Unworthy

Growing up every communion service we were reminded that we were not to partake of the bread and the cup in an unworthy manner.  Of course this meant unconfessed sins or even worse, taking communion as a non-believer.  However, I got thinking.  Who is really worthy?  There is nothing in myself that makes me worthy to partake.  Certainly it is not my righteousness.  So then am I unworthy?  Yes but then...

I may be unworthy in myself but there is One who makes me worthy.  I am not worthy because of anything that I have done but rather I am worthy because of what Jesus has done.  I am worthy because of Him and it is He who we are remembering.  Thank you Jesus, I am worthy because of your death and shed blood.

Glory and Shame

In my continuing study about hair I must say that I am probably more confused except for one thing. 
However, first it seems that a woman's hair is tied to her glory and her shame.  In the movie Ryan's daughter her hair was cut off to shame her for her sinful behaviour.  In many cultures a woman's hair is shaved off to show that she has sinned.  Without her hair she feels shamed.  Have you noticed that it is far more tragic that a woman loses her hair during chemotherapy than it is for a man?  It is unnatural for a woman to have no hair while it is okay for a man.
And what about men and long hair?  I remember in high school the vice-principal calling down the "following shaggy dogs" who were given detentions for not getting their hair cut.  But then I read about the Nazarite vow which included that a man should not cut his hair during the time of his vow. 
So what can I conclude about all this?  One thing.  A man is not to look like a woman and a woman is not to look like a man.  Hair plays a big part in our looks.  It seems to me that it is more about style than about length. 

Hair

Why does Paul spend so much time talking about head coverings and hair?  What is the big deal with hair anyway?  And how short is too short for a woman and how long is too long for a man?  Throughout history the lengths of hair have changed so what is the big deal?
The issue is much bigger than hair length or what we wear on our heads.  The issue is that men are suppose to look like men and women are suppose to look like women.  That has led to many different interpretations of the principle because in different cultures and at different times the dress of men and women will change.  However there is always a distinct difference between the two.
Another reason for talking about hair is that it is a sign of authority or being under authority.  I went to university in the sixties which was the decade of rebellion against the authority.  Men choose long hair as a sign of rebellion.

Hidden in plain sight

How many of us couldn't find something we were looking for but when we finally found it it was right in front of  us.  We may be looking for a cell phone while we are talking on it (my sister-in-law confessed to doing this) or looking for our car when we parked it somewhere where we don't usually park it.
The fundamental rule of hermeneutics is "the plain thing is the main thing and the main thing is the plain thing".  Too often we are looking for another meaning in Scripture because we don't like the obvious one.  Do we have that problem when it comes to authority in Scripture?  Paul sets out the line of authority and we may not like it but it is there.  "But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God."  1 Corinthians 11:3. 
Now some people want to use the word "head" to mean source but does that make sense when we say that the head of Christ is God?  Christ is not from God, He is God.  The only acceptable word for headship here is authority.  So how do we flesh this out in twenty first century Canada?  Interesting and difficult but it is the Word of God.

It is not fair.

As a teacher and a parent I have heard that phrase thousands of times.  I also know that my children or the students I taught thought that it wasn't fair.  As their parent or their teacher I could see things from a different perspective and my concept of fairness and their concept of fairness may have been entirely different.

I have also heard the response that if life was fair then I would have been rich, handsome and successful.  However, that is a false view of fairness as well.  If life had been fair I probably would have been born to poor parents in a third world country.  I would not have had proper food or education and at my age today I probably would have been dead for a few years.  Is life fair?  Not from my perspective but what about from God's?

My concept of fairness was different from my students because I had a much larger perspective than they did.  God has an infinite greater perspective than we do so why cannot we trust His few of fairness rather than insist upon our own puny view?

Judo

In judo you use the strength of your opponent against him.  Satan is a judo expert and he uses the strengths of both genders against them.  Man's strength is their independence while a woman's strength is their interdependence.  However, Satan the judo expert uses the strength of woman to move from interdependence to dependence and he uses the strength of men to move from independence to autonomy, unaccountability and tyranny.  One of the reasons why gender roles come under so much criticism is that what should be used for good is used for evil.  When man fell Satan made woman dependent upon man while he made man lord it over the woman.  This was not the way in the beginning and it will not be the way in the new kingdom but meanwhile the church needs to show the world that gender differences can be used for the glory of God.

Remember, Jesus is subject to the Father but He is equal to the Father.  This picture of equality and submission is carried out in the church and in the home.  Man needs to use his independence in submission to his wife and the church.  Woman needs to use her interdependence in submission to her husband and the church.

Two halves make a whole, sometimes.

I taught mathematics and when I taught fractions the students learned very quickly that two halves make a whole.  But is this always true?  Do two halves of a pair of scissors make a whole?  Do two halves of a day make a whole?  The answer of course is yes if the two halves are complementary.  If the two halves are the same then you do not have a pair of scissors or if the two halves of the day are both mornings then you don't have a day.  For two halves to make a whole they have to be complementary.  Left and right shoe; morning and afternoon; day and night.

God made man and women equal but not the same.  They are complementary.  The Lord made woman a help mate for man.  To be a help mate you have to complement the other half.  The woman has strengths where the man doesn't.  It does not make her less than man but complementary to man as man is complementary to woman. 

Do we dare say it?  In the church man and woman should be considered equal but distinct.  They were created differently and that was no accident.  Gender differences were not a result of the fall but the result of creation.  That will also mean that men and women will have different roles in the family and in the church.  The world does not want to recognize these differences but the church must.  When God created man and woman He didn't say "oops, that will be a problem" but rather He said that it was good.  Gender differences are good. 

Man has always tried to make things the same that God created different.  In a future post I want to talk about what happens as a result of sin to these differences but let it be sufficient to say right now that the differences is what makes completion.  Two halves do make a whole when they are complementary.