WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITY AND THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION       
Sunitha Noronha

    We are celebrating a great landmark in the history of women’s movement in general and Christian Women’s Movement in particular i.e. the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of Women’s Ordination in India, particularly in the Church of South India.  I wish to congratulate all ordained women for their determination to do God’s will in their life and the life of our society and Church.
    As women, ordination is our birthright, but some times one is sorry to say that we have to struggle  for it in the Church.  Who is the Church after all?  Aren’t women ‘the’ Church?  If yes, then why are we struggling to ger ordination in so many of our church’s denominations?
    However, I trust that like the Church of South India and several other Churches, women’s ordination will soon be a reality in all denominations.
    The topic of my Bible Study is “Women’s Spirituality and Theological Education”.  Being a Methodist, I have taken the liberty to use illustrations from the context of the Methodist Church in India.

Introduction:
    One of the main concerns of the early Methodist Missionaries who came to India was to provide education for all, more specifically for the girl child and women who were discriminated against by the then prevailing society.  Indian women, a century back, and even often now were never taught to or to hold personal opinion on the question anything, leave alone their own faith.
    Bishop J.M. Thoburn, one of the great pioneers of Methodism in India writes that at least the Corinthian woman was given the option to go home and ask her husband, if she did not understand something, but the Indian woman was not even allowed to do so.  Firstly, because she is not supposed to know.  Secondly, her desire to read is considered presumptuous.  Thirdly, her longing to learn is certainly punished by the god’s themselves with widowhood.  This fear was prevalent, he writes, in all classes of people.
    Thus down through the ages, in our country, women were not allowed to read, learn or understand things for themselves.  One of the reasons given for the same was that there is nothing fit for them to read.  This lack of reading material, lack of the opportunity to engage in intellectual discussion with others, and lack of proper guidance in spiritual matters, served as a deterrent to their wholistic development as unique individuals created in the image of God.
    Of course, the situation has relatively improved since then.  However, there are schools and colleges for girls.  Women are now given opportunity in various vocations, trade and skills.  Even Churches send a handful of women for theological education.  A couple or so are given the opportunity to lead mixed Bible study groups  and one or two women are allowed to preach  off and on from the pulpit.
    Doesn’t sound very encouraging does it?  But this is the reality.

Denial of Theological Education:
    Denial of Theological Education to women is directly linked with certain factors such as patriarchy, socialization, sex role stereotyping and discounting women’s spirituality.
    Pursuing education, most often than not, consciously or unconsciously is a thing decided or imposed by the elders in the family.  Going for theological education, was not an option open for me.  In fact the family did all they could to oppose and suppress my decision.  How I had my way is another story.
    Young people as they grow into adulthood learn that as representatives of a particular sex, they ought to behave in a particular manner.  They learn that females are expected   to play different roles from males.  They learn to believe in myths for example,  clergy should be all male, they learn that Bible is taught better by men because they are intellectually superior than women.
    A lot of educational research has been done into this aspect.  It is found that the extent of internalization of values regarding women’s low profile position is evident in the selection of courses offered by male and female students in college.  For example, boys generally select subjects that lead to high profile jobs, whereas girls choose these feminine subjects which lead to low profile jobs which primarily lead to subjugation of women by men.
    Women are denied the right to theological in the Church.  For example, in one of the Churches, Bible Study Leaders, Workshop was conducted late in the evening when only men could attend.  Why this discrimination that only husbands must attend?  Must women stay back to take care of  cooking and children?  Why not vice-versa.  In another Church, in the Lay Training Programme, there were only 12 men and no women.  So what are we communicating by that?  That women can do without theological education because after all they don’t need to teach theology.  Somehow the notion continues that it is imperative for men to learn the skills of leading Bible Study for women it can be optional or even unnecessary.

Women’s Spirituality
    The question that we consciously need to ask is -
    What has happened to all the stories and contribution of our ‘Fore-mothers’?  Why are there only Patriarchs in the Bible?  Why do Patriarchs have only sons?  Why do we preach about Eve, Miriam, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and about of others as appendices to their great leader kindreds or brothers?  Most often than not if we do speak about them it is only to discount their spirituality.  To put them down.  To over emphasize and highlight  their mistakes and the sins they have committed.  This is true in our teaching, our preaching, our literature, our jokes, and our attitudes.
    What is it that we want to prove?  That women’s spirituality is of no consequence, that it can only lead to sin and suffering.

Is that it?
One of the main reasons for the emergence of so few women leaders in the spiritual sphere is not because they are not spiritual enough but because they are not given equal importance due to the power of socialization and discounting women’s spirituality.
    However, even though men have sought to put down women’s spirituality and have tried to marginalize their contribution in religion, culture, literature and history, one cannot negate the fact that religious traditions still have many many stories of women who had a great spiritual power, women who have a liberating story to tell, women who have a prophetic message to proclaim, women who have deep mystical truths to share. (Let’s name some of them here)
    We need to rediscover these rights within our own denomination and Church.  We need to do some research on the lives of these great women saints, write about them and tell others.  Let people know that in the sight of God women are equal to men.
    We are only too well aware of Suzanna Wesley who is fondly known as the ‘Mother of Methodism.’  While her husband Samuel Wesley was away, Suzanna started holding services for her children and the servants and others from the neighbourhood in her house.  She was convinced that “Those who have the honour of speaking to the great and holy God need not to be ashamed to speak before the whole world.”  There was a great Revival.  But as expected, Samuel Wesley was very displeased.  Even though he recognised her intellect and spirituality, it was an unheard of thing to allow women to conduct services.  So he asked her to discontinue.
    But Suzanna was made of a different mettle.  She immediately wrote back saying that if he thought that she should stop preaching then he must not say that he desired for her to do so, because that would not satisfy her conscience.  She insisted on him sending her his positive command in such  authoritative terms that she may be absolved of all guilt and punishment for neglecting this opportunity of doing good, when both of them stood before God on the great Judgment Day.
    Of course, her husband did not reply to the same.
Let us go back to Jesus’ time
“Theologically Trained Women in Jesus time”
Women were theologically equipped in Jesus time.

How can I say:
- Mary’s knowledge and deep relationship with God.  Lk. 1:46-56.
- Prophets Anna spoke about the child Jesus - to all who will look for the redemption
   of Jerusalem.
- The women who were with Jesus along with the twelve- were learning all that Jesus had
   to teach, particularly Scriptures, good news, learning straight from the master himself.  Lk. 8:1-3.

Mary at the feet of Jesus:
    The story of Mary sitting and learning at the feet of Jesus is a popular story. Lk. 10:38-42.
    Obviously, Jesus was not making small talk with Mary.  He was communicating deep theological truths to her.  He even said, “Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her.”  By this, Jesus had made a very radical revolutionary statement.  In his time, we know that the Jewish men in their daily prayers thanked God every morning for not making them a slave, a gentile, a non-Jew or a woman.  So much so that Jewish teachers of law thought it is far better to tear the Torah or Jewish Scriptures than to allow women to study it.

Jesus broke the tradition: 
    Jesus commended Mary for being unconventional and chided Martha for being a stereotype.  Mary had chosen to do what only men were to do in that particular context. i.e. To study, to learn, to be informed, to discuss, to reason, to understand God’s word.  She liberated herself from the bondage of thousands of years of tradition.

Anointing Jesus:
    The story of Mary anointing Jesus is recorded in Gospels with some minor changes.  Mt. 26: 6-13,  Mk. 14:3-9, Jn. 12:1-8.
    It was her theological education that enabled her to go  a step ahead of her male counterparts.  While the male disciples were still struggling and arguing about the peripheral she went straight to the center.  In the midst of men, she performed the role of a prophet and priest.  She anointed the body of Jesus.  Jesus himself acknowledged that she has prepared him for burial.  Anointing could be understood in terms of anointing Jesus as king and claiming his Messiahship, one who came into this world to give his life as a ransom for many.  By doing this, she crossed all external barriers.  Where did she get the strength to do this great act.  To be better equipped she gave her time and energy into learning God’s Word so that at the right moment she could do what other women and men only dreamt of.

Impact of Jesus’ words on Martha:
    Jesus’ reply to Martha was also equally liberating for Martha.  If we use our imagination a little bit, we can hear Jesus saying, Martha you have allowed yourself to be fooled by the myth that you can please me by actively engaging yourself in household chores.  They are not just for you, there are as much the responsibility of Lazarus and Mary as yours.  If he can sit and learn so can you.  Get yourself free.  Martha liberate yourself.  So far you have engaged only your hands for me - engage your mind now.  You have every right to learn.  Your world is too narrow Martha. It is limited to the four walls of the kitchen- and so is your worldview - widen your horizon and your space.  Broaden your perspective.     
    There’s more to life than ‘Chulha Chakki’.  Mary has chosen the better part, but so can you.  You are equally privileged. Go for it Martha, Go for it.  That did it.  Martha heard Jesus.  Once was enough.  She set her priorities right.  Dropped the unnecessary chores, rescheduled her time, and began to engage her mind into the essentials of theology.
    We see her again Jn. 11:20f.  But this time a different Martha.  Martha discussing theology with Jesus.  And Jesus revealing great spiritual and theological insights to her.  “I am the resurrection and the Life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  Martha responds with the most extraordinary reply.  “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
    This was her theological confession, which of course is very much sidelined simply because it has come from the lips of a woman.  On the other hand, Peter makes a similar confession in Mt. 16:13-18 “You are the Messiah the Son of the Living God.”

But look at Jesus’ response recorded for us.
Three heavily loaded verses:

“Blessed are you, Simon, Son of Jonah, For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the Kingdon of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
    I am very confident that Jesus said something exactly the same to Martha, but it is not recorded for us.  Martha’s great confession goes un-noticed.  However, we cannot under-estimate the fact that Martha’s response is a result of her personal spirituality and theological understanding coupled with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as much as that of Peter’s.
    In my mind’s eye Martha is as important as Peter, but sadly her contribution is ignored and discounted, while Peter is exalted.  Is God partial?  Or is the Church responsible for this neglect?

Conclusion:
    In the long history of the Church, How many women have received theological education? How many women can be counted as theologians in their own right?  What definite steps have been taken  to encourage women for theological education?  Where are the theological educators from your church?  Where are the ordained women?  Where are the Women Bishops? Why this waste?
    These are some hard questions that we need to ask ourselves.
    Let us arise and awake in this Millennium itself, or else we may have only ourselves to blame.  It is time the Church set right its teaching and its emphasis.  It is time we women realized that we have a definite contribution to make in the life of the Church.  Some of us may be called to rewrite women’s history.  Some to study and teach theology, others to interpret scriptures from a woman’s perspective, still others to make theology relevant to our needs and times today.  Who will do this? When will we women rise to the occasion?  This is the time.  Let us awake, arise and achieve.
    Let us listen to the still small voice not recorded in the Bible but is nevertheless ‘exist’ there saying:  Let us say to ourselves, I am willing to believe in myself, in God’s pulpit, in God’s theology, God’s ordination is open for me.  I will build my church on you Mary - on you Martha, on you (put your name)
    Let us thank God that all spiritual gifts are equally distributed to women and men, be it teaching, preaching, prophesying, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, administration, evangelist, pastor neither wisdom, knowledge, faith, working of miracles, and discernment of spirits (Ep. 4:11-12;  1 Cor. 12:4-11).  God is not partial God calls all for God’s ministry and God gives to all liberally.  What more Scriptural proof do we want to allow women not only to receive theological education but also to be able to use their spiritual gifts and talents for the equipping of saints and betterment of society.
    Let us pray in the words of  St. Paul.  Phil 1: 9-10.

“.... And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best....” Amen.