1 Corinthians

Propriety in worship. 11:2-16

In response to a report concerning the behavior of some members during the worship service in Corinth, Paul argues that female members leading in worship should exhibit modesty - "let her cover her head." It is important not to ignore family responsibilities and so bring shame, not only to the family, but the church as a whole. This dress code is practiced in all the other Christian churches, and so should be maintained in Corinth.

v2. Paul begins by praising the Corinthians for keeping the "traditions" of Christian worship passed on to them by his mission team. Having affirmed them in general, he then goes on to deal with those instruction they have failed to uphold.

v3. The first problem is covered by our passage for study. It concerns the behavior of certain women who have failed to behave modestly when they lead in worship. To deal with the problem Paul establishes a theological principle of human interdependence. Every person has a "head", someone who is foremost in their life.

v4-5. Paul now applies the principle. Man and woman are both the glory of another and therefore both have an obligation not to cause shame to the person who is foremost in their life. A man does this if he leads in a worship service with long hair, and similarly a woman, if she leads without having her head covered. Murphy O'Connor argues that long hair for a man is a reference to artistically prepared hair by homosexuals to give a female look. As for a woman, in Roman culture a woman of virtue went about with a head-covering of sorts and that's probably what Paul is referring to here.

v6. For a woman, an uncovered head in public is degrading, nearly as ugly as bald head.

v7-9. A man stands uncovered because he reflect the glory of God; the woman must be covered because she reflect the glory of man. Arguing from the creation, Paul asserts that the woman, taken from Adam, bears the "glory" of man. The woman, although fully human and fully of the image of God, displays a particular aspect of man taken from the original unisex man to form her, which when again reunited to him in marriage, forms a complete whole. There is "glory" in the "rib", for when returned "the two become one". It therefore follows that when the glory of unisex man is devalued, either by the man or the woman, the whole is devalued. Behavior that conveys inappropriate sexual messages is damaging to the one-flesh union.

v10. The angels cover their head in the presence of God and so it is not unreasonable for woman to do the same.

v11-12. Just in case the men think that Paul has given them special status over women, he reminds his readers that interdependence stands over and above gender differentiation.

v13. Paul now returns the issue of appropriate head-covering in worship. He asks a rhetorical question. Is it appropriate for a woman to lead worship in prayer and prophecy with her head uncovered? Cultural propriety says no.

v14-15. The very ordering of things as they are ("nature") supports the view that it is proper for a woman to cover her head because she naturally has long hair as a covering for her modesty. This is not so for a male where long hair hints of moral perversion.

v16. Paul's final word is an appeal to Christian custom - "In any case, it's what they do in the other Christian churches and you should do the same."

A group of young people were socializing outside the church after the morning service and the minister's wife came up to one of the young girls who was not wearing a hat. She was in serious trouble. She had not covered her head in church. Of course this was back in the 50's and so soon none of the young women would be wearing hats.

The wearing of something on the head by the ladies was once a law to be obeyed. Some thought it was worn out of respect for God. It was wrong to come into his presence with the head uncovered. For some it was a sign of authority. Woman were under the authority of men and so, as a symbol of submission, the ladies were to wear a head-covering of some sort. For some it was hairstyle; a young girl's hair displayed her beauty and if it was left down it could provoke the young men to sexual thoughts during the service. So buns, plats or scarves, beanies etc. were the order of the day.

Our passage for study concerns propriety. The specific for a woman is appropriate grooming when leading a worship service, appropriate in the sense of modest, attire that does not hint at moral perversion. This was obviously an issue for the Corinthian church, but is rarely one for us today. Still, in youth services where young people take the lead, it's good to be reminded that suggestive clothing is best not on display in a service of worship.

1. What is appropriate dress in church?

2. Has this passage something to say on the sexism debate?

3. Has this passage any bearing on the debate over women priests?