Readings:
Genesis 2:18-25
Mark 7:24-30
Reflection:
Those of us who wear glasses are familiar with the optometrist trying different lenses on us so that we can work out which lenses give us the sharpest image. It’s a bit like our perceptions of God throughout history and across the Old and New Testaments. God doesn’t change, but our perceptions and understanding become clearer.
Today’s readings can help sharpen some of our insights about our relationships with God and each other, with a particular focus on the role of women in Judaeo-Christian society. In Genesis, the male has responsibility for naming all the creatures that God has made. The female is a kind of afterthought, created because the male is alone/lonely, and God fashions her out of one of his ribs to be his helper and his wife. The male holds the superior role in Genesis. Likewise in the psalm, the male is predominant, his wife being behind the scenes, a fruitful vine in the heart of the house.
In our extract from Mark’s Gospel, we see a woman who is both independent and a strong advocate for her sick child with Jesus. She’s not Jewish either, but a pagan foreigner. And hubby doesn’t rate a mention. How does Jesus respond to her? Initially, he seems to tease her about her status within the prevailing pecking order, as a migrant and non-Jewish. She remains undeterred. And moved by her determination, Jesus quickly accedes to her request for healing for her child. In doing so, he affirms her claim upon God’s love for her as a foreigner, a non-Jew and a woman.
Fast forward two millennia, and despite huge steps forward during our lifetimes, women still struggle to achieve equality in many aspects of society and church life. It’s as if we are still dithering over lenses and insisting on our old glasses when patently they are no longer fit for purpose. Old and New Testament texts continue to be used in churches as justifications for curtailing women from leadership roles. The Plenary Council and Synod on Synodality seem to have generated window dressing around this failure to embrace women as equal partners whilst still treating women as the helpmate we found, way back in Genesis. In the meantime, women continue to hold the Church together in the countless forms of ministry they exercise towards the poor and marginalised, but with minimal recognition. A bit like Christ was, really.
Brian Norman has been associated with the Passionists in various ways since he was three weeks old when he squared off with Fr Placid Millay CP over the baptismal font at St Brigid’s, Marrickville.