20210211 DISCRIMINATION
11 February, 2021, Thursday, 5th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Genesis 2:18-25 © |
Man and wife become one body
The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:
‘This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.’
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.
Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame in front of each other.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 127(128):1-5 © |
O blessed are those who fear the Lord.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
O blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps144:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jm1:21 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to the word
which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 7:24-30 © |
The astuteness of the Syro-Phoenician woman
Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.
DISCRIMINATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GEN 2:18-25; PS 128:1-5; MARK 7:24-30]
If families, Church, society and the world are so divided, it is because of perceived discrimination. Among the worst forms of discrimination are gender, race and religion. Some races think they are more superior to others. Only they deserve to be treated well and given recognition and help. They look down on others that do not belong to their race or their religion or their gender. They hold this supremacy outlook when dealing with others who are different. This indeed was the case during the time of Jesus. The Jews saw themselves as the chosen people of God. They were a privileged nation. Only they were saved. Hence, Gentiles were excluded. They were considered unclean and should be avoided at all cost, lest they became contaminated and made ritually unclean for worship. Any Gentile assimilated into their religion and custom were considered second class. Not only were their race and religion superior, the Jews also regarded the masculine gender as superior to that of women. Children, women and widows were classified together and did not have any status in society.
In the gospel, Jesus sought to change this cultural discrimination which prevailed in society for hundreds of years. The gospel text must be read in context of chapter 7 of Mark. At the outset of this chapter, Jesus was debating with the Jewish leaders on the ceremonial traditions that they extrapolated from the Law of Moses. These ablutions and many other customary practices were not critical for true worship of God as many were more for hygienic reasons but given a religious meaning. So Jesus reprimanded them, “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition. You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!” (Mk 7:8f) Following this, Jesus taught the people, especially His disciples, that “there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.” (Mk 7:15)
Following His exposition that defilement does not come from external factors especially food, He brought His message right into the heart of the land of the Gentiles, the territory of Tyre. This was a Syrophoenician district where the inhabitants were mostly Gentiles. “There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised.” Hoping to have some quiet time for Himself, there came a gentile woman, “a pagan, by birth a Syro-phoenician, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter.”
On three counts, race, religion and gender, she did not qualify to be ministered, according to the Jewish culture in the time of Jesus. Firstly, she was a Gentile and Jews had nothing to do with the Gentiles. They despised the Gentiles and they were enemies. Secondly, she was not of the Jewish Faith and did not worship the God of Israel. Such people did not deserve to be saved. Thirdly, she was only a woman. She should not be taken too seriously. But Jesus shattered such cultural, racial and religious barriers by His friendly banter with the woman. He told her a parable and she in turn replied with a parable. “He said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs’. But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps’.”
What is significant about this incident was that the woman did not take to heart when Jesus described her race as dogs even though they were house-dogs, which meant these were not scavengers but pets in the house. On the contrary, she recognized that the Jewish race had been chosen by God to be saved first but not exclusively. The Jews were saved first so that they could become God’s instrument to bring other nations to Him. It was not because God favoured the Jews to the rest of the world. In His divine plan, He chose a particular race as His instrument to bring the rest of humanity to Him. Not only was this woman humble to recognize her place in salvation history, but she did not resent God’s choice or sovereignty. She only asked to have a share of that blessing. And because of her faith and humility, the Lord granted her wish. “He said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter’. So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.”
This equality among men and women is the message underscored in the first reading from the book of Genesis. Firstly, the foundation of equality among men and women is rooted in the fact that all human beings possess an intrinsic dignity by just being human. This is because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. Regardless of our gender and our status in life, in the eyes of God, we are precious to Him. Unlike animals, God formed human beings personally with His hands and breathed His Spirit into them. “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Gen 2:7) Consequently, all human lives must be respected and valued, even that of an unborn baby. There is no room for discrimination of people whether they single, divorced or of different sexual orientation. Certainly, we cannot exclude people because of their race and culture.
Secondly, we are distinguished in gender in spite of the fact that today some groups are championing transgender and same-sex orientation. We cannot deny the obvious truth that sexuality defines us as a person, not just physically but emotionally, relationally and spiritually. While genital relationship belongs to marriage, just because one is not married does not mean he or she is non-sexual. Then we have situations when someone is physically a male but emotionally and relationally feels as a woman. This is where the confusion lies and the debate, whether same sex orientation and transgender is natured or nurtured. Consequently, we are called to be sympathetic to those in such situations brought about by nature or a pathological condition or upbringing or an environment that intentionally conditions and cultivates heterosexuals to homosexuals by speaking of same sex union as an option in life. Same sex union, regardless of what causes it, remains incomplete.
Thirdly, men and women are made for each other. Women are not second-class people on this earth. The bible is clear that men and women complement each other. There is no question of male superiority over women, man dominating over women. Men and women are equal, although different. They complete each other. This is what sexual complementarity is all about. If society has degenerated into a culture of male dominance, it is due to sin and selfishness. God created for man a helper, someone who can complement man because he is incomplete. Therefore, the notion of inferiority or servitude is never present. On the contrary, God created someone like the man, but yet different, so that they can fulfill each other. All the other animals could not complete him. This is further reiterated when the author made it clear that “the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man.” He did not take from the top part of his body or the lower part of his body but a rib next to this heart. Men and women are made for each other to fulfill each other.
Finally, there is an important reminder that we are not just individuals but we are social beings. God says, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” We need others to help us realize our personhood. The highest degree of self-fulfillment is found in the giving of oneself to another person, totally, in every way, including physically, in the marriage of a man and a woman. This is why marriage is a sacrament of God’s love. Of course, it does not mean that those who are single and celibate cannot find personal fulfillment. They too can if they cultivate authentic and deep relationships and friendships with God and others.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment