Little Girl, Get Up!
Sermon
When I was growing up, there was considerable stereotyping of boys and girls. Although by then we did all go into school by the same entrance and we all sat together in the same classroom, that's where togetherness ended. At playtime the boys went into their playground and the girls went into their playground and never the twain did meet. The boys did their PE separately from the girls, and the boys had classes in woodwork or metalwork while the girls had to learn sewing and embroidery.
But it went deeper than that. Boys and girls together had to learn country dancing, which the boys hated because it was regarded as "sissy". There was very much a culture of "big boys don't cry," and little girls were expected to be demure and dainty, ladylike and pretty. And from the age of eleven onwards, boys and girls went their separate ways. Co-educational schools were the exception rather than the norm.
It wasn't long after the war, where a macho culture of men going off to fight for their country had been essential. But the assumption that life would return to the way it had been before the war, with a strict division into men's jobs and women's jobs, was doomed to failure.
During the war, of course, women had taken on the men's jobs and had proved very adept at them. It was pretty unrealistic to suppose that the women would be willing to return solely to housework as their raison d'etre, and so the emancipation of women won by Emily Pankhurst and others continued in all aspects of life.
But society was still unwilling to give up the concept that "big boys don't cry" and that girls should be "mother's little helper". Hence we produced a generation of men who found it extremely difficult to ever admit that they had any feelings at all, and a generation of women who wanted some life outside the home but who found it quite difficult to handle.
Whenever an established way of life is threatened or challenged, people tend to look to the Bible and to the Church to support their views. Thus in the 50's and 60's there was an awful lot of "the woman's place is in the home" and that their place was ordered by God and must therefore remain as it ever was.
Perhaps the residue of this attitude is that there are still quite a lot of people, both male and female, who are unable to accept women as priests. Just as 30 years ago they were unable to accept women as doctors or solicitors or accountants or whatever.
But actually, Jesus challenged the traditions of his day which kept women in a subservient role. When he met the woman at the well, he spoke to her and treated her as a human being. Not only was she female but she was also a Samaritan, and it was unheard of for Jews to speak to Samaritans, let alone to Samaritan women.
More than that, she would have been considered to be little better than a woman of the streets, for she'd already been through five husbands and was now living with somebody to whom she wasn't married. None of that bothered Jesus. He was only interested in her as a person, as a human being. And he immediately recognised her potential, for that woman became the very first missionary, going back to call her family and her friends and to bring them to Jesus.
When a woman was brought to Jesus from the very act of adultery, he refused to condemn her. The crowd were baying for blood and might actually have stoned her, as the law permitted. But Jesus again treated her as a human being, and offered her his own protection.
During menstruation, women were regarded as unclean, which meant they could take no part in any public gatherings including worship. When a woman who had been continuously menstruating for twelve years broke that law by mingling with the crowd who were gathered around Jesus, he had compassion on her. She had been an outcast for all that time through no fault of her own, and she merely wanted to touch the hem of his garment. Jesus saw her need and instantly healed her.
When a Syro-Phonecian woman begged Jesus to heal her daughter, even Jesus balked at that, for the Syro-Phonecians weren't Jews but Gentiles. But he listened to the woman and he respected her and he allowed her to change his mind and his attitude. And he healed her daughter.
When a prostitute wept over Jesus' feet and dried them on her hair, which can only be considered an exceedingly sensual act, the Pharisees were outraged. But Jesus not only defended her action, but also commended it as a sign of her great love. Love, he said, was more important than all the rules and regulations in the world.
And when a couple of sisters were bickering over who should do the housework, Jesus said that sitting at his feet like a male student, listening to and learning from him was more important than housework.
In today's reading of the healing of Jairus' daughter, Jairus a leader of the synagogue, is distraught over his daughter's illness. That in itself was quite something, for girls and women were regarded as of no more importance or value than cattle. But Jairus clearly loved his little girl, for he kept on and on at Jesus begging him to save her.
Jesus heard the urgency and despair in Jairus' voice, and went with him to his home. "Don't weep," Jesus said to the crowds gathered round. "This isn't the end of everything. This isn't a hopeless case. It looks like everything is over, but it isn't."
Then he went into the little girl's room, and said to her, "Little girl, get up." And the little girl not only got up, but was instantly full of life, walking about the room and asking for food.
Sometimes it feels good to be a little girl again. It feels good to be protected and treated as a child and fussed over and looked after. It feels good to slip back into that stereotype of what a woman ought to be, sweet and gentle, submissive and obedient, acting exactly as society expects her to act.
But the downside of that is that you submerge your own personality under the wishes and expectations of society. And it becomes difficult to do anything outside those boundaries, for fear of upsetting the status quo.
In many ways, life is much easier for those who conform to the role of society expects them to play. Society approves of "nice girls". But that sort of life isn't the eternal life promised to Christians. Jesus promises a life full of excitement and joy and delight and happiness, but that can only be experienced by those who are willing to face crucifixion.
For some, crucifixion might be stepping outside the role laid down for them by society. But that means standing up and taking responsibility for yourself, and acknowledging that the real you might not be quite what society likes in its women.
Life is much easier not taking any responsibility, for if you don't do anything, then you can't get it wrong. But that won't lead to eternal life. Eternal life will be experienced by those who play a full part in life, realising their own God-given potential, taking the risks of growing up and becoming people in their own right.
"Little girl," said Jesus, "get up."
Don't just lie there, get up and do something.
But it went deeper than that. Boys and girls together had to learn country dancing, which the boys hated because it was regarded as "sissy". There was very much a culture of "big boys don't cry," and little girls were expected to be demure and dainty, ladylike and pretty. And from the age of eleven onwards, boys and girls went their separate ways. Co-educational schools were the exception rather than the norm.
It wasn't long after the war, where a macho culture of men going off to fight for their country had been essential. But the assumption that life would return to the way it had been before the war, with a strict division into men's jobs and women's jobs, was doomed to failure.
During the war, of course, women had taken on the men's jobs and had proved very adept at them. It was pretty unrealistic to suppose that the women would be willing to return solely to housework as their raison d'etre, and so the emancipation of women won by Emily Pankhurst and others continued in all aspects of life.
But society was still unwilling to give up the concept that "big boys don't cry" and that girls should be "mother's little helper". Hence we produced a generation of men who found it extremely difficult to ever admit that they had any feelings at all, and a generation of women who wanted some life outside the home but who found it quite difficult to handle.
Whenever an established way of life is threatened or challenged, people tend to look to the Bible and to the Church to support their views. Thus in the 50's and 60's there was an awful lot of "the woman's place is in the home" and that their place was ordered by God and must therefore remain as it ever was.
Perhaps the residue of this attitude is that there are still quite a lot of people, both male and female, who are unable to accept women as priests. Just as 30 years ago they were unable to accept women as doctors or solicitors or accountants or whatever.
But actually, Jesus challenged the traditions of his day which kept women in a subservient role. When he met the woman at the well, he spoke to her and treated her as a human being. Not only was she female but she was also a Samaritan, and it was unheard of for Jews to speak to Samaritans, let alone to Samaritan women.
More than that, she would have been considered to be little better than a woman of the streets, for she'd already been through five husbands and was now living with somebody to whom she wasn't married. None of that bothered Jesus. He was only interested in her as a person, as a human being. And he immediately recognised her potential, for that woman became the very first missionary, going back to call her family and her friends and to bring them to Jesus.
When a woman was brought to Jesus from the very act of adultery, he refused to condemn her. The crowd were baying for blood and might actually have stoned her, as the law permitted. But Jesus again treated her as a human being, and offered her his own protection.
During menstruation, women were regarded as unclean, which meant they could take no part in any public gatherings including worship. When a woman who had been continuously menstruating for twelve years broke that law by mingling with the crowd who were gathered around Jesus, he had compassion on her. She had been an outcast for all that time through no fault of her own, and she merely wanted to touch the hem of his garment. Jesus saw her need and instantly healed her.
When a Syro-Phonecian woman begged Jesus to heal her daughter, even Jesus balked at that, for the Syro-Phonecians weren't Jews but Gentiles. But he listened to the woman and he respected her and he allowed her to change his mind and his attitude. And he healed her daughter.
When a prostitute wept over Jesus' feet and dried them on her hair, which can only be considered an exceedingly sensual act, the Pharisees were outraged. But Jesus not only defended her action, but also commended it as a sign of her great love. Love, he said, was more important than all the rules and regulations in the world.
And when a couple of sisters were bickering over who should do the housework, Jesus said that sitting at his feet like a male student, listening to and learning from him was more important than housework.
In today's reading of the healing of Jairus' daughter, Jairus a leader of the synagogue, is distraught over his daughter's illness. That in itself was quite something, for girls and women were regarded as of no more importance or value than cattle. But Jairus clearly loved his little girl, for he kept on and on at Jesus begging him to save her.
Jesus heard the urgency and despair in Jairus' voice, and went with him to his home. "Don't weep," Jesus said to the crowds gathered round. "This isn't the end of everything. This isn't a hopeless case. It looks like everything is over, but it isn't."
Then he went into the little girl's room, and said to her, "Little girl, get up." And the little girl not only got up, but was instantly full of life, walking about the room and asking for food.
Sometimes it feels good to be a little girl again. It feels good to be protected and treated as a child and fussed over and looked after. It feels good to slip back into that stereotype of what a woman ought to be, sweet and gentle, submissive and obedient, acting exactly as society expects her to act.
But the downside of that is that you submerge your own personality under the wishes and expectations of society. And it becomes difficult to do anything outside those boundaries, for fear of upsetting the status quo.
In many ways, life is much easier for those who conform to the role of society expects them to play. Society approves of "nice girls". But that sort of life isn't the eternal life promised to Christians. Jesus promises a life full of excitement and joy and delight and happiness, but that can only be experienced by those who are willing to face crucifixion.
For some, crucifixion might be stepping outside the role laid down for them by society. But that means standing up and taking responsibility for yourself, and acknowledging that the real you might not be quite what society likes in its women.
Life is much easier not taking any responsibility, for if you don't do anything, then you can't get it wrong. But that won't lead to eternal life. Eternal life will be experienced by those who play a full part in life, realising their own God-given potential, taking the risks of growing up and becoming people in their own right.
"Little girl," said Jesus, "get up."
Don't just lie there, get up and do something.
