It’s so freakin’ scandalous.
Sitting in a pew is against the nature of most pastors, but an excellent exercise. Today it provided more time to consider Mary’s act of devotion, lavish generosity and wiping his feet with her hair. Perhaps Judas’ real frustration was the erotic overtones of the moment. Feet. Hair. It’s just so, not-religious. Inappropriate. So… feminine. It bothers me. And then Jesus does something similar in the next chapter, when he washes the disciples’ feet. It bothered them too. It went against the rules of status and power. He upended the social order.
It sure is fascinating how men drummed any iota of sexuality and femininity out of the gospel, and out of the church in the ensuing years. Sexuality was made to be a bad, dirty, evil thing, thanks to Gnostic metaphysical dualism, which saw anything fleshy as bad in its relentless search for an aloof spirituality devoid of anything material and messy. And human? Eventually we’re done with women apostles like Junia (Romans 16:7), women pastors, and – given a few more centuries – even married priests.
St. John Chrysostom (347-407) writes: “The women of those days were more spirited than lions, sharing with the apostles their labors for the Gospel’s sake. In this way they went traveling with them and also performed all other ministries.”
Further study of the 26 church leaders Paul greets in Romans 16 reveals that 2/3 of them were slaves. Slaves used nicknames. Free Roman citizens never used them. Names like the female names Tryphosa (“delicate”) and Tryphaena (“dainty”) are dead giveaways. Scholars have no trouble parsing this.
9 (35%) are women. 17 are men. Quotas anyone? (Just kidding.) Most are Jewish. (Witherington thinks all.)
Five house churches are mentioned:
1. Priscilla and Aquila (16:5)
2. Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, and Hermas (16:14)
3. Philologus, Julia, Olympas, and Nereus and his sister (16:15)
4. The Christians in the house of Aristobulus (16:10)
5. The Christians in Narcissus’ household (16:11)
And, the pairing of the names suggests several husband-wife ministry teams: Priscilla and Aquila, whom Paul knew from Corinth (Acts 18, 1 Cor. 16), Andronicus and Junia, Paul’s inlaws or cousins or something (Rom. 16:7) and so on.
One wonders what would have happened in post-Constantinian, early Medieval Christendom if women, sexuality, femininity hadn’t been pummeled out. Would women have supported crusades and inquisitions? Perhaps. Sin is sin. But it’s kind of hard to imagine. Consider King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth.
This story has so many subtle undertones.
Enough, more than enough thoughts for one day. Enjoy your Sabbath.
Michael Rinehart, bishop
Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod
12941 I-45 North Freeway, Suite #210
Houston, Texas 77060-1243
(281) 873-5665
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