A sermon for international women's day by Fulata Mbano Moyo

Desperation created by systems of inequality as enemy to women’s dignity
A sermon for international women's day by Fulata Mbano Moyo

(2nd Kings 4:1-7 and Matthew 15:21-28)

When my husband, Solomon, was diagnosed with liver cancer on March 16, 1999, I refused to accept it. I determined to trust God for his healing. I restricted my understanding of God’s healing to a cure (restoration of his liver).
As his health deteriorated, I desperately tried any means of ensuring his cure. With a group of Christian friends all over the world we prayed fervently, without ceasing, reciting Psalms 118:17 that Solomon would not die but live to declare the goodness of God. Because of the desperation of
wanting my husband and best friend alive, during that time, I refused to engage with any critical thinking or rationalization. I actually read Scriptures literally. For example, in normal cases I would have been critical and very uncooperative to burning one of my African outfits in the name that it had certain patterns that were demonic and which therefore were blocking God’s
healing power for my husband. I went ahead and burnt my outfit.
Unfortunately, my husband died a few days after that. In retrospect now I am so thankful that I did that otherwise after Solomon’s death, I might have suffered unnecessary guilt on top of the deep pain of his loss.
If you love somebody and that somebody is in ill-health, you are more prone to being desperate for the restoration of their health. The woman we meet in Matthew 15: 21-28, loved her daughter deeply and desperately sought her restoration to health –“rescue from the torment of the demon”. She would try anything that would bring that restoration. The question of dignity and respect was not a priority at this point. Observance of the rules for example keeping away from other ethnic groups as a “Canaanite” (derogatory) was not an option for her. If being compared to a dog (insult) would bring healing to her daughter –“even dogs eat crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Despite her own desperation, she still strategically challenged Jesus
own human bias and insensitivity –“woman great is your faith”.
Hundreds of years after the first women marched in the streets of New York demanding dignity for women, we still live with the reality of many desperate women. Needless to say, patriarchal discrimination has taken more sophisticated expressions as cultures and religions have dynamically moved on. Many factors including social economic gender inequalities, mainly expressed through poverty that sometimes leads to prostitution and other dehumanisation; religio-cultural teachings and attitudes that have deliberately turned divine elements of power in women into disempowering attitudes and beliefs; have pushed women deeper into dehumanisation and loss of self-worth. The question is: as the ecumenical movement how are we
contributing to the restoration of this dignity? Or have we rather justified this dehumanisation through our biased interpretation of our teachings and practices? Let’s critically search ourselves.
Back to my story, on Thursday April 22 1999 my husband went to be with his creator through death. Even after his death, my desperation of restoration to health was expressed in my literal interpretation of the healing of Lazarus in John 11: as I held on to his body, I kept on whispering Jesus prayer of raising Lazarus in his ears. When he did not rise physically my mourning was that of the deep loss of my friend and partner. At that point of pain, I did not even have the capacity to think of the implication of this loss on my sexual life or lack of it. Yet it was not a mourning of desperation for the loss of my family’s means of livelihood. Although I was aware of so many widows whose tears and grieving was not just the loss of their friend but also the desperate cry in the face of the loss of their livelihood - the loss of their social economic status.
The widow who cried to Elisha in 2Kings 4:1-7 was at the verge of losing her two children to slavery because of socio-economic desperation. How many of really decent men and women find themselves in social-economic desperation and have to compromise on their human dignity so as to bring food to their families? In the ecumenical movement what is our commitment to ensuring that every human being lives with dignity and wholeness? How can we enhance and help implement existing processes of hope like the Agape and EHAIA (WCC), Covenanting for Justice in Economy and Ecology (WARC), Food sovereignty campaign (EAA), For the Sake of Life: HIV and AIDS Campaign (LWF)? What about the many creative initiatives by women’s and gender projects within the ecumenical movement like "Men and positive masculinity for partnership", "women’s spirituality of resilience", "healing and wholeness, so as to curb and end
violence against women"?
Elisha consulted with the widow about how to remedy her situation.
The solution to her problems is built on her being part of her community –“borrow vessels from all your neighbours”. She was empowered to pay her debtors as well as to have the dignity of controlling her domestic affairs in the future. How can we go beyond the politics of survival and encourage the community spirit of working together to solve problems of women’s desperation so as to restore their human dignity?
Women are the image of God and their bodies are the sanctuary of God’s spirit. Their dehumanization and disembodiment is a dishonour to their creator.

Copyright: Fulata Mbano Moyo/WCC