It’s time for our reality to catch up to our poetry
By Beth Booram
“It’s time for our reality to catch up to our poetry.” Andy Jacobs
Just days after Obama was elected, I was watching the news when former Indiana Congressman, Andy Jacobs, was interviewed. I don’t recall why he was, but I do remember observing his strong emotions as he described waiting for the election returns and wondering if his personal dream of seeing an African American as President would be realized.
At one point, Jacobs named the source of his inspiration when he referred to the Declaration of Independence. He recited the words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Then he said with unabashed conviction, “It’s time for our reality to catch up with our poetry!”
That statement separated itself from all the other comments Jacobs made. It hung suspended by itself, containing a weight and significance I couldn’t ignore. I immediately transposed this thought to experiences in my life when the gap between reality and poetry was too far adrift. One experience pressed forward, its nerve struck by the truth of Jacob’s remark.
Most of my life, I have been involved in vocational Christian ministry in environments where women are excluded from certain roles and types of ministry within the church. As a woman, I have heard the poetry of women being valued and regarded for their contributions—being considered equals to men. But reality often displayed a different truth.
For example, I remember one Sunday morning, sitting in a service where a group was being commissioned for a short-term mission’s trip. The senior pastor introduced the team and then asked all the elders to come forward to lay hands on them and pray for them. I watched as the scene unfolded: a handful of men, and only men, mounted the platform with stately importance.
While the pastor prayed, I kept my eyes open and took in the drama as all male elders gathered around the team, their eyes closed, their faces composed of somber seriousness. They placed their hands on the shoulders of the harbingers—suggesting a transmission of kingly power and authority. I asked God, “Why?” “Why are only men invited to participate in this pastoral act?” The event spoke volumes to me. The subliminal message was clear. Men have a spiritual authority that women don’t have.
The poetry was getting old and beginning to sound sentimental. My heart ached for more than lyrical rhymes. The lines of verse were beautiful and noble, right and hopeful. And those who recited them assumed that I would be satisfied with listening to the poem. But what they failed to realize is that poetry awakens the heart. Mine wanted more than pretty language. I wanted the lines to become piercing, prophetic, and convicting. I wanted reality to catch up with the poetry.
Certainly, all of our lives, including mine, are riddled with gaps: places where what we say and what we do have an embarrassingly large space between them. I admit that I can be satisfied with hearing or speaking poetry but not allowing it to get under my skin and raise my ire toward action. I like the way it sounds but am too lazy and indifferent to work its truth into life.
So, right now, I am letting this statement sit on me so that I feel it’s weight. I am praying to see and address the gaps between poetry and reality in my world.
Beth Booram has a passion to explain and model a way of living responsively to God in the midst of life’s varied landscapes. As a writer and speaker, she is highly creative, often utilizing artistic elements , contemplative exercises, and engaging interaction. Beth has authored a number of excellent works. Her most recent are The Wide Open Spaces of God (Abingdon Press/ September, 2007) and Picturing the Face of Jesus (Abingdon Press/April, 2009).
Tags: Beth Booram
March 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Beautiful post. I have to breathe deep every time the pastor of my church calls the “spiritual leaders” forward to serve communion, and a stoic knot of men drift to the front of the church. They’re wonderful men to be sure, but what about the female bible study teacher who has more theological training than the associate pastors? What about the homeschooling mom who heard to the local jail every weekend to preach to inmates who want a service, since no one else was doing it? What about the godly old woman who taught and mentored many of those very men serving communion since they were knee-high to a flea? I try not to let it distract me from communion, and I’ve largely dealt with my anger over the issue, but it is so, so sad…
March 17th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Beth,
(Got the name right this time)
What “action” do you have in mind? Electing a few female elder might be a good start.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Another suggestion: withhold tithes from churches that refuse to appoint women elders. Or, if there’s a Biblical problem with the word “elder,” change it. The Presbys have been getting by for years calling their board “session,” whatever that means.
I realize that passive resistance is a hard road to take but if we could get ALL the women to back it, think of what we could do!
March 20th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
This is interesting for me to read since I belong to the pcusa and I haven’t experienced many of these situations. To be sure, sexism exists within this denom too (I made the short list repeatedly ONLY so churches could say, “see, we considered a woman.”
pcusa has been ordaining women as pastors for 50+ yrs, elders for 75+ and deacons for 100+ so our young people, girls and boys, see both women and men in leadership.
if your churches do not value your G-d given gifts, why do you stay?
If you haven’t read it: Audre Lorde’s essay “Poetry is Not a Luxury” is powerful, revelatory!
Oh, and “Session” comes from the presby’s Scottish heritage meaning “court.”
mucho gusto!
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
re the excellent question “If your churches do not value your God-given gifts, why do you stay?”
I stay because I live in a small rural community, because the people are family to me, some of them literally, some of them spiritually. I stay because I see steady progress in a positive direction. I stay because if I left, who would play the role God gave me in this tiny portion of the body of Christ? I am valued for my God-given gifts–some of them just can’t accept the fullness of what I could become. Some of them can.
That said, if I were a part of an abusive or extremely oppressive church that was quashing my spirit, I’d leave. As it is, I’m sticking to my guns and fighting it out to smooth the paths for my little sisters. Somebody’d better, right? Why not me?
I might also feel differently if my church was part of a denomination that didn’t affirm women’s callings, but my denomination, the Covenant, does. So… *shrugs* Here I am.
July 22nd, 2010 at 5:59 pm
i was home schooled too but i would still prefer regular schools.:”
October 23rd, 2010 at 7:40 am
my kids are home schooled and they are always performing well in class during their High School years,*`
December 15th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
i was home schooled when i was still very young and i have to stay that it is also a great way to educate your kids .;:
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