Genesis 2:18 – 24

This Sunday, we hear the story of the creation of woman from the Book of Genesis. It has been quite a while since we have heard from this, the first book of the Bible, so let’s review the who, what, when, where, why and to whom of this most important book.  It derives its name from the Greek translation γενεσης of the first word of that book in Hebrew בראשית – both words mean “beginning. The opening words of this book are: “In the beginning, God created…”  This book contains a variety of material, including ancient creation stories, genealogical lists, songs, proverbs, etiological tales, legends, etc.  No Catholic scholar today would hold that Genesis presents history in the modern sense of that term.  Any interest in facts of history was to illustrate the divine plan.  Yet, it does deal with history: God created the universe and his design included creating humanity with a natural need for community.

 

The Masoretic text (a collection of critical and explanatory notes on the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, compiled from the 7th to 10th centuries A.D. and traditionally accepted as an authoritative exegetic guide, chiefly in matters of pronunciation and grammar) is well-preserved in Genesis.  Comparison with the Dead Sea Scrolls verify its authenticity.  The version that we have today is the result of many redactions – probably by a Priestly redactor – of Yahwist and Elohist traditions.  The original narrative material predates Israel and probably comes from northern Mesopotamia.  Comparison with extant material from this region confirms this supposition.  The aspects that make this material specifically Israelite in character and the result of divine inspiration include the belief in one God who created all to be good and developed a special relationship with Abraham and his descendants. 

 

The section that we hear from this Sunday is taken from the earlier creation account, found in Genesis 2.  This is a Yahwist tradition that shows a very close relationship between God and humanity.  As is usually the case, this first reading is selected to prepare us for the Gospel message.  Before studying the passage that we will hear on Sunday, it’s helpful to read Gn. 2:4-10, where we see God make humanity – and all of his garden – out of the ground.  It is a wonderfully earthy presentation of God’s close relationship with his creation.

 

Now, let’s examine Sunday’s passage:

 

18 The LORD God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.”

 

It is not good for the man to be alone: the Talmud (collection of Jewish laws and traditions dating to 400AD) comments that “aloneness” is the first thing about man that God was not good.  By nature, humanity is social; we are incomplete without the other.

 

a suitable partner: this is a very important statement, of particular significance since it was made in a male-dominated environment.  It expresses two profound truths: woman complements man, a social being by nature, and she has a similar nature to him and so can be a suitable partner.

 

19 So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name.

 

God formed out of the ground: notice that the animals and birds were made out of the ground, just as man was in vs. 7 and the trees were in vs. 9.

 

Brought them to the man: in creating the animals and allowing man to name them, God gives to man dominion over the animals (cf. 1:26, 28).  We need to realize, however, as Popes Benedict and Francis have brought to our attention, that we are given dominion, not domination.  We are called to tend and care for the world that God has given us; it is, after all, his garden.

 

20 The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

21 So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.

 

God cast a deep sleep on the man: this indicates the mysterious nature of divine creative activity; man is unable to witness it.

 

22 The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man,

 

rib: of uncertain meaning; perhaps connected with the Sumerian word which can mean “rib” or “life.”  Unlike man and the animals – who were made out of the ground – woman was made from the very body of man, indicating an identical nature and dignity between man and woman.

 

23 the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.”

 

bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: indicates the unity of nature between man and woman.

 

called ‘woman,’ for out of ‘her man’: There is a play on the similar-sounding Hebrew words ishsha (“woman”) and ishah (“her man, her husband”).   This account of the first parents reflects what happens through the conception and development of every human being.  Although we receive our life and dignity with and from others – our father and mother – we are unique individuals, identical in dignity.

 

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.

 

One body: literally “one flesh”; classical Hebrew has no specific word for “body.” The sacred writer stresses the fact that conjugal union, which includes monogamy, is willed by God. This is a very significant theological statement, especially significant in a society where polygamy was still practiced and accepted.

 

Although this first reading is selected, as is usually the case, to prepare us for the gospel, with a focus on marriage, it also offers us a broad brush concept of human nature: we are made for one another, for communion.  And, this our communion with one another here on earth points to our ultimate destiny of union with all in God.

 

 

Mark 10:2 – 16

 

This Sunday, we continue to hear from Mark’s Gospel, picking a just few verses later than where we left off last week, skipping over just a short presentation on salt that we ordinarily associate with Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (5:13) and presented here and in Luke’s Gospel (14:34) in isolation.  The passage we hear this Sunday is one of particular importance today, when we experience such a high divorce rate.  But, it’s important to realize that the topic of permanence in marriage has been a contentious one for thousands of years, as we see in today’s reading.  In the dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees on the subject of divorce, it’s important to realize that the Pharisees weren’t asking if divorce were permitted – that had already been established in their minds by Moses’ declaration that we find referred to in Deuteronomy 24:1 – but rather what the grounds were for divorce.  There had been ongoing debate among Jewish leaders about what grounds justified divorce; was it only infidelity or something as minor as the man becoming dissatisfied with his wife’s cooking or appearance.

 

Before these Pharisees engaged Jesus in this debate, they should have done a background check on him.  Then, they would have realized that they were taking on a teacher whose father had actually considered divorce when he discovered that Mary was pregnant – and he had nothing to do with it.  Rather than divorcing her, however, Joseph took her into his home. 

Jesus declares that the law of Moses permitted divorce (Deut 24:1) only because of the “hardness of your hearts” (Mark 10:4-5).  Like a Band-aid on an infected cut, divorce wasn’t a solution, but it stopped worse things from happening, such as abuse or infidelity.  In citing Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 Jesus proclaims permanence to be the divine intent from the beginning concerning human marriage (Mark 10:6-8).  He reaffirms this with the declaration that what God has joined together, no human being must separate (Mark 10:9). Before we read Sunday’s passages, let’s read Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-9, Luke 16:18, 1 Cor 7:10; cf. 1 Cor 7:1 – 15; pay attention to the footnotes!

 

Now, with all of this as background, let’s read Sunday’s passage:

 

2 The Pharisees approached and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him.

3 He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?”

4 They replied, “Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.”

5 But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment.

 

Command…permit…commandment: pay attention to the language which Jesus uses and the Pharisees use in response.  Jesus is trying to draw the Pharisees to one of the Ten Commandments, namely, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  The Pharisees, however, refer to the tacit permission for divorce that Moses appears to give in Deuteronomy 24:1.  In fact, all that this passage is really doing is directing the Jewish people, who were apparently already practicing divorce, to give the divorced women a chance to remarry in order to survive.

 

6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.

 

from the beginning of creation: this was God’s intent; we, in our selfishness and shortsightedness – hard-heartedness, as Jesus describes it – have defied God’s perfect intention.

 

God made them male and female: Although Jesus does not include it in his quotation, everyone in his audience knows this phrase from the Book of Genesis is preceded by “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them” in 1:27; let’s look at that critical passage.  This makes it very clear that humanity – as male and female together – is the image of God.  It is not as “male” or as “female” that humanity is the image of God but only as “male and female.”  It is in the creative relationship possible only between a man and a woman that humanity is “the image of God.”  As I always teach couples coming to me for marriage preparation, it is the married couple – not the Church nor the priesthood – that is the clearest image of God in this world because it is in this intimate union that God’s creative, life-giving love is made most evident.

 

7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife),

8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.

 

a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), and the two shall become one flesh: as Jesus continues to quote the Book of Genesis – this time from 2:24, as we heard in the first reading – he makes is glaringly clear that the union of man and woman in marriage is insoluble.

 

9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

10 In the house the disciples again questioned him about this.

11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;

 

Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her: this is a very serious charge, one that the Pharisees were not ready to hear but Jesus must tell his followers.  At that time, women were considered property that a father handed on to the husband, often at a price.  These ideas of equality and fidelity were so beyond their cultural understanding of marriage that in Matthew’s, the following teaching is omitted:

 

12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

 

if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery: As I mentioned above, we don’t see this in Matthew’s version since he is writing to a Jewish audience who do not recognize equality between men and women.  There was a recognition of this equality among some of the non-Jewish communities at that time; apparently Mark’s community was one of those so he included this same serious charge against women as against men.

 

13 And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.

 

the disciples rebuked them: some scripture scholars speculate that the disciples rebuked the parents of these children because they – impressed with their own importance as companions of Jesus – did not want to be associated with unimportant children. Remember, according to Jewish custom, a child had no social status until he received his bar mitzvah.  According to Roman law, a child was simply its parents’ property.  Once again, Jesus turns all of this on its head.

 

14 When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”

 

Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child: i.e., in total dependence upon and obedience to the gospel; cf. Matthew 18:3-4.  

 

16 Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

 

Using the principle of multiple attestation, we can be rather certain that the evangelists and Paul are repeating Jesus’ teaching about marriage and divorce.  It was a challenge in his day and remains a challenge today.  But, those of you who are married can testify that fidelity and monogamy are really the best ways to live the vocation of marriage.  And, from the beginning, it was intended by God to bring man woman together into a community, a sign here on earth of the heavenly communion among God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

 

Hebrews 2:9b – 11

 

We hear another section from the letter to the Hebrews.  In fact, from now until the Solemnity of Christ the King, the second reading on Sunday will be from this Letter, which most scripture scholars today assert is not a letter at all but a sermon to Jewish Christians who were in danger of apostasy from their Christian faith.  The best way to understand the message is to read the entire letter aloud.  We don’t have time to do that here but it would be a good exercise for you.  Let’s look at the passage we will hear on Sunday; it’s a very good example of the rich Christology found throughout this letter.  It also speaks of the close relationship Jesus has with us, especially the lowliest of society, “children,” which we saw also in this Sunday’s Gospel.

 

9 [but we do see Jesus “crowned with glory and honor” because he suffered death,] he who “for a little while” was made “lower than the angels,” that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.

11 He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,…

 

he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,…: in sharing our humanity, Jesus becomes our brother, and we are his brothers and sisters; how humbling and reassuring!

 

In all three readings, we learn about the true dignity that God has intended for us human beings “from the beginning:” to share in the divine communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The Beatific Vision is our promise to share in this communion for all eternity.  Until then, we are called to prepare for it and reflect it in our lives.