pushy, not preachy, not judgmental or critical of her life, taking time to get to know her, responding to her questions and addressing her deeper needs. We can learn from this.

It is a balance of both physical and spiritual that society needs. Holistic wellbeing requires food and water for body and soul; you cannot neglect either. Of course, if people do not have access to the former it is our duty as Christians to do our best to ensure they get their physical needs first and work towards a fairer British society and wider world. But being honest in the UK most people have access to the former and many disregard the latter. There is a great thirst in our communities which only Jesus can fill.

If we always camp by the well, we will be filled and refreshed with the Water of Life.

Wellbeing is being by the well.