#Rethink: Silent Saturday, A Global Vision for Women, and God's Will
#Rethink - April 2022
Welcome to all of my new subscribers! I'm so happy that you are here. :-) Thanks for joining me this Easter Sunday as we explore the Silent Saturday, contemplate our global vision for women, and question how to find God's will.
What about Saturday?
It's Easter Sunday. For some of you who are in the process of deconstructing and reconstructing your faith, this can be an awkward experience. Maybe you have changed churches, or left church, or just don't feel the same warm and fuzzy feelings you once did. It's okay. You are not alone. That first weekend where Jesus died, was buried, and then rose from the dead was awkward too. Talk about a whiplash of emotions!
Yesterday I once again stopped to enjoy my favorite day of Easter weekend -- The silent Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. It's kind of an uncomfortable day. What are we supposed to do with it? Jesus was just...dead.
It's easy to remember the crucifixion of Jesus and then jump quickly to the fact that He didn't stay dead. I often hear people say, "It's Friday, but Sunday is coming!" Can I ask you not to go there? Don't rush. Saturday is about loss, pain, and grief. It's a day of lament. A day we can all relate to. Yesterday morning I wrote this poem:
The birds still sang
on Saturday morning
Cheerful trills and cheeps
sounding sharp and cruel
The world moved on but
Jesus was dead
Hopes dashed
Plans changed
Dreams crushed
Yet the birds sang
as if nothing happened
The sun that was dark
yesterday afternoon rose
as if nothing happened
The rocks that shook
yesterday afternoon were still
as if nothing happened
The world moved on but
Jesus was dead
Stillness and sound
Darkness and light
Caught in the tension
of hope and despair
Was there hope?
Did anyone hope that
tomorrow would be different?
This day reminds me that it's okay to feel those sad feelings. It tells me that life in our broken world is filled with tension -- with moments in-between. So often we want to rush to Sunday and celebrate, but sitting in the lament of Saturday is good for us. This is real life. This is a place where many of us find ourselves personally and it's okay.
God wasn't done. He wasn't gone. He wasn't distant or angry. He was just waiting,
"To be honest, the American culture is as far removed from the ancient culture of the Bible as you can get."
Half the Church, Carolyn Custis James
As I've been doing my own thinking and researching about what Biblical womanhood looks like, I kept hearing about Half the Church written by Carolyn Custis James back in 2011. James was asking the questions that everyone seems to be asking these days, she just asked them first. But rather than simply contemplating Western culture and/or an Evangelical perspective, she goes global. God's vision for women shouldn't just apply to upper-middle-class suburban women in America. The first two chapters blew me away! I'll let Carolyn talk.
In our culture, the church has tended to concentrate on a tiny segment of the female population -- a narrow, prosperous, protected, well-educated female demographic located in the comfortable midsection of society. The prosperity we enjoy shapes both the questions we ask and the answers we embrace...Our cloistered discussions about God's purposes for women and the resulting infighting that ensues among us leave women elsewhere in the world scratching their heads. Blinded by the insulation of prosperity, we are at risk of transmitting a message as irrelevant and unworkable as Marie Antoinette's solution for the starving masses: "Let them eat cake!" -- a message that when sanctioned as "biblical" is cruelly beyond the reach of those with less.
Um, yes! We American Christians can have such tunnel vision when it comes to our understanding of Scripture, God, and spiritual ideas. We are not the only culture out there, and God's vision for people -- women included -- is a global one! One that is relevant to everyone across all cultures and times. I cannot wait to finish this book and have my mind blown even further.
The Formula for Finding God's Will
This is a very Christianese idea: finding God's will. And it is something that has paralyzed many people, frozen them in time, and stopped them from doing anything. I'm currently in the middle of making a pretty significant decision which is why this concept is so relevant to me right now.
Does God have one perfect will for my life? Can I mess up His will? Can I miss it? How do I find God's will? Is His will always opposite from what I want?
I'm learning to let go of the questions, panic, and formulas. I'm learning to move forward, take action steps, use logic, listen to my heart, continue to pray, but at the end of the day make the decision that seems best -- believing God will guide me or re-guide me if I get it wrong.
I used to think there was a narrow will of God that was hard to find and easy to get wrong. But my beliefs are changing these days. I think that if we are seeking God and His wisdom, He will guide us. But His will might include a lot of options. More like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book than a One-Way-Road. More like grace, less like a rigid religion. :-)
Thanks for taking a moment to #Rethink some of our religious traditions and beliefs. I know that it can be scary to deconstruct and reconstruct our faith, but finding the Real Jesus is absolutely worth it. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, or comments.
If you know someone who would love to #rethink, please share!
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