OPEN SESAME
by Alison Miller
April 10, 2005
I arrived at my "Introduction to Theological Education for Ministry" class a little early in anticipation of meeting our invited guest, Sister Jeannette Normandin, a popular, well-respected and outspoken nun in the Boston area. Sister Jeannette worked and lived in the progressive Jesuit Urban Center. She also served as the C.E.O of Ruah, an assisted living center for women with AIDS that she founded in 1994.
We waited, but Sister Jeannette never arrived. It turned out she was detained dealing with the news that she was about to be fired from her post of eleven years and evicted from her home.
On October 22, 2000, She did something unforgivable, at least in the eyes of the Jesuit leadership in Boston. Sister Jeannette T. Normandin helped to baptize a baby boy. The unforgivable part was that she performed rites—sprinkling the child with water, anointing him with oil and reciting a prayer of blessing—that, according to canon law, are reserved for priests and deacons alone. In addition, she appeared in an alb and a stole at a wedding earlier in the year. Sister Jeannette was fired along with the priest who officiated at the baptism with her.
Many speculated that Sister Jeannette's fate was sealed months earlier when she openly questioned church doctrine in an interview with the Boston Globe. To quote from the article she said, "There are certain things I don't agree with and I'll die not agreeing. I believe in safe sex. I have to believe in that because it saves lives. And I don't agree that women should not be ordained as priests. There's nothing in the Scriptures that says that."
Unfortunately the gatekeepers of religious power often quote the following from Paul's first letter to Timothy chapter 2: "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent." It is suspicious that Paul is against the role of women as spiritual teachers when he so clearly chose women as heads of his house churches. At least, it is suspicious until you read historical-critical analysis and learn this line was penned after Paul's death. You see, I believe that Paul was for equal rites (spelled R-I-T-E-S). Perhaps, Paul actually desired to continue the more subversive teachings of Jesus with regard to empowering the poor and oppressed. The idea of women in positions of authority upset the patriarchal traditions upheld in Judaism, early Christianity and the Hellenistic traditions of the first and second centuries.
It was not long before the church hierarchy sought to once again close the door that had begun to let women have access to full spiritual authority. There are hints of this struggle in the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, where the apostle Peter wrestles with the idea of sharing power with a woman. Here is a glimpse of that story:
I at least do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas." Peter answered and spoke concerning these same things. He questioned them about the Savior: "Did he really speak with a woman without our knowledge (and) not openly? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?"
Then Mary wept and said to Peter, "My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I thought this up myself in my heart, or that I am lying about the Savior?" Levi answered and said to Peter, "Peter you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her?"
Peter is considered in the Catholic tradition to be the first Pope. Amidst the fond farewells, praise and pomp of the last week, I have not been able to get Sister Jeannette or the stubborn Peter of the Gospel of Mary out of my head. There is no doubt that Pope John Paul II deserves much of the praise with which he has been showered. I admire the way that he stood up to heads of state, including ours, and demanded that peace and poverty remain at the forefront of the agenda. He used his sphere of influence over a billion people on this planet to prop open the wrought iron gates protecting the wealthy and powerful. He would force them to gaze on how their actions affected the suffering and the starving.
It is fitting to see repeated footage of John Paul opening the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica to launch the Jubilee Year in 2000. The Pope, in keeping with the teachings of Leviticus, advocated the jubilee year as a time to wipe out debts of poor nations and people. He writes, "The jubilee year was meant to restore equality among all the children of Israel, offering new possibilities to the families which had lost their property and personal freedomÉ Justice, according to the Law of Israel, consisted above all in the protection of the weak."
The Holy Door is meant to invoke the parable of Jesus in the Gospel of John chapter 10: "I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture." Jesus is depicted as a good shepherd leading his flock to an "abundant life." Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "In every wall there is a door," and we can see John Paul II beckoning those without hope to have faith that they too deserve to share in the world's abundance.
It turns into more of a "Grimm" fairy tale when this image of the Pope as a benevolent shepherd is contrasted with his continued efforts to preserve doctrine above the comprehensive freedoms of his followers, especially when they threaten his authority. A man whose paranoia prevents him from understanding the logical fulfillment of his teachings once again plays the role of Peter. The paradox is that only by sharing power do gain even more power.
Rather than a metaphorical gate swinging in the direction of freedom, on several issues especially where women, homosexuality or actually all expressions of sexuality are concerned, Pope John Paul becomes more of an impenetrable wall with no evident door. It is difficult to reconcile his efforts to dialogue with non-Catholics and non-Christians with his clear insistence on one path to God. It is harder to reconcile his reverence of the mother Mary with his clear disdain for the advancement of women serving in his church. And it is impossible to understand how he can claim to care for millions dying of AIDS in Africa while indoctrinating new groups of Africans against the use of condoms. On one hand we see the Pope as a strong man speaking out against totalitarian communist regimes. On the other we see him so nervous about socialist agenda that he publicly scolds the followers of liberation theology, a movement started in Catholic Latin America in the 1970s that demands the church concentrate on liberation of the poor and oppressed.
While papal infallibility is clearly doubtful due to these very public contradictions of Pope John Paul II, the point that is relevant to us is the fallibility of all people. Like the Pope, we all play different roles at different times. All of us can be the gatekeeper, the person trying to find and get through the gate, and the person able to help other people trying to get through. The interesting question is not what all of this says about the Pope, but what it says about all of us gathered here in the pews as individuals and as a religious community.
We tend to be most aware when we are the ones trying to find and get through the gate that separates us from what we desire. When we are the ones in this situation it is important to make sure that the gates we seek do not lead to false gods or false idols. Individuals often mistake the gate of wealth for the gate of true happiness and the gate of unlimited freedom for that of peace. Buying anything I want is not the same as being who I want. Doing anything I want is not the same as peace and liberty for all. Our recent diplomatic moves have concentrated more on American wealth and the implicit freedom to blow up walls and create our own doors where there were none. This leads to a false kind of freedom for our country that will be preserved as long as we have the most resources. Opening the gate to peace requires honesty, humility and patience, but will lead to a truer kind of interdependent freedom for all. This is freedom tempered by love of neighbor; freedom without such love is meaningless.
We are frequently aware when we are the gatekeeper and control access to the metaphorical pasture on the other side, be it equality, power, or education. Gatekeepers must ask themselves what guides their decisions about who gets through, and why they have created a gate able to swing open and shut rather than an open passageway. Is it truth and love or self-deception and fear? Boundaries can be positive. As I just mentioned, unlimited freedom does not lead to peaceful co-existence. If the boundaries are acknowledgement of sharing, whether it is the environment or power, this is especially true. If we are to be stewards of the earth, we need knowledgeable gatekeepers who help decide how much of the plant life we can consume for the preservation of our planet and human life. Laws can provide positive gates, such as those placing protection on the rain forests and the arctic wilderness. These kinds of gates often preserve the freedom of the weak from the tyranny of the powerful.
Of all the roles we play, though, I have observed that we are least aware when we are neither the gatekeeper, nor the seeker, but the one able to help the person trying to get through the gate. First of all we prefer to think in terms of dualities: seeker and gatekeeper. Second, we are neither actively trying to gain something or protect something. Life is busy and it is easier to abdicate our power to those most directly involved. If we benefit from someone remaining on the inside or the outside of the gate, it requires only our silence or non-action to contribute to the status quo. The irony is that we spend a lot of our time in this untapped third role. Given that most of us in this room have more than our basic needs met in our lives, we have expendable power and privilege that can help create a world of open doors and responsible gatekeepers who we might prefer to call stewards.
The simplest thing we can do for another trying to find fulfillment, love or freedom is lend our expertise and perspective. We may be able to see a door where someone else finds none, or we may see that someone already possesses exactly what they are searching for. There is a story about a young Buddhist that illustrates this point. One day a young man on his journey home, came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, "Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river?" The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, "My son, you are on the other side".
Just as boundaries can be a good thing, so can privilege. If we have privilege in the form of wealth, education, gender, or the color of our skin, we can facilitate access to certain locked gates. Too often people are made to feel guilty over identities they were born into or have no control over. The key that changes the world into a beloved community is not guilt. Rather, the key that turns the lock towards greater freedom for all is acknowledging the privileges we possess and embracing the power we have to give others access to the gates of their fulfillment. This is part of the responsibility of participating in a liberal religious community.
I am happy to report that there are empowering stories of this type of work that go on every single week in this congregation. Some of us may be the actual gatekeepers who have control over standards of education, the rising costs of rentals, and the distribution of food around the world. To those of you I suggest, responsible stewardship. More of us do not. Yet, we do possess power to ally ourselves with the oppressed and those who are in need. Our volunteers for Monday Night and Friday afternoon hospitality link low-income neighbors to sustenance in the form of food and social connections. We are also savvy enough in this congregation to know that there is often a second locked gate standing between the seeker and freedom. Many of those who serve in our hospitality programs go on to advocate for affordable housing and comprehensive education for children and adults through the Booker T. Washington Learning center and our adopt-a-school program. Working against oppression is not just something that we do "out there" either. As a faith community we are learning to confront our own fears about upsetting the status quo here at All Souls through initiatives like the "Journey Towards Wholeness" that helps members dialogue and learn how to be effective anti-racists. What privileges do you possess? What gifts can you share?
There is an incredible transformation that happens in our hearts when we have the courage girded by love to help open doors for others. What we discover as we help open doors and dismantle the barriers of oppression for others is that these barriers also separated us to from being closer to a world where we are truly free. You see, the pope wound up wasting some of his precious energy guarding a special relationship between male priests, power and God. Our community finds ourselves once more on the periphery of this issue. We are neither the gatekeeper, nor the seeker. We do not at first seem to be directly impacted. Yet, the same abuse of power that allows women in the Catholic Church to be silenced does have a wider impact on your Unitarian sisters.
I finally understand what Sister Jeannette meant when she said to our class when she visited in the ensuing weeks. She claimed that she wasn't trying to make a political statement by participating in that baptism. Just a few weeks ago, a couple was arranging a wedding at All Souls. When they found out that the Reverend Miller was a woman they declined my services. They didn't want a woman minister. And another couple has chosen me specifically to upset their parents. I too am just trying to express my sense of who I am called to be in this world. If the pope could have seen his way to open up the channels for women to take their rightful place at his side, he would have opened an even wider space in his heart for the love of women and the love of God.
Our Unitarian heroine, Elizabeth Cady Stanton sums it up well, "Love is the vital essence that pervades and permeates, from the center to the circumference, the graduating circles of all thought and action. Love is the talisman of human weal and woeÑthe open sesame to every soul." The incredible, magical thing that happens as we cast aside the boulders of our walls and unlock the gates of oppression is that we find the key that unlocks the gate in our heart. We find that we are more connected with all humanity and the spirit of life. May we be girded by that kind of loving courage. May it be so.
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