Jesus and the Woman

John 4: 27

Jesus has just ended an exchange with the Samaritan woman where He confessed to her that He was Messiah, the Christ, then His disciples returned from buying food.  We are picking up the story in verse 27, “Just then his disciples came back.  They marveled that he was talking with a woman, (any woman) but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”  Living in 2011, and being a man, that verse may have gotten by me, but if you’re a woman, you may want to ponder on that verse.

In the Old Testament before Jesus showed up on planet earth in an earth-suit this was the status of a woman:  The woman was like the property of her father and if she was given in marriage to a husband, she became his property.  Her role as a Jewish wife was to produce descendants, and if she did not give male heirs, she was a failure.  She also had the role of keeping the house, preparing meals, fetching the water, and all household tasks, plus the education of the children.  Her choice of a husband was an agreement between parents, and 99% of the time without her consent.  In no way was she equal to her husband, and if she did not meet his expectations, he could send her back to her parents, and now she would live in shame.

In that the disciples of Jesus marveled that he was talking with a woman in public I began to explore Internet sites that had been written by a woman on this subject.  I found this paper written by Christine Schenk who is project coordinator of the Women in Church Leadership project and she is Catholic. “Jesus welcomed female disciples into his entourage to learn the ways of God, along with the male disciples. This was highly unusual since women normally didn't speak to men in public, much less travel around the countryside with them. Jesus' radical inclusion of women is also illustrated by the story of Martha and Mary. Mary assumes her place at Jesus' feet, the place traditionally taken by male rabbinical students.  Martha (as often happens even today among women when the rules of patriarchy are challenged) protests. But Jesus praises Mary's thirst to learn more about God: "It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her."(Luke 10:38-42)

 Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus challenge deep seated patriarchal assumptions: that only women bear the burden of sexual sin; that Samaritan and Canaanite women are to be shunned and discounted; and that prodigal sons are to be disowned. Instead, men are challenged to own their complicity in adultery; the Samaritan woman becomes a missionary bringing her whole town to belief in Jesus; the Canaanite woman's fierce love for her daughter succeeds in broadening Jesus’ own horizons as to whom the Good News is sent; and the wayward son is welcomed home with a huge party thrown by a prodigal father.”

If you are a women living in 2012, Jesus Christ has done more to change your status in this life than any other person in history!  Yet it seems as if many women have once more allowed themselves to be put back under the thumb of a society that puts your value on looks, performance, education, not on being of great value because you are made in the image of God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice