Lowly Women
Nick woke up the next morning, showered, and put on a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt. He headed down the stairs and out the front door for the paper. That’s when he noticed that only Tanner’s truck was still in the driveway. Bob’s was gone. He walked back into the house and into the kitchen and looked out onto the patio. Tanner was no longer on the chaise, yet his shoes were by its side. “Good. Must be upstairs sleeping.”
“I need to go to church,” he thought to himself.
His mom strolled out of the downstairs’ master bedroom a short while later. She’d already jogged, showered, and appeared ready for the day.
“Top of the morning to you, Mom,” Nick said with a smile.
“Top of the morning to you too!” She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out some orange juice.
“Would you like to join us? We’re going to church today, to the big fellowship church just down the road.”
“No, no thanks. I have work to do,” she said as she sat down on one of the swivel bar stools along the kitchen island.
“Are you sure, Mom? It’s always good to learn about God. I’ve learned a lot at church.”
“Well that’s special Nick, but I’m not a fan of the church. There’s too much corruption, too many cover-ups, and too few women in leadership positions.”
“Mom, I know there are some bad people in the church, but they shouldn’t ruin the whole bunch. Believe me. I’ve learned a lot from the good ones.”
“For what?” She stammered, “How are you going to use this knowledge? Church knowledge certainly doesn’t pay the bills. Plus they expect you to give them ten percent of your salary in tithes, which would be around $1.2 million dollars annually for us. There could be a better use of your time, and your money. I’d rather give my hard-working employees raises.” She paused and added, “The average pay for median employees in my organization is $35,000. I’d like to raise that to $40,000, but of course that would go against our board’s desires to keep payroll costs to a minimum.”
Nick pulled out a calculator and said, “So you make just over 342 times the average worker in your company? And if you gave them the $5,000 raise, you’d be making three hundred times the average worker. Seems a bit much.”
“Oh, Nick, that’s the norm in U.S. firms. Look it up,” she snapped. “Plus, I work harder than my employees and I’ve put in my time!”
Nick thought, “Not 342 times harder,” but he decided to keep that quiet. She seemed testy, so he figured he’d get back to the original topic.
“Mom, you should know that it’s important to learn about Jesus.”
“Jesus,” she sighed, “that famous myth.”
“I thought you said you believed in him,” Nick said, feeling a great sense of disappointment. Now he knew why she’d never brought him to church.
“Yeah, I believe he lived. I just don’t believe everything they’ve written about him, such as how he walked on water, turned water to wine, and turned a few loaves of bread and pieces of fish into enough food for thousands. That stuff was written later by people to perpetuate the myth and control the masses through religion. People needed controls in those days.”
Nick’s heart sank. Deep down, he knew she was wrong, but standing up to her was difficult. He respected her in so many ways, and her worldly knowledge far exceeded his.
“When I was your age, I believed in Jesus too. And when I was younger than that, I also believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. My mom taught me to be a believer and we went to church every Sunday all throughout my childhood.
Then I went to college and started reading books by philosophers. Famous ones like Friedrich Nietzsche. That’s when I realized that Jesus is only a myth whose persona was developed by men after he died to control people. Look around the world. Most wars are waged over religion. Consider World War II, the battles in Northern Ireland, the genocides, and all of the terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists. It’s all about religion and religious control. The world would be a better place without religion and religious controls. We don’t need religion anymore.”
“That’s your opinion and I have mine.” he said. “I’m still going to church. I’m not going to risk my salvation and I wish you wouldn’t risk yours.”
His mom shook her head and smiled, “Please Nick. Get realistic. Kids in their twenties are always so idealistic and liberal. They all want to save the world. By the time you reach your forties, you understand the way the world works, so you shift to conservatism. You can’t save the world so you worry about saving yourself.”
“Mom, can you imagine a world in which everyone’s out for themselves? It would be an ugly place, devoid of empathy and full of selfishness. The greatest example of selflessness is in Jesus. Look at the way he died for us. Look at the sacrifices he made for us so that we can go to Heaven. You do believe he died on the cross, right? You do believe that he suffered, right?
“Yes, there’s proof of that from Roman and Jewish historians,” she responded, “Even Nietzsche acknowledges his death on the cross, yet goes on to say that he was merely a teacher and a political criminal who simply fought against the world order of his time.”
“You’re scaring me Mom. I’m worried about you.”
“Please, Nick, grow up! Your beliefs only reflect your age and your lack of knowledge. Read Nietzsche and the other philosophers of his time. They were able to see past Christianity and religion.”
“Nietzsche? I’m not reading his crap.” Nick was frustrated. He couldn’t keep arguing with her and he’d just have to accept the fact that she wouldn’t be joining him at church that morning. Or ever.
But at least she believed that Jesus had lived and had acknowledged his death on the cross. That was a start. The pastor at the church at State had indicated that the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world refused to acknowledge the historical Roman and Jewish texts outside of the Bible that documented his death on the cross. Their prophet Muhammad said that Jesus was merely a prophet.
His thoughts returned to his mom. He knew that she was watching him from her seat along the kitchen island when he let out a loud huff as he pulled a dozen eggs from the refrigerator and started to beat them viciously with a fork in a bowl. She finished her juice and put the glass into the dishwasher, before returning to her office.
***
A short while later, Tanner, freshly showered and shaved, appeared in the kitchen in a pair of khaki pants and a slightly wrinkled pink button down shirt.
“Perfect timing my good friend, breakfast is served,” Nick said as he placed Tanner’s steaming hot plate of eggs, bacon, and toast on the kitchen island.
“Looks great. Thanks!”
“You wanna eat on the porch?”
“Sure, sounds good.”
Nick and Tanner carried their plates onto the porch and Nick went to the cooler for bottled waters. Then they relaxed and enjoyed their meals.
“Rough night last night, dude,” Tanner said, “How many beers did you drink? I lost count myself.”
“Three.”
“Really? Geez. I think I had ten. Don’t even know. But what I do know is that I’ve got a headache that’d kill a horse,” Tanner lamented as he chugged down his water.
“Yeah, drinking is so easy,” Nick said as he looked at Tanner’s bloodshot eyes.
“It’s just so easy to drink on a hot day with good friends and good music,” Tanner said.
“Yeah,” Nick said, “and Bob. Man, that guy cracks me up.”
“You know he’ll keep working in his cabinet shop until he’s ninety. He and his dad are doing well. They’ve got all kinds of business in North Orange Bay. Builders have been calling, subbing them jobs. Bob’s loving it.”
“That’s cool. He’s a hard worker. Hard worker and hard drinker,” Nick said.
“So true.”
After they finished, they carried their plates and water bottles to the kitchen and put them in the sink and garbage, respectively. It was time for church.
***
When Nick walked into the church, the first and only person he recognized was Barbara Collins, the woman who’d inspired everyone with the work she’d done to help foster children at the women’s luncheon. Barbara was sitting in the first row, and Nick and Tanner sat in the row behind her. Her silver hair reflected against the lights of the church as she turned around and greeted Nick with a smile. “I remember you from the luncheon. I hope you and your mom are doing well.” Her sapphire eyes shone brightly but her body seemed a little weaker.
“Yes, we are. Thank you. It’s good to see you. This is our first time to this church. My name’s Nick and this is my friend, Tanner.”
“Hello, Nick and Tanner. I’ve been coming here for more years than I can remember. You’ll like this church,” she said softly before turning back around.
Nick reflected on her story.
“What a brave woman,” he thought, “battling cancer yet still inspiring others. She’s an inspiration to us all.”
The choir started singing songs and everyone stood up to sing and praise the Lord. Tears came to Nick’s eyes as he sang along. Feeling good, he knew that he was where Jesus wanted him to be; praising him, loving him, and learning about him.
When the songs ended, the pastor walked to the stage. After a few introductions and greetings, he began his sermon.
“Consider the world today and the way it’s different from the world in biblical times. Life was difficult back then as people suffered from the constant threats of plagues, leprosy, and other maladies not prevalent in the developed world today. Beheadings and stoning were common. Death was always around the corner, so people found comfort in prayer.”
“When hardships aren’t knocking, people often forget to pray. And many aren’t praying regularly in the United States as they only turn to prayer during times of hardship. That’s where there is a paradox. Even though life is easier in these times, life is more dangerous than it’s ever been. Some people feel they just don’t need God, and religion has nothing to offer them.”
“That’s just the way that Satan wants it. He thinks the earth is his wonderland and he’s scheming and plotting for ways to destroy you and your fellow humans. Complacency is his best friend. Materialism and abundance are his lovers.”
“Satan loves complacency because it blinds us to the injustices occurring around the world, preventing us from using God’s gifts to bring about change. Many of our fellow humans are facing incomprehensible daily struggles, not just struggles for food and shelter, but struggles for basic human rights.”
“Let’s put aside our complacency and focus on those in need. Consider Nigeria, where the Boko Haram recently kidnapped almost three hundred girls from their school and forced them to convert to Islam and memorize chapters of the Qur’an. Their leaders bragged of the rapes, mutilations and the way the girls were married off to their captors. Boko Haram, translated to English means ‘western education is sin.’”
“ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has also been gaining power. They’ve marked Christian homes with the Arabic ‘n’ symbol, which stands for Nazarene, a derogatory term for Christians. Homes with the n symbol are doomed to persecution. In some places, they’ve been told to flee, convert to Muslim, or die by the sword. Thousands have fled and today there are no more Christians in Mosul, which is the historical Ninevah where God had sent Jonah. Those who refused to convert to Muslim and ended up dying by the sword are now residing in Heaven. And their killers, who chose to live by the sword, will die by the sword, as Jesus foretold in Matthew 26:52.”
“The Arab region is the setting of the Bible. And just like it was in biblical times, women are still afforded few rights there. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, for example, women are forced to wear full body veils, or burqas, and aren’t allowed an education. Stories of brave women seeking education, and being murdered for it, abound. In those countries plus many others, it’s not uncommon to witness women being stoned for adultery, yet not tried properly or fairly in courts for the offenses their husbands claim. In Saudi Arabia, women are prohibited from driving cars. They can only be chauffeured by males. In many countries of the Arab world, women are treated as they were treated during biblical times, as possessions or dogs.”
“Some claim the Bible to be a fictional tale of symbolism, perpetuated to instill beliefs and control others. Well, consider this. If the Bible were only fiction, why would its authors permit a woman, Mary Magdalene, to be the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb? Jesus’ resurrection was the single most important claim in the New Testament. Jesus’ resurrection was the claim that inspired Christianity and billions of believers in following years. Jesus’ resurrection was the claim that changed the world. Yet the Bible tells us that lowly women made that discovery.”
He paused and then continued, “God ordained men to hold many of the leadership positions in the church, yet Jesus proved that he loves women equally. He demonstrated his love by allowing Mary Magdalene and other women to discover his empty tomb. He bucked tradition and his times in favor of the meek, the humble, and the persecuted. And just before his death, he rode in to Jerusalem on a humble donkey, as predicted hundreds of years earlier in the book of Zechariah (9:9): ‘See your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The pastor paused before leading the congregation in a prayer.