Me posting a new post? Perhaps. Actually, for those of you that read this (mainly, I think, my um, well, myself), the sign of the apocalypse I refer to would be hearing the following message at a certain type of christian gathering.
AKA "the message at a chapel the day hell freezes over"
Dear brothers and sisters, let us open our bibles today to one of the fundamental chapters of our belief, 1st Corinthians 11. We'll take our text today from verses 1-19, using the authorized Darby translation. (While I don't actually own a Darby, h/t to biblegateway.com)
Be my imitators, even as *I* also [am] of Christ. Now I praise you, that in all things ye are mindful of me; and that as I have directed you, ye keep the directions.
But I wish you to know that the Christ is the head of every man, but woman's head [is] the man, and the Christ's head God. Every man praying or prophesying, having [anything] on his head, puts his head to shame. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered puts her own head to shame; for it is one and the same as a shaved [woman]. For if a woman be not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if [it be] shameful to a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered. For man indeed ought not to have his head covered, being God's image and glory; but woman is man's glory. For man is not of woman, but woman of man.
For also man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. Therefore ought the woman to have authority on her head, on account of the angels. However, neither [is] woman without man, nor man without woman, in [the] Lord. For as the woman [is] of the man, so also [is] the man by the woman, but all things of God. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman should pray to God uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you, that man, if he have long hair, it is a dishonour to him? But woman, if she have long hair, [it is] glory to her; for the long hair is given [to her] in lieu of a veil. But if any one think to be contentious, *we* have no such custom, nor the assemblies of God. But [in] prescribing [to you on] this [which I now enter on], I do not praise, [namely,] that ye come together, not for the better, but for the worse. For first, when ye come together in assembly, I hear there exist divisions among you, and I partly give credit [to it]. For there must also be sects among you, that the approved may become manifest among you.
Thank you for staying with me as I read this passage- I realize most of you didn't actually need to read the words, you were able to mouth them along as I read it, it is a very familiar passage to us. This is the message I am particularly unqualified to give, based on my gender and youth, please feel free to disregard anything I say.
Ladies, this message is for you. Dear sisters, many of you wear a headcovering, some to the point where you come to sunday services asking yourself as you scan the crowd of gathered fellowshippers "Who will be obedient today?" By obedient, of course, you mean, which women have their head covered, and which women are flagrantly denying their husband's headship and flouting the above passage. The question I pose to you today is simple- Are you being obedient or legalistic?
Here's where the water starts to boil around my flabby frog legs. Elder Bob, please, don't get up on to your walker yet, and Elder Tom, please have a seat and put down the mace.
The answer in most of your minds at the moment is "Of course I'm obeying and not being legalistic! The bible says to wear it, so I wear it!"
The goal of this message is not to critize you -for- wearing a headcovering. I am not denying the biblical instruction, but I am going to ask each of you if we are actually following Paul's teaching or if we've become a brood of vipers, pharisees that have strayed from the teaching and intent.
Let me describe a typical scenario that I observe. Sally Christian walks into chapel with her head uncovered, but a doily or napkin, or (as one brother put it) a lacy pair of what would be in victoria secret's catalog if you sewed the ends together a certain way. We'll have a message on reprobate men's minds, in fact, by looking at Elder Jon's face, I suspect it will be next sunday, and you're becoming very familiar today with his main example.
Back to Sally. Sally converses with her friends and fellowships, the folks shuffle into the chairs, and the service begins. As it starts, Sally pulls her head covering of indeterminate size and perches it on top of her head. It may or may not come off between services, but it's off at the end of the day, and she goes home. We as a body note that Sally was obedient and go home as well. Thursday night (or whatever night it happens to be) Sally meets and bible studies with the other women, and it's the highlight of her week until she comes back next sunday. No one here really sees anything wrong with Sally, eh?
Sometimes though, to illustrate legalism, you have to out legalism it. Let's get back to the text- "Every man praying or prophesying, having [anything] on his head, puts his head to shame. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered puts her own head to shame; for it is one and the same as a shaved [woman]. For if a woman be not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if [it be] shameful to a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered. " and
"Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman should pray to God uncovered?"
Please note in what we just read when Paul instructs the heads to be covered. It clearly states "During any message preached or time in the chapel not fellowshipping". Thank you to each of you who nodded your head in agreeement.
Let me expand on the point I just illustrated in a gentler tone. There are only two times a woman is instructed to cover her head. We have prophesying- I'd go further into this, but as this appears to not happen in this group (I mean no disrespect, it just doesn't happen), we will focus on the remaining time- praying. Scripture teaches it that simply. If you are praying ladies, cover your head. I bless those of you who pray throughout the sermon, but I think you are in the minority. Is this different than what you were taught? I know we usually have the idea as Sally did- We cover the head during sunday services. If we are covering heads other than praying, what credit is there to us? What does it do for the angels or ourselves? Yes, we like the pharisees can honor God in our conscience by drawing lines further down the sand than what the bible teaches, but in doing so we risk losing our souls and worshipping a God not as He is, but a God as we decorate Him to be.
I am in boiling water up to my chest now, but I shall press on. Let's talk about headcovering sizes and styles. If you want your head covered ladies, then cover your head. You wouldn't say a man with a bald spot the size of the circle pinned to the middle section of your head had a "full set of hair" so, how do you place a fabric coaster on your head and deem it covered? I beforehand mentioned the look of some of the pieces you ladies use, intricate laces that men only see on a tablecloth or in the bedroom. Peter asked that our adorning not be that outward one of tressing of hair, and wearing gold, or putting on apparel. If you put on that headcovering this morning because it made you feel outwardly beautiful- you may be in danger here.
Well brother, you say, you're on a full head on tilt towards islamic extremism here. You suppose I want burqas for the women of the flock. No, indeed, I would simply like headcoverings to be head coverings, and the women that choose to wear them to understand when it is biblical, and when it is not.
Back to poor Sally. Remember the thursday night bible study that she has with the ladies? For you women who have been to one, do you really think twice if Sally has her head covered at chapel but not at bible study? Don't you pray at both? If you wear it at one, and not the other, are you not pointing out how far you've strayed from Paul's teaching? To legalism it up here- does Sally cover her head before praying at meals? Does she do it for morning and evening prayers? Or does she really not care anything about the praying part, and only about the "when other women at the chapel deem it socially acceptable" part?
So, if you wear a headcovering, wear it while praying (or prophesying), and WHENEVER you do either. Anything else becomes just show, not obedience. Now, if you read Thessalonians 5, and you want to follow the instruction there to pray unceasingly, then by all means, wear a headcovering throughout the day, and you won't have to take it on and off between your unending prayers. Now we're back to the burqa thing, but I simply ask you to judge your own heart and whether your obedience is to a church's evolved teaching or to the biblical instruction. As I see Elder Joe has my car warmed up just outside the door, I'll leave now without a closing prayer, just for those here who aren't yet covered. God bless you all, I may not be seeing you inside these doors again.
