International Women's Day

As people around the world are thinking about women's rights, many of us are conscious of the subjugation of Roma women.  It's got me thinking about our weekly gathering where we have almost only women and children coming. We have been looking at how Jesus deals with women for some months now.  I'm only just beginning to realise just how revolutionary Jesus approach must have been within his patriarchal community.  The men thought they were top dogs.  Having women brought to centre stage must have been deeply alarming for the the men folk of the day.

Last night we looked at the way Jesus draws the attention of the men in the temple to a lone widow.  The men are rich and give out of their riches to the temple treasury.  This poor widow gives all she has - out of her poverty.  Jesus must have shocked the men at two levels.  Firstly, it was a woman who is setting the example - giving beyond her means as a response to her knowledge of the generosity of God.  Secondly, because it is a woman who is now centre stage.  "The mighty shall be cast down. The humble lifted up."  As Mary sang.  Jesus arrives and the process begins to roll.  2,000 years later it is still underway.

The widow was enacting what it looks like to fulfil Jesus' summary of the Law, to love God with all the resources he has given - however meagre.   I then invited Richard to come and give out £1 coins to each of the women there, explaining that I could afford as I am rich. He followed this by then giving out 10p coins to each woman.  We put a plate out on the side.  "Here's an experiment.  You can either keep your £1.50, take all the money on the plate, put  your £1.50  on the plate, or give 10% [10p] as the Bible invites us to do.  Let me know what happens over the week to come.  God is ready to bless your generosity by opening the floodgates of heaven on you."   Actually, I have got the language yet to put it as nicely as that.  But I think they got the point.  God's greatest gift to us, is FREEDOM.