The Woman is the Neck

In the now famous scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mrs Portocalos proudly announces, “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.” We may laugh at this “truth” of marriage, but the important role of women in the life of the Church should not be underestimated. It was the women who remained faithful until the end at the Tomb of Christ. It was the women who carried the Good News of the Resurrection to the Apostles. And it is the women of the Church that have continued throughout the centuries to “turn our heads” so we could hear the Word of God, and help to keep our hearts pure.

If you doubt the importance of the role of women in the Church in spreading the Gospel of the Resurrection, you only need to return to midnight on Pascha. The Church hears the Good News that Christ is Risen from the Myrrhbearing Women. “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” (Mark 16.7) Many of us also can remember our mothers and grandmothers bringing us to Church as children. They were “turning our heads” toward a life in Christ. Were we listening?

On the Thirds Sunday of Pascha, the Church reminds us of the important role pious women played in the initial Good News of the Resurrection. They were the first evangelists in the truest sense. It was only because the women “turned the heads” of the Apostles that they gained enough courage to go to Galilee and see the Lord for themselves. They were listening.....are we?