1 Corinthians 11:2-16 and 14:33b-35
Rev. Jeffrey L. Phillips, pastor
November 1, 2009
What are we to make of these words?
“the husband is head of his wife”
“women should veil their heads in worship”
“woman was created for the sake of the man”
“the man is the image and reflection of God”
“women should be silent in the churches”
Peter Gomes – “the burden of the text”
Pay attention to the “hard texts” – there are plenty of those in the Bible!
W.C. Fields on his deathbed as the doctor walks in
How do we come to terms with the hard texts and our life as Christians today?
By dealing with them!
Another option: avoid the texts!
The Lectionary
Not coming to Bible Studies
Yes, the Bible is complicated, sometimes contradicting our understanding of God and the world.
But it is also our best text for understanding God.
We (and Jews and Muslims) are “people of the book.”
We cannot run away from our responsibility to interpret scripture “for each generation” (UCC).
“We take the Bible seriously, but not literally.”
Today’s issue is important: the place of women in marriage, home, and church is still at stake.
Today’s hard texts – 3 commentators deal with them in constructive (and somewhat overlapping) ways
John Bristow, What Paul Really Said About Women
Translations are wrong. E.g. “silent in churches” simply means that Paul wanted women to not talk during the services.
Instead, what Paul really thought about women is found in Gal. 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (NRSV)
Paul Sampley, The New Interpreter’s Bible
Paul is himself torn, wanting women to wear head coverings, but realizing half-way through that his arguments could be used to decide the issue either way. “Judge for yourself.”
[Even the ancient church fathers do not unanimously support the traditional and conservative (anti-woman) interpretations of Paul, but include a lot of “on the one hand, this, and on the other hand, this.”]
“Women must be silent in the church” doesn’t even come from Paul.
Peter Gomes, The Good Book
Whatever Paul says about women in 1 Cor. 11 and 14 must be seen within his clear belief in the equality of the sexes in Christ (1 Cor. 7 and Gal. 3:28) and his comments elsewhere about his female colleagues in ministry:
Whatever Paul says about women in 1 Cor. must also be viewed in light of what we know about women’s role in home, church, and society today.
It is never sufficient to look at a text and say (as Steven did), “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.”
Why? Because there’s always the “interpretive dance” of text, author, original audience and context, and today.
Continue the conversation! Keep struggling with the text!
That’s what Jesus did with the Pharisees and scribes. We should, too, separating biblical practices from biblical principles.
We love the Bible too much to just hand it over to those who would use it to hate and exclude people.
My own take
Scripture is “words within the Word” as Marty Haugen’s hymn “All Are Welcome” says.
The most reliable revelation of God is Jesus Christ, God’s Word (with a capital W). The words (small w) of the Bible must always be interpreted in light of Jesus, and from what we know about Jesus and his attitude toward women and his ministry to and with them, is that, as Paul says (Gal. 3:28), there is truly no male or female in Christ Jesus, for all are one in him.
Communion – Christ’s banquet where all are welcome, and sex and gender truly do not matter. This table is what God’s Kingdom looks like.
Conclusion - Hymn
Living Word of God eternal, laying claim to every age,
Jesus, speak through all our speaking, bring to life the Bible’s page.
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