Behold Golgotha, at the very moment the Son of God is crucified. An earthquake strikes, the world is shaken like a leaf, and the massive stones of the Temple come crashing down. The sun hides itself in an eclipse, and an enormous shadow races over the face of the earth. Soon all is covered in darkness, and the entire world hides in terror. But who is standing there at the foot of the cross, quiet and unmoved?
Is it not Martha and the two Marys, the women closest to Jesus? Of all his followers, they alone are faithful enough to watch by the cross, to tremble and weep as Jesus is crucified.
But now, we are told by a certain U.S. Senator that women do not hold an honored place in Christianity. And who is this expert on the treatment of women? It is none other than Senator Ted Kennedy.
Ted Kennedy, if you will recall, once left a party on Chappaquiddick Island with a very young senatorial aide named Mary Jo Kopeckne. Senator Kennedy then proceeded to drive off the bridge leading from the island to the mainland, whereupon young Mary Jo drowned in the cold and dark waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Senator Kennedy then fled the scene. That is why, whenever Senator Kennedy lectures Christians on the treatment of women, he both condemns himself and he unwittingly testifies to the truth.
Womanizing, support of partial-birth abortion, and life in the fast lane do not make one an expert on family matters, nor does it make one an expert on the role of women in Christianity.
Micheal Heath is director of the Christian Civic League of Maine.
