Arise and Shine!

 

I love sunsets. The glorious colors that light up the sky before the sun dips from sight are so beautiful and warm. Sunrises are more of a challenge to me, although they can be just as beautiful.  Experiencing a sunrise to the full means getting up while it is still dark and cold, and waiting to see how the light of a new day slowly sends its first rays to illuminate the world. But the early morning light has a special quality. While sunset colors are warm and imply the completion of the deeds of the day before ceding to darkness, sunrise colors bring ever more brightness and light that inspire action and give new energy and anticipation of things to come.

God calls us to rise and shine. He spoke to the nation of Israel and He speaks to us with the words in Isaiah 60:1–3. My first encounter with this Bible text was as an 11-year-old girl attending a church conference with the motto “Arise and shine.” I have attended many other conferences with a variety of mottos that I do not remember, but this one has been etched in my memory ever since. Maybe it was because I was at a change point in my life: My family was preparing to relocate to another country shortly after the event, where I would have to learn a new language and culture. I was going to ”arise,” pick up my roots and plant them in new surroundings. Would I be able to ”shine” there? Maybe that is why these words have accompanied me ever since and become a personal motto for my life.

I remember one pitch-black Easter Sunday morning; we walked towards a vista where we could see the sun rising from behind the mountain range. As the sky started lighting up, it became clear how much we need the sun to dispel the cold and dark of the night. It was a great reminder that God is calling us to arise and shine:

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.  See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”[1]

Thick darkness still covers the earth, people, religions, and even churches. According to a recent UN WOMEN study on women’s empowerment, less than 1% of the world’s women and girls live in countries with high women’s empowerment and small gender gaps.[2]

I am fortunate to be one of the women to whom this applies. Being born in one of the top five countries for women in the world,[3] the equality of men and women was one of the facts of life. It is something I didn’t have to fight for. But then, why am I still fighting for equity? Because for most of my life, I have lived in countries with more conservative attitudes where I have felt the difference in how women and men are seen and treated. I realize that not all women are as fortunate. Not all women are treated as human beings of equal worth. I have always wanted to make a difference, for my life to have meaning, and I believe that God wants us to dispel the darkness where women have been kept, unable to shine, and use the gifts God has given them to his glory. I am not afraid to speak up about injustice and to promote gender equality.

Some people in my church wonder why I am so adamant about promoting women’s rights because they do not see the discrimination in their midst. Women can do anything, they say. They are not restricted. They can preach, teach, and serve as church elders. Why should we care if women are not ordained like men? They can still work as pastors, commissioned and blessed. In our part of the world, they have the same ministerial credentials as their male counterparts. But ordination is a prerequisite for top church leadership positions, and that is why women are still restricted by the “stained glass ceiling.” Should we care about subtle patriarchy or just accept the status quo? Bernice King challenges us not to give up. “Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and future generations.”[4]

I once hoped for progress, that justice would increase as time passes. However, it seems that in Christian circles, patriarchy is spreading and threatening to restrict women even in denominations that have been open to God using women and their gifts. Patriarchal groups are trying to stop future generations from advancing. In days past, women in many Christian communities found a way to follow God’s call to proclaim the gospel despite the obstacles they had to face. God has not changed his mind about who should minister. Instead, when we look at the history of many complementarian churches where women are now no longer permitted to preach or teach, it was men in positions of leadership who used their influence to change church policies and doctrines.

Looking back through history, we see that women have often not been allowed to shine; they have been subdued and kept in darkness. We still see that today in many countries. In Afghanistan, for instance, the Taliban bans girls from secondary or higher education. They must be kept in darkness, because shedding light through education would make them rise and shine, calling for freedom from oppression. There, patriarchy based on radical Islamist interpretations of the Qu’ran keeps women in the dark, but many other Muslims extend women greater degrees of equality. It is a question of how the texts are interpreted. Similarly, Christians are reading the Bible and coming to completely different conclusions as to what it says about women according to their cultural presumptions and expectations. Patriarchy in the church may not often be taken to such extremes, but it still restricts the development of girls, who are taught that in God’s eyes they are of lesser value than boys and that they should not aspire to shine.

God’s Call to Action

However, the Bible is very clear about injustice. God challenges us to follow His call to action and promises to let our light shine as we follow Him.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? …Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [or your righteous One] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”[5]

In the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus read the passage for the day from the scroll of Isaiah about the good news that He came to proclaim. He was anointed by the Lord to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners.[6] If we follow Jesus, we will take up His cause and spread the good news that God wants to heal the broken and release the captives from the darkness they have experienced so long to full freedom in Christ because He loves justice.[7] Women are among those who have been held captive and God, who abhors wrongdoing, will not tolerate that his followers continue to keep women prisoners of a patriarchal darkness that restricts their possibilities and the scope of their work for the Kingdom.

God is challenging us to spread the good news that he has called all to serve and minister according to their gifts, without regard to gender. That is why I will let my light shine and continue my fight for justice and equality.  So, let us rise and shine, for the glory of the Lord will rise upon us as we follow His call to dispel the darkness of patriarchy that covers the earth.

This article first appeared in CBE International’s blog, Mutuality, on 08/15/2024

Image by Jill Wellington.

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[1] Isaiah 60:1–2 (all quotes from NIV) “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”

[2] “The paths to equal: Twin indices on women’s empowerment and gender equality,” United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2023, http://unwo.men/XpxG50PjLMb.

[3] “Best Countries for Women,” US News,last accessed August 12, 2024, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/best-countries-for-women.

[4] “MLK Week to feature conversation with Bernice A. King,” Nebraska Today, January 17, 2021, https://news.unl.edu/article/mlk-week-to-feature-conversation-with-bernice-a-king.

[5] Isaiah 58:6–8 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.“

[6] Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”

[7] Isaiah 61:8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.”