Finding God In Women

Finding God in Woman
A Reflection on the Gospel of John 14:7-14
Happy Mothers Day
On a weekend that we celebrate mothers, the gospel for the day is the story of Phillip asking Jesus “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” Jesus responded with “Who ever has seen me, has seen the Father”
What we have to remember as we hear these words is the historical place of woman in those days and in the societies of the various countries of the area even to this very day. Woman were considered possessions, first they were property of their father and often were bartered for land and other possessions. Then they became the property of their husband and were subject to his bidding.
On this Mother’s day, we need to re-examine a reality that took place with the coming of Jesus.
With the coming of Jesus, the role of woman was greatly expanded and Jesus gave them special consideration. Women were some of the first followers of Jesus. It was the woman who stood by at the foot of the cross. It was to woman that Jesus first appeared after the resurrection. The role that Mary Magdalene played in the formation of our faith is being greatly discussed lately with the publication of recent books. What is fiction and what is fact is not as important as what we do know. We know that she played an important role in the life of Jesus and is mentioned a number of times in the Gospels that are considered canon. There is even a Gnostic bible attributed to her. Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus, gave everything to her child, trusting and following him even to the foot of the cross. Jesus broke all traditions by talking with a Samaritan woman at the well. All these woman recognized the Father in Jesus and lived a new way of life. I will not go into a long history of the role of woman in the church in the early years but we do know that it was a lot more significant than we are led to believe and is recognized in “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea” (Romans 16:1) “Woman in this same role must be” (1 Timothy 3:11)
In light of the social changes that have taken place in the world since the time of Christ and the early church, we need to realize that THE FATHER can be found in everyone, male and female, if they live out the truth of Christ’s teaching. Scripture tell us that ALL are created in the image and likeness of God. What we know of woman today, that was not known in the time of Christ and for more than 1000 years, is that woman are stronger than men where it counts. (If men were to have to carry a child for nine months and then go through the pains of childbirth there would never be a problem of overpopulation. They might have one child and that would be it.) Women are more compassionate, nurturing and forgiving than most men. If more women had a greater role in the activities of the church, we might not have the problems we have been facing in recent years. There probably would not be a shortage of priests; the church would be more nurturing towards individuals seeking the love of God. Woman would be less likely to reject a child because of their sexual orientation. In short, on this Mother’s Day we need to celebrate ALL Women, Mothers, Grandmothers, mothers to be, woman who may never be mothers, All Woman. Without woman, there would be no men. Without THE Woman, Mary, Jesus would not have been.
On this weekend, let us try to give woman the credit they deserve, let us try to do something special for a woman in our life. Let us make this a day of celebration for all women for the contributions that they have played in forming not only the Judea/Christian and other Religious faiths but also History in general.
AMEN
Rev. Robert Francis Johnnene OFAMission Sts. Sergius and Bacchuswww.missionstsergius.orghttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mission_Sts_Sergius_and_Bacchushttp://spaces.msn.com/members/Mission-St-Sergiushttp://groups.msn.com/MissionSaintsSergiusandBacchus