Carrying on the series ... celebrating feminine strengths. After all, it's 'Accelerate' on Saturday (Jesus Fellowship women's training day) and it should be good (a lot of nervous people around - including me.)
I have observed woman have this marked trait of not giving up, of being utterly loyal and this sometimes reaches extreme lengths. A woman will often stick by her man, sometimes ludicrously so. I’ve known women severely beaten up by their partners and going back to them a few days later, not always for the best. And to be honest, it’s sometimes an attempt to find the security these men should bring to them.
But then there is the upside of this outrageous loyalty which is … amazing. I mean, those women at the foot of the cross, hanging in there, waiting for the end. They couldn’t do much except pray and vibe support; Jesus was too far away for them to whisper or speak tender words of love and comfort in His ears. The shame of it all (nakedness in Jewish eyes was indeed disgraceful) did not drive them away. The reproach of the crowds did not dent their loyalty. The fact that the men-disciples (apart from John) were not near at hand did not quench their devotion. The inseparable twins, love and loyalty, were the masters of their fear.
I’ve often noticed that the very worst of times is also the very best of times … just simply for what it brings out in people.. Those dark hours certainly brought out the best in those women .. outrageous, utter loyalty .. an outstanding expression of love of the deepest kind … love that will not let go .. feminine strength … let’s celebrate it.
Hey, folks, it’s day 1 of ‘Accelerate’ next week (that’s a training day for women in the Jesus Fellowship) so maybe it’ time to indulge in a little celebration of femininity or shall I say ‘feminine strength.’
How shall I begin? Well, now, let’s see …we all know, women can be tough (I’ve had enough fierce female teachers in my lifetime to know that), decisive, commanding and share many traits in common with men which we generally consider as more masculine ones. But some human character traits are distinctively feminine.
A while ago I went to see my friend, Angela, in hospital and I saw something very beautiful. She was suffering from liver cancer and a friend of hers, known to me a little, was sitting beside her bed filing her nails and rubbing a sweet smelling lotion onto her hands. She was comforting her in her dying hours - indeed, she died two days later. It touched something deep inside me and instinctively I thought, ‘how feminine! How beautiful! ‘I then thought of the woman in the gospels who broke the alabaster jar and poured its contents on Jesus’ feet, a deed indeed soaked with feminine strength …. devotion, gentleness, poured out love … indeed, outrageous love.
It seems to me that there are many things a woman can do and be that are distinctively feminine; they are beautiful and very strong; they are filled with feminine strength.
Now, let’s turn to the thesaurus … yes, looking up ‘strong’: among other things it gives the synonyms muscular, brawny, sturdy, rugged, strapping. Well, this is not primarily what I perceive ‘strength’ to be. Strength is foremost virtue, every virtue that comes from the heart of God Himself, whether it is tenderness, meekness or confident godly authority. Above all, it is outrageous love.
Yes, let’s look at God-filled femininity through fresh eyes and see it as something very powerful, something very beautiful; let’s recognise it and celebrate it and above all, explore and be and do it … allowing God to enlarge our heart in every way … so that, as well as sharing with the men some common traits, we are particularly filled with outrageous, feminine love…
Then the man and his wife (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the LORD God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day ……….…(Genesis 3:8).
God walked in the Garden of Eden. He was accessible; He could be heard, probably seen. In the cool of the day He took a stroll, no doubt taking great pleasure in all that He had made. Adam and Eve were used to these walks; they were familiar with the sound of His footsteps.
The Bible tells us how various individuals over the years have walked with God. Enoch in the early dawn of Biblical times walked with God so closely that one day they were walking together and he just left the earth behind and walked into heaven with God (metaphorically speaking). Walking with anyone implies companionship, togetherness, friendship, keeping in step, walking abreast. God’s presence is here, in the church; He walks and talks and shares His heart with us.
Hang on. God can’t keep up with me.. too fast, too busy, head speeding. But He is here ..walking … walking …. relaxed and enjoying … but I’m not sure He can always have, or even enjoy, my company.
Another thing: when we walk with a friend there is never a monologue. One talks and then the other. There is listening; there is talking; there is understanding and feeling, a sighing together; friendship grows. Next time we meet something solid between us has already been built.
Our toil can become so fruitless. Only by walking, talking and listening do we enjoy God’s company. When He walks with us and we hang upon His arm, we have His anointing, things happen, lives are changed. Yes Lord, I think I better walk a little slower, then we can walk together. I could practise a trifle more listening too ... I’m not always too good at that …
Hey, I want to hear the sound of those footsteps ….
Jerusalem Telegraph: AD 29
Shock entry: prostitute steals uninvited
into city house
Distinguished city guests appalled by woman and rabbi’s
behaviour as rabbi allows woman to kiss his feet
Jerusalem was in shock today when a city woman slipped in by the back gate of Simon the Pharisee’s house where he was holding a dinner. The uninvited guest appeared to be seeking an audience with self-appointed rabbi, Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.
The women, veiled and dressed in tight black clothes, slipped in, unseen and uninvited. To the embarrassment of many of the guests, she began sobbing loudly as she sat at the rabbi’s feet; she then touched him, wiping the tears from his feet with her hair. To add to her unseemly behaviour, she unashamedly kissed his feet and, in the most unrestrained manner, poured perfume on them. The mess made by the woman’s actions was, according to bystanders, ‘truly dreadful’ and servants attending the dinner said they’d never seen anything like it before and were lost as to how to deal appropriately with the situation. They also said the woman’s actions were a shocking waste and, if Jesus was a respectable rabbi, he would have rejected the women’s actions outright and called on them to remove her without delay. They suspected the woman must have stolen the ointment as it was a very expensive brand.
Jesus, rather than reproaching her for her inappropriate behaviour and seeking her removal, seemed thoroughly pleased with the proceedings and began to praise her in front of all the shocked guests as though she had done something right… .
Our reporters were quick on the scene. Simon declined to comment except to say she was an uninvited guest and he didn’t know her.
A guest, who wishes to remain anonymous, described it as, “A most embarrassing and vulgar affair.”
The woman lives in the downtown area of Jerusalem; when interviewed, neighbours told reporters that she is a well known 'woman of the night.’
The self-styled rabbi was reportedly somewhere outside the city with two more women and their brother but could not be located for comment.
* * *
Jesus was unperturbed at the woman’s actions which flew in the face of acceptable behaviour towards the opposite sex BIG TIME in the first century. On the contrary, He praised the woman to his host for her lavish expression of love towards Him:
· “she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her
hair”
· “from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet”
· “she has anointed my feet with ointment.”
· “she loved much”
Jesus turned round and told her that her sins, (which He acknowledged were many) were forgiven. He said, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” In other words, she needn’t feel ashamed anymore. The past was over and He was giving her a new start. What had set her on the road of prostitution no one knows but one thing was for sure: a loser had become a winner. She had been rescued from a guilty past, loved, affirmed and undoubtedly would never be the same again.
One Sunday morning, a little while ago, my friend, Andy, told me about a dream he had recently had. He was watching a game of football. The two teams were not well matched and one was losing badly (4 – nil). Suddenly, in the middle of the game, the manager of the losing team raced onto the pitch and enthusiastically encouraged each member of his team in turn with the words: ‘You’re great!’ The game turned and the losers played so well that they thrashed the winning team 5-4!
The dream carried an important message: ‘Encourage and affirm people even when they are not doing well! Losers can become winners!’
Mmmm … I like that dream … it made me think. And, actually it’s been my job for the last 11 years, backing losers, but …... I believe in it anyway. (I’m an adult literacy teacher.)
A large group of Slovakians come to the ‘ESOL for work class’ at Coventry Jesus Centre; one of these is Viktor. (I never use real names.) Well, he’s got a slight learning difficulty and he sometimes just gets the wrong end of the stick and enthusiastically plunges in head first with a way off answer. Sadly I noticed some of his friends laugh at him: I find that a bit distressing; it pains me inside and, because of that, I always go out of my way to encourage him. Well, it’s bearing fruit because he’s so eager now about learning and is keen to work at his reading and writing as well as speaking, which we have mainly concentrated on up to now and, guess what? Do you know, he actually seems to have improved more than his friends. I feel, well, happy .. another loser become a winner.
Jesus backed losers: poor stinking Lazarus, lying at Dives’ gate, dogs licking his sores, begging for his living, his existence actually ….. somehow, Jesus saw something really good in him; perhaps within his destitution, he honoured and loved God and when he died - I don’t know …but wow! There he is, lying in Abraham’s lap, secure, comforted, loved, honoured… Women were generally losers in those days; after all, what about that prostitute who, uninvited, sneaked into a grand dinner at Simon’s house and won Jesus’ highest praise by, in the most undignified way, weeping on Him and then wiping up the splodgy mess she’d made with what? - Her hair! And then, to add to it all, poured ointment over them (probably made a right mess on the floor too) … she was a loser who became a winner … see next blog.
