| |
"I still don't think it's right for women
to lead worship," said one woman. "For 2,000 years
men have led the church just fine."
"Men and women, you mean,"
said the PW moderator. "Women have always worshiped God,
and the Bible says many were leaders of the people."
"But look at the line I have to read:
'We celebrate women who were prophets: Miriam, Deborah, Huldah
and Anna.' Those aren't prophet names! Prophet names are Joshua,
Gideon, Samson and Samuel."
"But the Hebrew word nabi means
'prophet,' and the women you named are called nabi in
the Bible. Are you saying the Bible's wrong?"
The custodian's arrival saved the skeptic
from having to answer. Entering the sanctuary, the women were
surprised to see four women already in the chancel — four women
no one knew.
"Sing to the Lord," cried the first,
"for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has
thrown into the sea" (Exodus 15:21). As she whirled in
liturgical dance, the other three tapped tambourines and sang.
A second woman began a call to worship: "Hear, O kings;
give ear, O princes ... Awake, awake, utter a song!" (Judges
5:3, 12). The opening hymn she sang celebrated a military victory,
one she seemed to know firsthand: " ... then fought the
kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo"
(Judges 5:19). This led into the Prayer of Confession, accusing
those who had avoided the battle: "Why did you tarry among
the sheepfolds, to hear the piping for the flocks?" (Judges
5:16).
"That's the Song of Deborah," whispered
the PW moderator, "one of the oldest Scriptures in the
Bible, along with the song Miriam sang at the Red Sea. Not only
were these women prophets, they were poets, too — a millennium
before Christ!"
At the lectern now a third woman read from
Deuteronomy, and then added: "Thus says the Lord, the God
of Israel ... because they have abandoned me ... my wrath will
be kindled against this place" (2 Kings: 22:15, 17).
"Now, that one sounds like a prophet,"
said the skeptic. "'Thus says the Lord,' followed by doom
and gloom."
"Huldah was more than a prophet,"
said the moderator. "She was an authority on Scripture.
Even the King consulted her to know the will of God — "
At just that moment the fourth woman, the one Luke calls "the
prophet Anna," dashed down the chancel steps and up the
aisle. Although 84, she ran with the exuberance of a young girl,
announcing the birth of Jesus and proclaiming the redemption
of Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38). The other three, still singing,
dancing and prophesying, disappeared up the aisle with her.
When the PW team finally began to rehearse,
the most confident of them all was the skeptic as she said:
"'We celebrate women who were prophets: Miriam, Deborah,
Huldah and Anna.'"
It's April now. The snow has melted, the sun
is shining, and the women of First Pres are still celebrating
the gifts of women.
Are you?
*The magazine and Bible study of Presbyterian
Women of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
|
|
