When I was younger, it was my mother who taught my brothers and I to pray. Nuns made sure we got the words right, and my father made sure we prayed the rosary every Saturday night, but it was my mother who taught us to pray. Whether it was a vigil for a sick or (more often) injured child, or when she thought one of us needed forgiveness or to forgive each other, her actions spoke volumes. She didn't just send us off for the sacraments. She made sure we understood them – not just once, either. Any occasion could be a catechetical moment.
My mother wasn't unusual; my friends' mothers were the same. While the men went to work, the mothers were the pastoral leaders, even if they too worked. They instilled the values and education at home that the Franciscans instilled at school. So imagine my surprise the day I learned that the sacraments were really “seven for men, six for women.”
I had a hard time grasping this. Wasn't Mary mentioned far more often than Joseph? Mary was our Mother, whereas Joseph was merely the foster father of Jesus and barely worth mentioning apparently. So why is it that women were denied the opportunity to become pastoral leaders on a larger scale than just within their immediate homes?
Years later, I'm still asking that same question. It can't be due to claims that males are morally superior. The majority of clergy in all denominations is male, and their moral superiority withers with each accusation of sexual abuse. No denomination has been exempt from this ethical bankruptcy. People are leaving their faiths in droves because of these abuses as well as how their handled. Now is the time to return women to their rightful leadership roles.
Jesus Himself affirms this in Luke 11:33 when He says “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a bowl; instead it is put on the lampstand, so that people may see the light as they come in.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, our women are this light. Every one of you sitting here can name a woman who remains holy in spite of the troubles around her. For many of you, that woman is your mother, your aunt, your grandmother, your wife, your sister, or your neighbor. You know that she leads by example. You know that she has ministered to others in the way that Jesus taught us. You know that she has prayed fervently and selflessly over the years. Jesus has lit that lamp, and yet we hid these women under a bowl as we proclaim that only men may be leaders.
At this time of crisis in our churches especially, it is time to raise up these women and put them on our lampstands. It is time for us to let them be lights that guide us through these troubled times as God has called them, not hide them as jealous men would. Let their lights beckon and welcome all who are troubled, all who seek love and forgiveness and healing, all who seek our loving Creator. Let us say Amen to the light of Christ within them.
Sermon competition #2
20 Jun '07 21:39
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