Over this past year I have continued to wrestle with this passage. I just couldn’t understand it. It still seems unfair. I admit it felt like a shame, as if women were not good as men at praying or prophesying, so they had to meet extra requirements. As if a head covering was a way to humble a woman or take her down a notch. I now understand!
Paul knew that women were being opressed. He could see it all around him. They were being kept from preaching simply because of they’re gender, and I’m sure he could predict it would be an issue in the future as well. So he came up with a solution. At that point not many people were wearing head coverings in the church. He knew that men were not supposed to be wearing them, so he used this to his advantage. A headcovering was a way of making the people that had been opressed and quieted for years stand out! It was a way of saying “She is God’s. Don’t mess with her!” It was supposed make there voice louder! And what did we do with it? We corrupted it and told little girls they couldn’t grow up to be pastors. We told women they could only preach to other women. We treated a head covering as shame instead of a symbol of empowerment. I think paul would be ashamed of us and the way we have misinterpreted his words for years! It is time to take a stand! So if you want to preach, PREACH. Remaining quite will not bring honor to God. You will only be bringing honor to the words of insignificant, corrupted men. It is time to take a stand within the Christian church, and allow women (as Paul intended) to preach and prophesy!
WomenMatter2God 