Homily Notes 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
16th Sunday of Ordinary time/ “Women and Men are Made in the Image of God”
Jesus lived in a time when interactions between men and women was very regimented. But Jesus didn’t adhere to all the customs of his society. He seemed to cross certain boundaries that usually weren’t crossed.
When we picture the story we just heard about in the scriptures concerning Martha, Mary and Jesus, we assume that Jesus arrived at his friend’s house with his entourage of disciples. We imagine he is greeted by Lazarus and the rest of his household. We further believe that Martha is overwhelmed because of all the unexpected guests that have arrived in her home.
But if we look closely at this passage from Luke’s gospel, we see that the description of the event does not allude to a large group of people at a dinner. What we have is a rather intimate encounter. Jesus stops by Martha and Mary’s house. Martha invites him in. And then we have the rest of the story.
In Jewish culture it would be highly inappropriate for a man to enter the house of women with whom he is not married in Jewish culture. Just as it was not the practice of a woman to sit at the feet of a man who would teach her about scripture. The whole scene is highly irregular.
One could be reminded of the 1983 movie Yentl. Barbara Streisand stars as a young woman named Yentl who lives in Poland at in 1904. Women, at the time, were not allowed to be taught about the Jewish Scripture. But Yentl’s father breaks with tradition. He teachers Yentl about the scriptures. She proves to have a strong aptitude for Theology.
Unfortunately, her father dies. She is left without a teacher. Because she wants to learn more Theology, she decides to disguise herself as a young man. She puts on baggy men’s clothes. Yentl cuts her hair. She puts on glasses to disguise herself. She applies to a Jewish religious school. Yentl is accepted. The rest of the story is about Yentl trying to keep her identity a secret. Life keeps getting more complicated as she tries to lie about who she is. The story of Yentl is the story of a young woman’s love of God and of the things of God. The hunger for wisdom is something that needs to be fed.
We can see that same hunger in Mary as she sits at the feet of Jesus. She is enraptured by the things he is teaching. She is so spellbound. She does not notice how hard Martha is working to make sure all the obligations of hospitality are taken care of.
Of course, all of this leads to an argument. Our instinct would be that Jesus would side with Martha in this dispute. Jesus, after all, is a man of action. He is usually involved in works of mercy all the time. But surprisingly he sides with Mary. He does not seem to say that Martha is wrong for being hospitable, but he says she needn’t be so anxious. She needs sit and learn about the things of God like Mary. Other things can wait for a while.
Jesus believed that everyone should be able to learn spiritual truths. He taught the poor the wisdom of his tradition. He taught children. He also taught women. He obviously believed that for too long women were not given the spiritual sustenance they needed.
We still contend with gender issues in Roman Catholic Christianity today. I remember as a child, that women weren’t allowed in the sanctuary during the liturgy. Only the clerics and altar boys were. The only time women were allowed near the altar was to clean. Who can forget that not too many years ago we were still debating whether there could be girls as altar servers or not? When we think about all that today, it seems shocking. Why were we so anxious about such things?
Progress was made. The forward progress for women in the church is continuing. Recently the Pope has begun to name women to curial congregations at the Vatican. These posts were reserved for the ordained clergy for generations. Now that has changed. Women are getting a place at table where decisions about the direction the church is taking are being made. We trust that Holy Spirit will guide these changes.
Jesus respected the intellect and sanctity of women. Jesus had women disciples. He had trusted woman friends like Martha and Mary. He did not ever seem to be anxious about his interaction with women. We should never forget what Jesus believed, that both women and men are made in the image and likeness of God, both possess fundamental human dignity.