lesson five
Jesus liberated women

• read the narration column first
• then do the exercises

Exercise 1

Find your own examples of Jesus' openness to women against the conventions of his time.

Exercise 2

Reacquaint yourself with what we know of Mary Magdalene (John 20,1-18; Luke 8,1-3).
How significant is her role?

1. Jesus’ attitude to women

In this lesson we continue last week’s discussion, but now we ask a more direct question: what did Jesus actually do for women?

A careful reading of the Gospel shows that, in spite of the anti-woman bias in contemporary culture, Jesus established the full equality of women. This gave them a fundamental new status that implied their inclusion in the future ministry.

1. Reading the Gospels reveals an astonishing departure from cultural bias in Jesus ministry.
Jesus showed a revolutionary openness to women.

2. More importantly, in contrast to the secondary role ascribed to women in the Old Testament covenant (see lesson 3), Jesus made women absolutely equal members of his new covenant. Jesus abolished the Old Testament realities on which worship in the Temple was based.
Through baptism he established a radically new priesthood in which women have an equal part.

Readings

• Mary Grey, ‘Reclaiming women’s part in redeeming’ from Redeeming the Dream. Feminism, Redemption and Christian Tradition, London 1989, pp. 126 - 152.
• ‘It Won’t Wash With Women’, by Mary McAleese in The Tablet, March 15th., 1997.
• Victoria Brady, 'The God of Small Things' God, Women and the Question of Power, BASIC, 2000, pp. 20 - 27.

Exercise 3

Reflect on your own empowerment as you assimilate this unit. Try to illustrate this in a poem, picture or photograph - either composed by you, or by others.

Exercise 4

Read Matthew 28,1-8 & par. What do you conclude from the fact that it was the women disciples who were the first witnesses to the resurrection?

2. Women at the Last Supper

Although the Gospels do not explicitly mention women as being present at the Last Supper, we can be absolutely certain that they were. Not only was it Jesus’ custom to have both men and women share in his community meals, the presence of the whole family was prescribed for the paschal meal - and the Last Supper was a paschal meal (see Matthew 26,17-19; Exodus 12,1-14).

Traditional illustrations of the Last Supper always presume only men were there.

We know now that women too were present at the Last Supper because it was a paschal meal. This means that also women were told to celebrate the Eucharist in Christ’s name.

When Jesus distributed the Bread and Wine, he said: “Eat this ... , drink this .... all of you!” (Mk 14,22-25; Mt 26,26-29). Therefore, Jesus’ words: “Do this in commemoration of me!” (Lk 22,19-20; 1 Cor 11,23-26), are addressed equally to men and women, and imply an implicit invitation to all to share in his ministry.

Readings

• Suzanne Tunc, ‘Meals of the Community’, from Des Femmes aussi Suivant Jésus, Paris 1998, pp 69-77.
• Marjorie Reiley Maguire, ‘Bible, liturgy concur: women were there’, National Catholic Reporter, June 5, 1998.

Conclusion

It is clear from the fundamental equality in Christ which women enjoy that they should be admitted to leadership in the Church as much as men.