Subverting Patriarchy

The apostle Paul doesn’t always subvert patriarchy, but in the passage we looked at Sunday, he took a big swipe at it. For thousands of years (and still in most cultures today) when heterosexual couples are named, the male name is mentioned first. This was almost universally the case in the first century context. So look carefully at this simple passage:

Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. - 2 Timothy 4:19

That may not be the most inspirational passage, but we’re going to spend a few moments with it today. That couple, Priscilla and Aquila, are mentioned together by name 7 times in the New Testament (Acts 18:2, 18, 19, 26; Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19), and they are named as a married couple who led a church in their home. Five of those instances, Priscilla was named first. This is so uncanny, so out of the ordinary, that bible scholars hardly know what to do with it.

Priscilla was clearly the authority in the relationship. She was the leader. And Paul recognized her as such to the entire early church.

The irony, of course, is that down through the ages churches have refused to have women lead. We’ve embraced patriarchy, not only passively, but actively - we’ve taught it as God’s will.

So where in your life are there the subtle or not so subtle signs that you give natural preference to men over women? What might it look like for you to follow the work of Paul in this passage and subvert the patriarchy, whether it’s the ordering of names or the challenging the way your church or family or school or business has structured itself to privilege men?