The sermon title suggested for today in our resources was "The House that God Builds." I summarily rejected that title. I just was not ready to go back to bulldozers and back hoes, bricks and mortar, rock, springs and sump pumps, moving out and moving in and all the rest. Thank you, but I am ready for that to be in the past.

I am however very ready for next steps. And, it seems to me that building a welcoming, loving community in a diverse area is an important focus for us right now. And, of course, that was the allegory intended anyway. For both of the scriptures invite us to consider how God’s plans for building community may challenge us beyond our own vision.

During the first and second centuries of the Common Era, Ephesus was a diverse coastal city with a thriving commerce. It was home to the shrine of the popular Goddess Artemis. Amidst all the happenings and among the many religious groups that practiced in Ephesus, a community of Christ followers was forming. Although its intended recipients are not specifically identified, it is easy to imagine that what we know of as the letter to the Ephesians was a relevant message for a community such as this.

One of the main issues addressed in this letter is helping early followers of Christ in a diverse religious context deal with the lack of unity between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians. This problem was not limited to the city of Ephesus, but rather was a persistent struggle throughout the region in the first century. The writer of Ephesians suggests that such a division is theologically contrary to Christ’s mission. The law, including circumcision, can be categorized as the "old way." The new way of Christ tears down these dividing principles and creates a new way of being reconciled to God. However, one does not need to throw all of the past building materials away. Rather, these pieces can be used as foundations when they are supported together by Christ the cornerstone.

The emphasis on joining together convictions held by both Jewish and Gentile followers of Christ challenges both groups to quit claiming superiority of their own beliefs and to focus on Christ and the new community. The connection between the old and the new allows an openness that welcomes all persons into something new. It allows relationships to grow and evolve and continually be reshaped by the interactions of individuals working side by side with a common purpose.

One of the striking aspects of this passage is the sheer volume of names with which people are described – Gentiles, uncircumcised, aliens, strangers, new humanity, one body, those who are near, those who are far off, citizens with the saints, members of the household of God, a holy temple, a dwelling place for God. These names contribute a great deal to the writer’s teachings about the community of Christ.* But wait a minute. There is clearly something missing here. Where are the women? Their inclusion is implied you say. That is not necessarily so. If the Jewish Christians brought with them the law of circumcision, they also brought with them the laws that separated women out from some parts of worship and kept them separate from men in other parts. They brought with them the concepts of women being unclean for great parts of their lives and the idea that only men learned at the feet of the great rabbis. The Gentiles brought with them some concepts of Goddess worship, and perhaps even the concept of fertility rites. There must have been some real struggles around these issues as life in the new community and a monotheistic orthodoxy was being hammered out.

In our age, or at least in the last 30 – 40 years, with more women attending seminary, a great deal of research has been undertaken to discover the role of women in the early church. Along with that has come some discussion about the need to recover the feminine in our understanding of God. And so, after gaining permission, then digging around in the bowels of the Vatican and carefully scrutinizing the catacombs, these women found some surprising things. First, there were women Bishops in the early church. One, named Theodora, encountered in the catacombs, had not been discovered for centuries because a beard had been painted on her, and the "a" at the end of her name also painted over. By putting together information from the Bible with other information gathered, the researchers began to get a clearer picture of the ministry of women in the early church. First, by studying the original Greek and Hebrew sources, it was discovered that the word for "Deacon" was translated as Deacon for men, but when referring to women, the translators used the word "server" instead. And so, we began to see, that very early on, women served communion. Also, there was suddenly more attention to otherwise obscure or short passages that refer to women gathering for prayers on the beach, or hosting worship services in their homes. Second, because the early church welcomed and cared for widows, who were often very poor and mistreated, they flocked to the church. Nurtured and educated in the faith within the church, these women grew and became church leaders. There was even an order of widows. These women served as leaders in all facets of the church including teaching, caring for the sick, giving witness to their faith by speaking in the services of worship and serving communion. And, it was these women, and only these women, who were given the power to forgive sins. Many scholars now believe that the scriptures that suggest or demand that women keep silence in church and keep their heads covered came from a time when there was a reaction and objection to the power these women had in the church. #

We know that Jesus welcomed women in ways that were unheard of in his time. He allowed them to sit at his feet and learn, making them disciples- for example, Mary, Martha’s sister. And while our scriptures and the teaching of the church for centuries has declared that only men were disciples, we know that the Jesus movement included male and female leaders. And we know that Jesus’ mission was to reveal God to all people. Steve Paterson writes in his book entitled "The God of Jesus" that Jesus was right about God. I think that as women heard Jesus words about God, as they saw how Jesus related to them, they began to see and understand the feminine side of God. It is this feminine side or the female aspects of God that are so vital to women, and to society as a whole.

It is painful for us to hear the way women are treated or mistreated in some Muslim countries. But we must not be too quick to point a finger. Over the years I have ministered with women of all ages. When they come to me with stories of rape and incest with little or no consequences for the perpetrator, I am at the same time wracked with pain and furious. And I see so clearly the need to recognize and honor the feminine in the divine, or the goddess. I want to cry out to her. At that moment, a male only God, telling other men to treat me well is not enough. And, I do not believe that is the God that Jesus showed to his followers by his words and his actions, even if some of the Biblical writers say so.

By the way, there is something missing in the Mark passage also. First we hear that Jesus is trying to get away from the crowds to a quiet place. But the crowds follow him. So he lets them come, and he teaches, preaches, and heals. What is missing here, is the feeding of the five thousand. It is right in the middle of these two sections, and we did not hear it. But you see, it is very necessary, because this meal speaks to God’s great abundance, in the face of scarcity or limits. It says that God not only offers us nurture and nourishment in abundance, but that God’s very nature is one of great abundance. It says that even the aspects or facets of God are overflowing to the point of leftovers, so that all the images we need are to be found in this God who has 99 names, only a few of which are male.+ Amen.

*The four paragraphs preceding this sign are from Seasons of the Spirit, Pentecost 1, pages 57 – 59.

# The Widows, A Women’s Ministry in the Early Church, Bonnie Bowman Thurston, Fortress Press, Minneapolis,MN

+ Image-Breaking Image-Building, Linda Clark, Marian Ronan, and Eleanor Walker, Pilgrim Press, NY,NY