One of the main themes in reporting the turmoil in Afghanistan is the fate and future of women and their rights under the Taliban regime. There’s fear of turning back the clock and a return to a situation where females effectively have no rights, no education, no career of their own; their role practically reduced to being submissive underlings of their fathers or husbands. A similar attitude towards women was the driving force behind the tragic events in Plymouth. And it seems we find something very similar in today’s second reading: ‘Wives should regard their husbands as they regard the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church submits to Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything.’ It sounds like a Christian version of the Taliban attitude towards women. But only on the face of it.
Every piece of literature was created in a specific context, influenced by the cultural, religious, political and social norms of the time. The author’s personal knowledge, education, life experience and opinions heavily impacted the writing. No piece of literature was created in a void. This is true about biblical texts too. In order to understand the meaning of a particular piece of writing it has to be critically interpreted. The personal and wider cultural contexts must be taken into account, so the deeper meaning can be discovered. In a way, the text is stripped of its sometimes archaic language so its timeless message can surface. This particularly applies to ancient texts, like the Bible. In a centuries-long and massively convoluted process, various pieces of ancient Jewish literature were turned into a more organised form, that eventually developed into a book-like collection. Those pieces of biblical literature were created in the oppressively patriarchal societies of the ancient Middle East.
However, in the Bible, we find many attempts to challenge such a dominant patriarchal attitude and they are not difficult to find when we approach it properly. One example is the figurative tale of a woman created out of the man’s rib and his exuberant acclamation: ‘This […] is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.’ (Genesis 2:23) In other words, the man acknowledges that the woman is his equal. Such a claim went against the very grain of the deeply patriarchal society of the time. Another example is the religious law on adultery and divorce; nowadays perceived as oppressive and heartless, it originated as a means of protecting women from abuse and exploitation by men. Jesus was asked by his opponents a question that illustrated such a whimsical attitude towards women that was quite common: ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?’ (Matthew 19:3) In his response, he referred to the aforementioned story of creation and concluded: ‘what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ (Matthew 19:6) In other words, your wife isn’t your toy to be dumped at a whim; she’s part of your life and you must take care of her. Again, such a concept went against the patriarchal attitude common at the time.
Today’s second reading follows that pattern. We don’t even have to strip much of its ancient language to see clearly its timeless message; a careful reading reveals it. Although the opening line ‘wives should submit to their husbands in everything’ sounds like a model of patriarchy, most of that passage is devoted to how husbands should treat their wives, like: ‘Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her.’ Or: ‘husbands must love their wives […]; for a man to love his wife is for him to love himself’ which echoes one of the two greatest commandments: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:39) So, instead of reinforcing the patriarchal model of his times, St Paul advised a completely different attitude, protecting women against exploitation and abuse. He, like Jesus, referred to the same seminal definition of marital love: ‘a man must leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one body.’ And concluded: ‘This mystery has many implications.’
In the 21st century Scotland, we have to find practical and respectful ways of implementing the timeless message that as men and women we are equal. This is not a one-off job; it must be our ongoing effort, driven by charitable love.
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