Day 14 - Beauty

Today the only time I have to do this blog is whilst travelling. So..... I'm sitting in the back of;the car wearing Pete's noise cancelling headphones and with a huge shawl over my head and I say, "Do you think this looks weird?" "Don't worry," says Pete, "people will just think we're muslims!"

I start to meditate on the subject of head covering. Muslim women often cover their heads in public and sometimes their faces too, and orthodox Jewish women sometimes wear wigs, and Christian women certainly used to wear hats in church.....so what's it all about? This may take a little longer than usual so I suggest you go and make yourself a cuppa. (That's a cup of tea for those who are not British!) 

I think of all the reasons why a women might want to cover her head:

1. Protection - from heat or cold or dangerous falling objects (a hard hat) or a bicycle helmet

2. Beauty - like wearing a hat at a wedding etc,.

3. Hygiene - to keep hair in check (a surgeon or a chef)

4. As a sign of authority and submission - ie. a policewoman's cap

5. Covering up - either beauty or ugliness.

Numbers 4 and 5 need a little opening up I think. 

Submission. I look up the word on Google images and then wish I hadn't!  I think what the world views as submission is really subjection; the former is voluntary whereas the latter is enforced. OK, - to say we don't need submission is to say we don't need leadership; one without the other is pointless. It's the nature of leadership and submission that's important. Jesus modelled both.When he acted as a hired servant and washed the feet of his friends, this was leadership; when he voluntarily chose to die on the cross, this was submission. Some people find some of Paul's writings a little difficult on the subject of wives submitting to their husbands. My view is that men and women are in a partnership in marriage and each can take leadership of different aspects of life together, but there are times when a woman's emotional nature can make her more vulnerable and that's when a husbands leadership can be helpful. As for covering the head, physical things can be helpful but it's what's going on in the heart that's important here. Actually, submission is a way of life for both men and women. Intelligent (not blind) submission to leadership is powerful, because we all move together instead of pulling away from each other. 

As for number 5, covering up beauty seems to me to be sad. It's hiding what God has made to be lovely. I think that through the ages men have not known what to do with the problem of women. We are their greatest joy and their biggest weakness, and they've tried to protect themselves from this weakness by covering us up. How ridiculous is the thought of a woman riding side saddle in a voluminous skirt because she mustn't show her legs! 

If you read the sermon on the mount, Jesus speaks powerfully about how evil is present in the heart and external things cannot eradicate it. Modesty in dress is sensible, but let us celebrate beauty!