Daily Blog – Day 223, Isaiah 22-24, Psalm 33, 1Timothy 2
Reflection I
With our chapters from Isaiah we hear troublesome words from oracles capturing apocalyptic imagery of final destruction and devastation. We hear words of “doom and gloom.” The message is clear: Behold, the Lord will lay waste the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants (Is. 24:1). Such imagery is not delegated exclusively to the Book of Revelations as we are reminded that we are not in control of this world and that the Lord himself judges and lays to waste the efforts of humankind. Remember, we recently read Ecclesiastes and had an enormous lesson on “vanity.” All the negativity that is manifested results in asking what can we do to be saved from such devastation? Where is our hope?
Laying out the details of our ruin, which are the direct result of a multitude of inappropriate behaviors, must be viewed as fueling God’s judgment and condemnation. Isaiah wants us to recognize our situation and allow it to serve as a catalyst to transform our ways. In spite of “doom and gloom” Isaiah contrasts our situation through the one and only source of hope – trusting in the love of our God and Creator. It is about building and maintaining a relationship of trust, faith, and actions as the only and appropriate response to God’s abundant grace and love. As Isaiah reveals:
The angel of the Lord encamps around those
who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see, that the Lord is good!
Happy is the man who takes refuge in him. (Is. 34:7-8)
Our reading from Paul with First Timothy provides helpful advice for such living. The behaviors and actions he promotes demonstrate a life lived in “godliness and reverence,” two key words in Paul’s letters. As such all life then becomes an act of worship. Since all life is lived in the presence of God, then every person moving throughout this world is made to be a temple of the living God. One never forgets the holiness of God and the dignity of all persons. William Barclay says that “these two great qualities are regal qualities which every man must covet and for which every man must pray.” As such we can sing with the Psalmist:
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
Yea, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let they steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in thee.
(Psalm 33:20-22)
Reflection 2
My spirit will not allow me to end this reflection without addressing an issue raised by Paul with the verses of I Timothy 2: 8-15: Women in the Church. Therefore, I offer this second reflection with a focus on these verses.
These verses cannot be read outside its historical context since its meaning springs entirely from the situation in which it was written. First, it is written from a Jewish background, within a culture that gave the most respect to women’s role within the family and home despite the fact that it is officially a low position. By Jewish law she was not a person but a thing; entirely at the disposal of her father or husband. She was forbidden to learn the law and she had no part in synagogue worship outside of listening (not to be seen) from a gallery. She was not even permitted to teach in a school. Women, slaves and children were classed together.
Second, these verses are written against a Greek background which made things extremely difficult for women. The role of women in Greek religion was very low, basically relegated to prostitution. The respectable Greek woman led a confined life, living in her own quarters, not appearing at meals, never in public alone, and never seen at a public assembly. In fact, in Greek towns where Christian women took an active speaking and work role, the Church inevitably gained a reputation of being a resort for loose women.
In contrast to attitudes influenced by the stories that woman was created second and that it was a woman who fell to the seduction of the serpent tempter, are teachings of Mary of Nazareth who bore and trained the child Jesus. In addition were numerous stories of significant contributions by women: It was Mary Magdalene who was first to see the risen Lord; it was a few of the women among all the disciples who stood at the foot of the cross; it was Priscilla with her husband Aquila who were valued teachers in the Early Church, leading Apollos to the knowledge of truth in Christ (Acts); Eudoia and Syntyche, in spite of their quarrel, were women who labored in the Gospel (Philippians); and Paul held Eunice and Lois in high honor (2 Timothy) as well as many other women who are named and honored (Romans).
Bible scholar William Barclay states that “All things in this chapter are temporary regulations to meet a given situation.” If we want Paul’s true and permanent view on the matter of the role of women, we get it from Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Jesus Christ.” In Christ the differences of place and honor and function within the church are all wiped out. Barclay concludes that our passage ends with the real truth exposed as it reveals that women will be saved in child-bearing. Not only may this be a reference to the supreme role of Mary as “the Christ-bearer,” a model of the significant role of women in salvation history, but on a more simple level shows motherhood to be her crown. The role of nurturing, protecting and guiding, caring and giving, along with being a spiritual model is manifested as her God-given purpose.
The Very Rev. Dr. William L. Stomski,
Chaplain and Sacred Studies Educator, Saint Joseph’s Episcopal School, Boynton Beach
Dean of the Diocesan School for Christian Studies
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