Women’s Sunday
First Reading: Acts 16:16-24
16 One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a female slave who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men, these Jews, are disturbing our city 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to adopt or observe.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Meditation: The Slave Girl with a Divining Spirit
Paul and Silas have recently arrived in Macedonia. For the first time, the gospel is being carried into Europe. They have already converted Lydia and her household. Now they stroll around the city and preach the gospel and try to win new converts. Along comes this slave-girl who has a divining spirit and announces them loudly (and correctly) as slaves of the Most High God who proclaim a way to salvation. Paul gets so annoyed with her that he casts the divining spirit out of her so she would be quiet and leave them alone.
Usually, we look at this story from the perspective of Paul and Silas. We think it’s kind of funny that they are getting annoyed. And we marvel at Paul being able to cast out the spirit.
But today is Women’s Sunday. Today, I would like to look at the story from the slave girl’s perspective.
Did you notice that we never learn her name? We only know her by her gender, age, and status: She is a girl, the Greek word indicates she is 8-10 years old, and she is a slave. That is what defines her.
The only thing that makes her special is her gift. She has a divining spirit. She is able to tell people’s future. That gift is being used as a source of income by her owners.
To Paul and Silas, raised with the teachings of the Old Testament, such fortune telling was forbidden. However, for the culture where they happen to be right now, this was common. In fact, the famous oracle of Delphi attracted people from all over who desired to hear about their fortunes, and who would pay to hear said fortunes. The girl has a spirit related to that oracle of Delphi.
Now she is using that gift to proclaim to everyone that Silas and Paul are servants of God who preach a way to salvation. Which is absolutely true. Why is Paul getting so annoyed? Is he unwilling to share the spotlight? Doesn’t he understand the cultural context?
Whatever drives him, he casts the spirit out. Now what? Now the slave girl is just a slave girl, with no special gift. This won’t make her life any easier. The Bible doesn’t say, but I am hoping that she was welcomed by the new and growing congregation of Jesus followers in the city.
One thing this story can teach us it to be more sensitive to other cultures, more careful about stepping in and “fixing” situations we don’t fully understand.
Another thing is to listen more carefully to people. This slave girl was following the men for days. She obviously was intrigued by them and their message. Maybe Paul and Silas could have taken the time to answer her questions and draw her into the fellowship of believers.
One more thing is the fact that the girl is a slave, and she calls Paul a slave, which is a term he himself uses often to describe his relationship with Christ. They are both slaves. Maybe the girl thought they had something in common. Yet Paul sees only what makes her different: her age, her gender, her paganism, and her divining spirit. If he had focused more on what they had in common, their encounter might have turned out very differently.
May God help us to see other people as they are, see whatever they bring to table as gifts, and be open to sharing the gospel with them joyfully and lovingly.
Second Reading: John 8:1-11
1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and, making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
Meditation: the Woman Caught in Adultery
One thing that has always bugged me about this story – and I am not the first to point this out by a long shot – is the question as to where the man was. The woman was allegedly “caught in the very act of committing adultery”. It takes two people to commit adultery. Where was the guy? Why did the accusing men focus on the woman only?
After all, these were scribes and Pharisees who brought the woman to Jesus. They knew the law inside and out. And the law states clearly that both parties engaged in adultery should be punished by death. Yet, they let the man go and drag the woman into the temple, during the Sukkoth holiday when it is crowded with people.
Also, how do you imagine the scribes and Pharisees caught the woman in the very act of adultery? Sounds like they were sticking their nose into other people’s bedrooms. Don’t you love neighbors like that? Who watch everything you do and are quick to judge whatever they don’t agree with? Or worse, who love to call the authorities for any imagined slight or trespass? And yet, they claim they are doing it all in order to keep the neighborhood “safe” and “clean” and “God-fearing”.
That’s the spirit I imagine behind the scribes’ and Pharisees’ desire to get the woman stoned. They want to publicly shame the woman who has crossed a line they don’t want crossed. It reminds me of images from the Second World War, of naked German ladies paraded through the street because they supposedly fraternized with a Jew, of French ladies who supposedly fraternized with German soldiers. People want others, especially women, to behave certain ways. If they don’t, they will be shamed or punished. That’ll make other women behave.
How does Jesus react?
He points out the mobs’ hypocrisy. These men are all gung-ho about this terrible woman and her terrible sin, but completely ignore the fact that they, too, are sinners. We all are. The Bible is pretty clear about that. There’s a reason we begin most worship services with words of confession.
All people sin. The woman in the story is no exception. Jesus does not condone or excuse what she has done. He urges her not to commit adultery again. Jesus does want to change her life.
Both Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees want people to stop sinning and to live a life closer to God’s guidelines. The leaders attempt achieving such obedience through law and punishment, threats and shaming. Jesus desires to bring about the change through compassion and mercy.
On this Women’s Sunday, imagine the scene from the perspective of the woman. She is dragged out of bed by an angry and self-righteous crowd, dragged into the temple, and placed before the Rabbi Jesus. Who knows how many clothes she wore; if you google images for this story, the woman is usually half-naked. There she stands, exposed, shamed, terrified.
She expects the first stones to come flying when Jesus dares to speak up for her. Thanks to his courage, confronting the angry crowd with their own sinfulness, she survives the day.
If you were that woman, where would you look for guidance in the future? To the scribes and Pharisees with their strict focus on the law and its stipulated punishments? Or to Jesus who met you with compassion and grace?
As followers of Jesus, may we have the courage to speak up for others. And may we encourage them to change their lives towards gospel living by sharing with them Jesus’ compassion and grace. Amen.
Third Reading:
Reading of Luke 1:5-16, 24-25, 57-63
5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
8 Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed.
Meditation: Elizabeth
Like several other women of faith in the Bible, Elizabeth was childless. And like all of those other women, she struggled with being barren. When she does finally get pregnant, she says, ‘This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.’ She endured the private pain of not being able to have a child, and on top of that she endured public disgrace from the neighbors.
In those days, people believed there was a connection between people’s faithfulness and their fate. God-fearing people were expected to thrive, and wicked people were blamed for their own misfortune.
However, we all know it doesn’t work this way. Bad things can happen to perfectly good people, and rotten people can have great and charming lives. It sounds like Luke is also questioning the correlation between faithful living and blessings, because he goes to great length in describing Elizabeth as a devout woman. She comes from a priestly family, and she was righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.
She does everything right. She obeys all of God’s commandments. And still, there is this great sorrow in her life. It’s not her fault. It’s not God’s doing. It’s just how her life turned out. She seems to have accepted this reality.
But then God intervenes. When Elizabeth and her husband have given up hope for a child because they are getting on in years, God’s angel announces amazing news: Elizabeth will give birth to a son.
This changes everything. At first, Elizabeth withdraws for five months. I am sure she needs time to adjust and digest her new situation.
This pregnancy and birth change how the neighbors regard her. Now they rejoice with her and point out that God has shown her great mercy.
Elizabeth has a baby boy, and the neighbors now regard her as blessed. This changes how Elizabeth presents herself in public. When it is time to circumcise her baby, she announces that his name will be John. The assembled family members and friends push back, pointing out that none of the relatives have this name. But Elizabeth stands firm, and is backed up by her husband, and the baby is named John. He will later be known as John the Baptist, a prophet dares who to challenge the religious and political leadership of the nation. I am sure Elizabeth’s faithfulness, devotion, and firmness have helped shape John.
We learn quite a bit about Elizabeth in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel account. Only a portion of it was read this morning. Her story is inspiring in many ways. What I took away from meditating on her this year is this:
Elizabeth believed in God. She led a faithful, devout life both before and after giving birth to John. She knew she was right with God.
It was the people around her who judged her; who took her barrenness as a sign of God’s disfavor.
There is so much of this going on in today’s world: People are quick to judge others; people claim to know why certain things happen to certain persons; people love to blame victims. This causes a lot of pain.
Elizabeth’s story can inspire us to resist such thinking, and to speak up against it whenever we encounter it.
And Elizabeth can inspire us to find our identity and our source of comfort in God, no matter what other people say about us. In all circumstances of life, in good times and in trying times, may we remain faithful and devout and make God the source of our strength and hope. Amen.