It would be hard to find readings much more out of step with the current views on sexual relations, divorce and family life, as seen all over the media. But it in many ways it has always been a challenge to live as a follower of Christ. There is enough in scriptures to show that we are in a long tradition not only of problems to be faced, but more important – promises of God’s loving help in every situation.
The readings are available online here.
Genesis 2:18-24
This short selection plunges us into the middle of a story by one of the most superb writers of the Old Testament whose name we do not know. (Biblical scholars have adopted the term ‘Yahwist’ for this author, based on the use of the name ‘Yahweh’ for God in the writings that seem to come from his/her hand.) We find vivid stories that have captured the imagination of succeeding generations. Stories of this depth can reveal more powerfully than abstract reasoning the relationship God has to the world and its inhabitants. They do, however, cause problems if taken ‘literally’ as history, and not as a story carrying a spiritual truth. If we look for the deeper meaning, this has much to tell us about the human condition then and now.
The full creation account of this author runs from the middle of verse 4 of chapter 2 to the end of chapter 3 in Genesis. The author in previous verses told us that a man (adam in Hebrew) was fashioned from the clay (adamah) of the earth, this play on words is frequent in the Hebrew Bible. The image is a reminder that we are intimately linked to all the earth, and this could hardly be more timely when science warns of the effects we have on our environment. Humans are meant to exist in relationship with other people, and that is the focus of our selection. God as creator sees the need for companionship with a ‘suitable partner’. With the suspense of a good storyteller, God is shown creating various animals and bringing them to Man-Adam to be named. In the thought of the ancient world, to give someone a name shows power over them, a feeling that is not entirely absent from the modern world.
But no animal is suitable as a true helper and mate, so God dramatically takes a part of the man’s body, close to the heart, and makes a woman. There is a similarity in the Hebrew language between the two words for man/woman (ish/ ishshah) as there is in English man/woman. This word play, like the physical closeness of a rib, again stresses human unity. The man sees her thus related to himself or rather, he recognizes her as part of himself. He will not be said to name her ‘Eve’ – meaning ‘mother of the living’- until after they have disobeyed God and have been turned out of Paradise, and I find that significant. In our own times, like the time of the biblical writer, many men still see themselves as the more powerful, the ‘norm’, the master over women. But the Yahwist subtly uses the image of naming-as-power-over indicating the patriarchal practice of men controlling women to show that God’s original intent for men and women was meant to recognise ‘identity’ and working together. The storyteller then adds a conclusion to show how this original story continues in successive human lives when people leave their parents and form a new family.
Psalm 127/ 128
This short psalm is in the early Wisdom tradition which sees human virtue rewarded in this life. Later understanding will realize that this does not always happen but that God is still at work in our pains and sorrows. This will be brought out in the second reading. Here family life is seen as one of the greatest of blessings. The psalm addressed to men, who by living virtuously are rewarded with sufficient goods and a happy wife and children. The psalmist may assume that the good wife on her part is rewarded with a good husband and with children. The importance of women is recognized in other Wisdom books of the Older Testament; one example is Proverbs 31:10-31.
Hebrews 2:9-11
The liturgy will select from the Letter to the Hebrew from now till the end of the liturgical year and it is a good preparation for the final feast of Christ as universal king. It explains that being ‘crowned with glory and splendour’ came through suffering. ‘Made lower than the angels’ is a way of referring to the full humanity of Jesus which is taken into the full unity of God. Fitting in with the family theme of today, one result of this is how we are all joined to Christ as if we were his human siblings. In Greek grammar, the word adelphos can mean both brothers and sisters, as more modern translations make clear.
This Letter is long and the form of reasoning is not always evident to modern ways of thinking, but the fuller meaning can be discerned. The author is unknown, but as the title suggests, it relies on knowledge of the Older Testament which is often quoted. It includes long passages of ‘exhortation’ – urging behaviour that fits our exalted role as disciples of Jesus-King and Son of God. I find the book inspiring and the style memorable, as I hope you will also in reading and listening to it.
Mark 10:2-16
Jesus in this passage draws on the story of Genesis, showing its continued meaning for Christian living. Men at that time were permitted to send away their wives simply by writing a ‘bill of divorce’, which would give her some protection as she could find a new husband, but this could still create hardship for many women in a society where some male support was usually needed for survival. Women had no right to divorce in the world Jesus first spoke to, although they could initiate divorce in Rome. For Jesus, such a husband’s intent to ‘divorce’ does not break the God-given union. For Jesus, such a husband’s intent to ‘divorce’ does not break the God-given union.
Modern conditions of marriage differ much from the past and this has meant a lot of reflection has been needed on what constitutes a real marriage. Jesus holds out the ideal for us as Christians who try to act with compassion in difficult cases.
The disciples ‘question’ Jesus, seeming to find this teaching is too hard to live up to, although Jesus’ words indicate that the real hardness exists in the hearts of those men seeking to break the bond of marriage and send their wives away.
Rather like the psalm, Jesus then goes on to speak of children, and stresses their importance in the Christian view of the world, which can be in contrast to worldly attitudes then and now that children are not always given the same rights that adults hold onto for themselves. Mark also uses this story of Jesus welcoming and blessing children to add to what we heard last week – that we are to welcome God as wholeheartedly as children accept their parent’s love.
Joan Griffith
Suggestions for prayer or reflection:
What would it mean for you personally to ‘receive the Kingdom of God like a little child’?
Gwen Griffith-Dickson