This is from Great Saling on the 18th of July
The readings were Colossians 1, 15-23and Luke 10, 38-42. As usual I had some help from Rootsontheweb
Do you often ask the question “Who’s in charge here?”
It’s usually a question that comes to mind when we are not content and wish to rectify that by speaking to a superior - perhaps we most frequently these days end up saying “can I speak to your supervisor?” to a telephone sales person. At the end of a week during which the Church of England General Synod has made a momentous decision about the future of our leadership, in voting in favour of the ordination of women as bishops, it seems quite a good question for us to ask, and it also was a very relevant question for the church at Colossae.
Colossians 1.15-28 suggests the rhythm and form of a poem or hymn – perhaps an earlier one that Paul has adapted. It is steeped in the language of creation and of people as created in God's image (c.f. Genesis 1.26), taking up the theme from the first half of chapter 1 of ‘fruitfulness’ (Genesis 1.28). Thus the promise of God's Kingdom (the new creation) is earthed in God's primeval act of creation.
Images of the Emperor were inescapable in a city like Colossae at the heart of the Roman Empire – in the markets, on coins, in the gymnasium … everywhere. They defined a social and political system totally dominated by the semi-divine Emperor, just as some might say corporate logos today define our dependency on global capitalism. In those days a rigid patron/client system meant that everyone knew their place, and any defiance of the system was dealt with swiftly and brutally. Pax Romana came at a high price in terms of personal freedom. A brutal tax system that paid for the military might on which the Empire depended terrorised peasants and small landowners, who could be sold into slavery if they couldn't pay. At least our coalition government has gone that far yet!
Against this background, Paul contrasts the image of Jesus with that of Caesar. Paul's first readers couldn’t fail to identify the 'thrones and dominions and rulers and powers' (v. 16) with Caesar and his vast empire, as well as with the cults which reinforced it. The apostle want to make the point that political power doesn't rest on military or economic might, on men or their gods, but on the true God who created all things (v. 16). He is the only true Lord and object of worship. This perspective relativises political power and prevents it toppling into totalitarianism; it was this insight that lay at the heart of Dietrich Bonheoffer’s opposition to Hitler in the 1930s.
And it is a helpful insight for our government as they walk the fine line between saving money and saving their necks in the “turnaround”. I guess economic recovery might even be seen as an idol – the idol of growth,
And with the church politics this week, and all the wrangling and wringing of hands tears of joy and tears of frustration, it is good to pause and remind ourselves that even at times when it may not appear so (depending on which broadsheet newspaper you read) God is in fact in charge of our church, and that we need to let him have that charge instead of wrestling it from him.
That said, Luke 10.38-42 is a fascinating reading for this week – it is the one in the lectionary. We will now have women bishops in this country. One obvious feature of Luke's Gospel is its sympathetic portrayals of women, who, as we know from both Acts and Paul's letters, were prominent members of the first churches. Luke is reflecting a religious context in which 'there is neither male nor female '. For every order of the church now, that will be true, as indeed for every order of society it ought to be.
The story presents us with two conventional images of woman. We have Martha, the 'housewife', bustling around with her chores; and Mary, the submissive woman, meekly kneeling and listening to her Master's voice. I wonder which of the two might be a woman bishop (or at least, where we are now, someone campaigning for them).
Martha is perhaps a campaigner, very active, getting stuff done, bustling around (and if we’re very honest, sometimes neglecting the real business of the church’s mission), so we might say she typifies the attitude of a female supporter of women bishops. Mary on the other hand, seems rather passive and submissive, not typical characteristics of a female bishop in waiting. However, lets remember 2 things; first, Mary has chosen to listen to the Lord, and submit to his authority, and pay him the attention he merits, which are good characteristics of a Christian leader. Secondly and more relevantly to this weeks events, Mary has crossed a divide in the cultural norms of her day; it would be quite unusual for a Jewsih rabbi and a woman to be seated next to each other ina home environment. Some say that they shouldn’t even really have been in the same room. So mary appears passive but is in fact taking a big step (I geuss in faith) that will set her against the cultural norms of her day.
Now that is the way of the woman bishop. And for those who did wait patiently for the Synod to sort themselves out (if you haven’t worked it out by now I am hugely in favour of women in the episcopate), what a great final line; “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her”.
There is also a link with the Good Samaritan story that precedes it. Martha parallels the priest and Levite, who are too busy, too preoccupied, to stop and attend to the mugged man. Mary, however, attends to Jesus despite the opprobrium of her sister. Are there those in our churches who are so preoccupied with rules, committees and agendas that they cannot stop to wait on God – or the world? It is a good thing that we have women bishops. If you are worried about the effect on us here in the parishes I don’t think we will see much difference. The supreme governor of the Church of England has been a woman for the last 58 years after all.
So it is a good thing, but it is not the main thing; as a friend of mine paraphrased in a sermon the other week, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are in the barn arguing about what colour the tractor should be”.
There is a task before us, and rather than just looking busy like Martha, we would do well, whether we are bishops or just normal Christians, to listen to our Lord, and sit under his authority.
