Limited

I recently heard an interesting reflection on the Parable of the Tenants. The priest talked about Jesus referencing Scriptures to the leaders of his time, paralleling them with those who had a possessive attitude and refused to hand over the harvest. He further referenced the tendency of Jesus to include those judged by the Pharisees – the ‘unclean’, the sick, the poor, those who had made errors in judgement.

In a moment I saw a parallel myself – so stunningly clear it took my breath away. Before I give it, let me just clarify that I really like Pope Francis and find his approach a great improvement, and I am a practicing Catholic. I have a slight discomfort with my analogy but that is my challenge to carry.

Servants with a possessive attitude. Well, I’m sorry, but that is the Church. Despite all of the shifts in social perspectives around women and equal rights, women still have no say at the decision-making table in the Catholic church. Much as I love Pope Francis, he has not addressed this. The Church is not the great includer that Jesus was. As a woman I am limited in my own church. The Catholic Church is a church that still does not subscribe to gender equality.

There are still so many external limits placed unjustly on human beings. Then we go and add our own when we limit ourselves and doubt our ability to even try. Add to this the limits that are genetically bestowed on us – we are indeed caged by limitations.

How do these limits impact how fruitful we are or what harvest we bear? How do we navigate through the drought?

The priest also spoke of the mercy of God as a stumbling block for the Pharisees. They could not fathom the depth of God’s love and mercy. Why can’t a woman run the Catholic Church? What is it that truly creates this particular limit? Women run organisations all the time (often successfully). Women pray. Women act bound by Catholic ethics. Men do not hold this monopoly. And yet – interesting thought- all the Pharisees were men too. And Jesus told them they were going to lose the kingdom, that it would be given to a people who will produce it’s fruit because they were unable to see beyond the literal or traditional.

Time for girls to get into the garden!