IWD: Women are human too

A good friend once took me aside. I had had the pleasure of following him on a large part of his spiritual journey. That's why his words hit me all the harder. He said:

“We can no longer discuss theology Anna, because you are a woman.”

Gender and Christianity is a complicated story for me

Fortunately, I have experienced the backing and support of leaders and family who have encouraged me to teach and lead with boldness. I grew up in a strong and supportive pastors family, where I have experienced in every way that my parents supported me and my abilities. They were not concerned with teaching me what it means to be a Christian woman, but what it means to be a follower of Christ, and I never experienced,

that there was something I couldn't or shouldn't do just because I was girl. I am in an infinite debt to those people because it has been crucial to where I stand today and that I even dare to open my mouth and step into leadership. This is of cause only part of my story. But that’s a story for an other day

Now! Lets talk about Jesus

I have the same experience when I look at Jesus in the Gospels. He meets women as people with intellect, a will of their own and needs. He did not close his eyes to the difference in men's and women's way of experiencing and being in the world but challenged the sexism and gender-norms of his day. His disciples and people he discussed with often looked down on women, but their resentment, disgust and prejudice returned to hit them in their own faces. He empowered women by taking them seriously. He didn't shut them up, and when they were cheeky and insistent, they got what they wanted. He broke the illusion that women only deserved the kindness and gallantry of men when they behaved. He showed them that they were worthy of love and respect.

But society and those in power found him inappropriate in his dealings with women. He offered them a place at the table, a place at his feet and set women free from dependence on men. He became their Lord and master.

Now it was not women's ability to bear children, their purity, or their relationship to men that should define their worth or honor. They were daughters of God before anything else. Because of Jesus, I am allowed to be human first, woman second. He lifted the curse and showed a completely different path.

No wonder women were the last at the cross.

The first at the grave.

The first witnesses to the resurrection.

They met the Word in flesh and blood, they met the resurrected Christ, and we build our church on that courageous preaching. They are role models for us all. No one should downplay their influence. Many of the women we meet in the New Testament and in the early church possessed both zeal and boldness. They were women who simply couldn't shut up when they received the Word, and many times they risked their lives to spread it – just like the men around them did.

Because the requirement for succession was the same for both men and women.

Unfortunately, obscure gender perceptions and anticipations have put a dampener on women's boldness.

Unfortunately, obscure gender perceptions and anticipations have put a dampener on women's boldness. Often I meet women who are deeply confused about how to understand the biblical texts, that seems to make claims about gender and ministry. But we need bold women like those we find in the Bible. Why? Because women can, because they want to, and because we need to hear their voices and have them as role models. If not in The Church, where should women feel valued and free? Free of smothering stereotypes and gender roles. Free to be women made in Gods image.

Men who don’t feel that they live up to the traditional ideals of masculinity know what I am talking about. Because in him, the sensitive man, the last one on the day labor camp and the man who has problems with potency or who can't get out of bed because of deep depression is as valuable as the fisherman, the king and the high priest. The man's ability to provide and reproduce is no longer what makes him worthy. He is worthy because he is human.

With him, the world order was no longer to be dictated by the men in power. The world order was now to be in the Lords image.

The important thing is not to ask what it means to be a real man or woman. The question is what it means to be human and look like him, it's all about - Jesus. This is the emancipation and one of the most important implications of the gospel.

Happy international womens day everyone!

by Anna Kiel