It’s International Women’s Day, a day we are supposed to celebrate women, consider their accomplishments, and think about where we’re headed as a society. How do we who are older –and I mean, older – talk to the generation of our grandchildren, both boys and girls, about what equality really means?
It should be more than a day to celebrate the accomplishments of women who, although half the world’s population, are held down so many places across the globe. It should be a day when all of us, male and female, look to establishing true equality not just for the middle class but for the poor and dispossessed as well.
It’s fitting that this day should come during Lent, a time when we are called to reflect on our values and how we live them. Scripture tells us that Jesus often spoke with women and listened to them as well, a violation of social norms and conventions of his day. Listening to the concerns and heartache as well as hopes and dreams is a good place to start on this day.
Prayer for the Day
Living in our world where so much commands our attention,
We often aren’t sure how to begin praying, O Lord;
We see images of women and children, the first victims of war,
Their faces caught in pain and fear and we shudder.
Bring us, O God, to that place where we can offer hope
Grant that we do not forsake them.
In the name of the One who did not turn away,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Don’t think about making women fit the world – think about making the world fit women.
- Gloria Steinem, American feminist
I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
- Audre Lorde, American writer
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you,
As in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory,
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live, I will life up my hands and call on your name.
Psalm 63: 1-4.