Church Quote by Sarah Bessey
““Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man—there never has been another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them as “The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!”; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything “funny” about woman’s nature. Dorothy Day, Catholic social activist and journalist””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “Women and the Gospel,” 2015
The passage highlights how Jesus treated women with respect, breaking cultural norms and avoiding patronizing attitudes.
In simple terms: Jesus respected women uniquely.
Model respectful, non‑patronizing interaction.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- church leadership
- education
- interfaith dialogue
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can modern readers apply this respect today?
- What barriers still exist for gender equality in faith?
Some may argue the analysis reads modern ideas into ancient texts.