A Tribute to Women
Mother’s Day triggers a multitude of memories within me, as it does for many people, especially for those of us who wear a white rose. My mom, a small woman, was a bundle of energy, always involved in some household project. It seemed that she was forever mopping or waxing the floors, doing the laundry, preparing meals, ironing shirts or shopping for groceries. Not until she was well into her 80s did I see her rest during the day. Mom showed her love to her family by creating an environment best described by the German word “Gemutlichkeit,” a serene feeling of coziness. Our home was a refuge from the hustle and bustle and pressures of the world.
While both father and mother shape their children’s lives in countless ways, moms play a unique role that is irreplaceable, especially in the early formative years of a child’s life. Even in today’s culture, where many moms work outside the home, their influence can’t be denied. I am heartened that in many families the father and children have assumed some of the responsibilities that in earlier periods fell to the mothers, but moms still play a pivotal role in most families. There are things in family life that are best suited for a mother’s special touch.
Mother’s Day provides an opportunity to honor the moms who brought us into the world, changed our diapers, held us when we cried, washed and ironed our clothes, fixed our meals, cleaned the house, helped us with our school work, drove us to soccer practice, not to mention a slew of little things that we took for granted. And, as is true for many mothers today, she fulfilled all these roles while working full-time outside the home. Granted, in today’s culture, dads assist in many of these tasks, but moms continue to carry a heavy load in most family systems.
For most of human history, women have been at the beck and call, and frequently the mercy, of men. Even the world’s major religions relegated women to a subservient position in the family hierarchy. Interestingly, while some people read Scripture with a patriarchal lens, a close reading of the Bible reveals tell-tale signs that God’s grand design for the relationship between a man and a woman was to be one of equality, and certainly not one of inferiority.
The stories of significant women in the Old Testament, such as Ruth, Miriam, and Deborah, as well as many others, challenge the prevailing misogynistic views of the ancient world that women are inferior to men. In the New Testament we find women playing key roles in serving the church and sharing the Gospel. Priscilla’s work with the Apostle Paul was instrumental in his missionary travels. One of the first deacons, Philip, had four unmarried daughters who were preachers. In fact, one of the early Church Fathers, Papias, bishop of Asian Hierapolis, mentioned in his writings that these women were influential in helping to spread the message of Jesus in the early years of the church.
In the churches I served as pastor, women were called as staff members, preached sermons, taught Bible study classes, chaired key committees, organized a variety of ministries, and more times than I can count, reminded the church of what it means to be a follower of Jesus through their irenic words and Christ-like service. The Apostle Paul’s praise for the woman Phoebe (possibly a woman deacon) underscores that the work of the church is indispensably strengthened because of saintly women (Rom. 16:1).
With the obvious contributions that women have made throughout history, not only within the family unit, but also in the religious, political, and business arena, one would think that their place in the world would be unquestionably appreciated and respected, but often that is still not the case. Women, in 2024, earn less money than men for similar jobs, around 16-18 percent less (Pew Research Center). Women struggle at a greater rate than men to be promoted and continue to be plagued by sexual harassment and discrimination.
Unfortunately, women have had to fight for their place in the world for thousands of years. While there have been women who have risen to great heights—governed powerful nations, found cures for diseases, written best-selling books, inspired religious devotion, ran billion dollar companies—most women have found themselves on the lower rung of the social strata. Progress has been frustratingly slow in the acceptance of women as equal partners with men.
Only with the passing of the 19th Amendment, in 1920, did women finally receive the right to vote in America. For over 70 years they had fought for women suffrage, sometimes suffering humiliating experiences, such as being imprisoned or forced fed for fighting for the right to vote. If you can believe it, some folks thought that if women started voting they would grow beards! Seriously, I’m not making this up. The treatment of women in America has often been an embarrassment and certainly not a model for the rest of the world.
Yet, the tide appears to be slowly turning in a more encouraging direction. Mothers are now on the Supreme Court, are elected to important political offices, serve as university presidents, pastor churches, run hospitals, lead Fortune 500 companies, and are employed in positions of respect they could only have dreamed about just a generation ago. In the past decade we’ve seen remarkable women compete with men for the highest office in the land, and, in the not too distant future, we may be privileged to address our nation’s leader as “Madam President.”
