I wanted to let everyone know that the tubal ligation went well, and I’m OK. I’ve spent the last two days being a bum, taking naps and watching movies, including Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Coraline, and Under the Tuscan Sun. Today I felt like I had enough brain power to read, so I finally started The Secret Life of Bees. Tomorrow I plan more of the same. I might actually get out of the condo tomorrow and go up on the roof for a little sun. I haven’t bee out since Thursday. Probably be good for me. I hope everyone has a good weekend.
Thanks for all of your prayers and good wishes!
Sphere: Related ContentI finished the second sample chapter for the Career Women of the Bible book proposal today. To celebrate here is another sneak peak of a woman you rarely (if ever) here about in Sunday School or sermons: The Elect Lady of 2 John.
Church Overseers: The Elect Lady
She fell more than sat on the cushions after sending yet another charlatan out of her house. This one yelling that she was betraying the Messiah and would burn in hell forever for not accepting the stranger and his perverted version of the Gospel. She had the impression he was more disappointed in losing the luxuries her house could provide than losing the opportunity to teach. When she first opened her house for the church, there were not that many false preachers or people in it just to see what they could mooch off of her. Most of the itinerant preachers and evangelists were good honest people who really did want to tell the simple truth of Jesus Christ the Messiah. How he loved us all and loved to the point of death. How God in love raised Jesus back from the dead, and how Jesus’ followers were now to share that same love with everyone they met. She also missed the missionary couples who used to be more frequent visitors at her door. More and more the itinerant preachers were men who were single. And more and more of them were preaching against marriage because of the imminent return of Jesus. A servant came into the room with a young man who looked like he had just gotten off the road. She sighed. Another one. She rose to her feet, and said, “What can I do for you?” The man handed her a letter. “This is from the Elder,” the man said, “he told me to get it here as quickly as I could.” Her face lit up in a smile. Another believer, and better than that one from the Elder. She told her servant to get refreshments for the young man then bade the man to sit and tell her all about her old friend.
In John’s second epistle we meet another woman who is a church overseer, the elect lady: “The elder to the elect lady* and her children, whom I love in the truth,” (2 John 1). John wrote the elect lady to continue doing what she learned so long ago: “I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning–you must walk in it” (2 John 5-6). But he also warned her of deceivers that were trying to convince people Jesus never had a physical body, and not to let them into her house to deceive the church that met there. She was the one who safeguarded the flock of Jesus in her city, and the Elder trusted her to discern the deceivers from true followers of Christ and not let them confuse or lead astray any who meet in her house.
The phrase “elect lady” is an interesting one. “Lady” is used to translate the Greek word kuria, and this is the only time it appears in the New Testament (vv. 1, 5). Its male counterpart is kurios, which is translated as “lord” or “master.” The male form refers to the head of the household, a guardian, or trustee (See Galatians 4:1 where Paul used the word to describe someone who owned an estate and was a guardian or overseer). People who owned and oversaw slaves were also called kurios. Not only is this woman a lady with authority but she is eklektos: she has been called or chosen for her position of authority. In Beyond the Curse, Aida Besançon Spencer gives “elect lady” an alternate translation: “the woman chosen to be master” (p. 109). This woman is called “master” and “chosen,” and she is given instructions to safeguard the church against false teachings.
For centuries the church has told women that we are much easier to deceive than men because of one verse in Bible: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (2 Timothy 2:14). It doesn’t matter that the writer of this epistle was giving instructions to a problematic congregation that was having trouble figuring out what be a Christian met, let alone living like one. It doesn’t matter that this verse is only one verse in the entire Bible, and that the Bible has quite a bit to say about wise women who made better decisions than the men in their lives did. Oh no this verse is in the Bible and therefore has to be taken literally for all time, amen.
But two books after 1 Timothy in 2 John we find a letter addressed to a woman encouraging her not to let false doctrine infiltrate the church meeting in her home. From the beginning of the church women guarded the church from those who would deceive the church, like the Elect Lady and Priscilla. Women today are called to do the same thing in their churches.
* There is a debate about who the elect lady is. Is she the overseer of the church or is “elect lady” a metaphor for the church? It would be redundant to address the church twice as “elect lady and her children.” In both 1 and 2 John, “the elder” uses “children” to designate the church he is writing to (1 Jn. 2:1). “Elect lady” is singular and “children” are plural also pointing to different set(s) of people. In 3 John the almost identical greeting is given as 2 John: “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth” (v. 1). Given the uniformity of John’s writing the elect lady then would be the overseer of a church that met in her house.
Related Post
Career Women of the Bible: Church Overseers, Ministers and Patrons
I used to make sure I had a computer-free day during the week to recharge after sitting in front of the computer all week. I’ve decided to return to this practice and start unplugging on Sundays.
Are there times you unplug? What do you do when on day’s you’ve decided to take a break from the computer? I’m thinking of napping and reading a book tomorrow afternoon. Well…after I get done with meetings at church.
Happy weekend everyone!
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It has been a long time since I checked in with The Company Girls at Home Sanctuary! The summer is flying by for me. For new readers wondering who The Company Girls are and what is Home Sanctuary, let me introduce you. Rachel Anne Ridge has created this incredible community called Home Sanctuary. Her goal is to help us, not just clean house, but to keep a home, create a sanctuary. She does this by encouraging us to do a small thing each day. The small things are not just cleaning related, but also relationship and self-care related because creating a sanctuary takes more than the pipe dream Swifter is trying to sell you in it’s commercials. Some past small things have included: how to do a breast exam (her best post ever! Rachel wanted to write this post without actually mentioning the…uh…girls by name, so she wouldn’t be swarmed by prOn bots; her metaphor rocks!), doing something to show Your Hubby how much you love him, dust lampshades, clean your kitchen sink, or if like to read organize your summer reading list, plan a date night with Your Hubby, mop the kitchen floor, and plan meals for the week. She gives us a small thing to do Monday-Friday to help us make the places we live in our home sanctuary.
Company Girls are what Rachel calls those of us who join her sanctuary-making. And on Friday we all get together for coffee! Write a blog post about your week and then go to Rachel’s to link up and read what everyone else is doing. Don’t have a blog? No worries! If you want to join us for coffee, leave a comment on Rachel’s post.
Why haven’t I been spending time with the Company Girls? Because I have been making major progress on my book proposal! Whoo-hoo! I am over half-way done with it! The second sample chapter is almost done, then it’s editing the introduction, updating my market research and outline, and writing the query letter (which will probably be the hardest thing to do). It’s almost there girls! I can’t believe it. I’ve procrastinated on it so long, but I got help. Cairene MacDonald at Third Hand Works helps creative types like me get organized and create systems that work for our right brained wackiness. She just launched a new class called Project Front Burner. It does exactly what it says it does: Cairene shows you how to set up systems to do the things you’ve been putting off and putting off and putting off…. I’ve been in the class since the beginning of July for the express purpose of finishing the proposal. Once a week we call in and tell Cairene our goals and get support. We work for an hour then check in, get advice, get support then work for another hour. The last time we call we tell what we did and we celebrate! I did just start out only working on the proposal on Wednesday, but through two months of the class, I am now working on it 3-4 times a week. The information Cairene gives us for how to do this has been exactly what I needed to organize this project and make progress. The best part is the system I learned from her is going to work for me with blogging and other writing projects. Thank you Cairene for helping me turn The Damn Book Proposal into the The Damned Good Book Proposal. We’re almost there. 
For those of you who need help to break through a project you’ve been procrastinating on, I highly recommend Cairene’s class. Even if you don’t take the class, follow her blog.(This is not an affiliate link, and I’m not getting paid to say this: the class is just that good.)
The other reason I haven’t been around Home Sanctuary much is The 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge that The SITS Girls put on. It just finished up this week, and I still have eight days to go. But I am blogging more regularly, and I am making a plan for this blog instead of just blogging whenever. It’s been a lot of work, and I haven’t always kept up that well (over 500 bloggers accepted the challenge). But I have set up systems (hear that Cairene!), and I fell the most purposeful I’ve felt when it comes to this space. I’ve clarified what I want to do here, and how to get it done. The SITS Girl is making the Building a Better Blog a regular feature on their BlogFrog site for those of you who are interested in joining in. Don’t worry several new people have jumped on board to begin, and there’s always us stragglers working our way through too.
This summer hasn’t been all work. I’ve enjoyed some beautiful walks, went swimming both at a friends pool, and the beach (OK I got into Lake Michigan up to my knees–the water was cold!). I went on a wonderful weekend retreat with our church’s women’s group, my in-laws visited and we went to the Printer’s Row Book Fair, and I’ve preached. I’ve also read some good books, and am ecstatic that Eureka and Warehouse 13 are back on.
So how’s you summer going? Have you made major progress on a bear of a project? Have you and your kiddos taken any adventures? Read a good book lately? Let us know in the comments.
Sphere: Related ContentOh my lovely readers, I had a fantastic day or writing today. My Muse was here, and the words were just flowing. I wanted to share a portrait I wrote for the section on Mary Magdalene.
Mary counted up the money her servant brought her from Magdala from her business there. She exported dried and salted fish to the rest of Israel as well as the Gentile areas around the Sea of Galilee. The last couple of months had been good for the business. Mary was glad because they were running low on funds Jesus needed for his itinerant ministry. The money seemed to go faster and faster; she began to wonder about Judas carrying the money bag for the group. Mary started to follow Jesus a few months ago after he healed her from seven demons. They plagued her since her husband died. She had been able to function and keep them at bay for a long time and succeeded in taking over her husband’s business. It hadn’t been that hard: after all she helped her husband with the business after they were married. But there had been a learning curve, especially dealing with the merchants who shipped her fish. She smiled. She was one of the best hagglers in Magdala now.
All of that had changed when she met Jesus. By that time, she was on the verge of going mad. She fought and fought the voices, but they won. All she heard was what they told her: her husband’s death was her fault, she’d bankrupt the business, why was she still alive? She didn’t deserve to live. Look at how everyone looks at you. She became a hermit. Her faithful servant kept the business running and lied for her. He told people who asked she was traveling, spending some time in Jerusalem and Alexandria. She hadn’t left her house for months when she heard Jesus was in town. Sitting by her window, where she could hear news, but not be seen, she heard of the excorisms. This prophet was able to cast demons out of people. For the first time in a year she felt a twinge of hope. May be it didn’t have to be this way. One day people crowded outside her house and talked about Jesus. He must be near by. Mary made a decision. She put on her widow’s weeds and covered her face with her veil. Steeling herself and taking a deep breath, she slipped out of the door into the crowd then she started pushing her way through the crowd in the direction everyone walked in. Slipping between people and ducking under arms, she finally made it to the front of the crowd. When she felt like she had a shred of courage, she looked up. Jesus was looking straight at her.
Suddenly the voices went crazy in her head: No not him! He’s the Son of the God! He’ll cast us into the abyss! Run you whore run! Mary grabbed her head and screamed. Words came flying out of her mouth but she didn’t know what she was saying. She heard a quiet voice, quiet but full of authority. She never heard such authority before. She stood straight up, and everything was quiet. Not just the crowds. Her head was quiet. The voices were gone. She wasn’t mad anymore. Looking into the eyes of the man who freed her, she knew who he was. In front of her stood the Messiah himself. The Redeemer of Israel. She fell to the ground and said, “My lord.” Gentle hands raised her up and he said, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
That had been a year ago. Mary knew that wherever he went, she would follow. She ran home, and her servant was ecstatic to see her back to her normal self. After she told him what happened, she put him in charge of the business, packed a bag and followed Jesus.
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Women at the Time of the Bible by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh
Women at the Time of the Bible
Feinberg Vamosh literally puts us in the shoes of Biblical women as she shows us their lives in beautiful prose and amazing full-color pictures. The chapters include:
- The Household: Home, Hearth and Beyond
- It’s Never Done: Women’s Work
- Under Caring Wings: Motherhood
- Ladies who Lament: Professional Mourners
- A Teacher for Life: Women and Learning
- Standing out, Speaking Out: Women’s Leadership
She also covers betrothal and marriage, how women worshiped, and the final chapter is on women who lived at the margins of society: prostitutes, mediums, seductresses, and loners. Each chapter ends with a portrait of a woman who personifies the chapter. The portraits are well written narratives of women like Martha, Sarah, Rahab, and Abigal showing us new insights into their lives.
The full color pictures on each page of the book help the reader to see how these women lived, and pictures of present day nomads show, that in some places, life has not changed much from biblical times. Feinberg Vamosh has firmly anchored this book in archealogical finds, history, sociological studies, and the biblical accounts to help us step into the ancient world of our foremothers.
My only quibble with the book was the price. I ordered if off Amazon.com, and I was expecting a bigger book for the price of $19.99, but the quibbling was soon silenced as I began reading the book and marvelling at the pictures. Take it from me: the book is worth the price. Feel free to click on my affiliate link
What are some of your favorite books about the women of the Bible? Any book open your eyes to see these women more clearly and show you something new on their part in sacred history?
This post was written for the Day 28, Post a review challenge at The SITS Girls #31 Days to Better Blogging challenge.
Sphere: Related ContentMy tubal ligation was rescheduled yesterday afternoon. Instead of having it today (and being done with it), I now go in August 26. Hopefully a week from Thursday, it gets done.
Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments you left on why I’m not having children. You are an incredible bunch of women, and I’m so happy you found your way here. Thank you for all the love and support in the decision I have made.
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