Chastity 2 Jesus and the women
Here is an extra reading to help us to reflect on what was the attitude of Jesus while relating with women.
EXTRA READING: Jesus and the women.
Somebody may say that Jesus was like anyone of his time a close minded misogynist. In fact none of the twelve apostles was a woman. Did Jesus think, like people of his time, that women were useless or inferior?
Before answering about Jesus let us have a look at the condition of women in the Jewish society at the time of Jesus.
The power of men inside the family was “Absolute”. The girl was under the dominion of the father till the moment she would get married (thing that would happen in her early teenage). After that she would move under the protection of her husband. If ever her father would die before her marriage, her elder brother (not her mother) would assume the power. After marriage she would not be free to enter public places unless fully veiled. A serious man would never entertain a woman in a public place and if ever he was in need to talk to her he should bring two witnesses along with him. Rabbi Jose ben Johanan said in the first century: “Do not speak with a woman for long time, neither with your wife nor with the wife of your neighbour... the one who wastes his time talking to a woman attract evil on himself and will end into the Gehenna”.
Given this situation, she could enjoy no public rights. She could not divorce her husband but her husband could divorce her for any petty reason. Her witness in a tribunal was considered not valid, and so she would never be summoned there; She did not need to go to the Synagogue to pray and not even follow the dictate of the law. Often she would be considered “impure” (during menstruation time) and so unapproachable and not worthy to do anything connected with religion. In the Temple of Jerusalem there was a courtyard reserved to them and she could not enter the section reserved to men.
Of course noble and rich women could afford to escape such strict rules. Her duties outside the house were to go to the mill to grind wheat and to the well to fetch water.
For our analysis about Jesus I take passages mainly from the Gospel of John and some references from Luke. We have to say that those Gospels, being based in the Greek world and having been written later (at least John), could denote a more open mentality.
Mary the mother of Jesus. John never calls her by name but always address her as “the mother of Jesus”. When he writes the Gospel, at the end of the first century, Mary is already honoured with that title by the Christian communities. She is mentioned twice: at the beginning and at the end, and always with respect. At the wedding of Cana, she is mentioned before Jesus. It is strange that at the banquet men are together with women, here it seems that she is with Jesus. She is a good family mother and notices what is missing. Most probably this was a wedding of a relative and she was among the people in charge to see the arrangements for the food etc. When she approaches Jesus for a solution he answers taking a distance and bringing the topic to a higher theological level. It is not up to him to decide the timing and way of things. The fact that after this she turns to the servants asking them to do whatever Jesus says means that she is a woman with authority.
From the cross Jesus honours her who was a widow with no son entrusting her not to her natural family but to the new family he created, the family of the believers. According to the law a widow was free to stay with the family of the husband or to go back to her father's.
In both cases Jesus addresses her as “Woman”, not as “mother”. In her we see the destiny of all women starting from Eve till today. So even at the moment of Jesus' death we can see the honour he has for her. It is like a moral authority which is based on the service to the will of God: “the one who does the will of my Father in heaven he is my mother and sister and brother” (Mt. 12:50)
The Samaritan woman. Coming back from Judea to Galilee Jesus had to pass through Samaria. Samaritan people were marginalized and hated by the Jews. You can imagine how the women of Samaria could have been considered. Jesus makes use of a woman to rebuild the broken relation between the two nations. Jesus is the one who starts the conversation; he provokes her asking for something to drink. The wonder of the woman is clear and maybe even mixed to a little of fear: Jesus is a Jewish and not a law abiding one: does he have second intentions? He starts talking about a strange kind of water and this little by little opens to the possibility of a deeper dialogue. Jesus conducts the discussions and turns the topics at the right moment: “Where is your husband”. To talk about the husband could have been a way to be safe; instead here it becomes more embarrassing because she is forced to admit her irregular situation and even more so when Jesus shows that he knows already her situation. The way she admit it openly shows that she doesn't care much about the public opinion, but at the same time she shows an interest in religion because she is able to see a prophet in Jesus. Now she is the one to move the dialogue to a more religious level. The fact that Jesus has uncovered her weaknesses and yet still respects her has made every barrier fall. Now she feels comfortable in talking and listening. The wonder and admiration grow even bigger when she realizes that Jesus can even go beyond law in order to reach the true religion: “God wants those who adore, to do it in spirit and in truth”. The final blow comes with the sentence: “The Messiah is the one who is talking to you now”. Now she is won over, she has become a disciple and as such she is willing to leave everything behind. The jar for the water which she leaves behind at the well show this clear cut with his past. Now she is a messenger of the good news and invites all people to go to Jesus. When the Samaritans too listen to Jesus the division between Jewish and Samaritans is over.
The Adulteress. This woman is caught in adultery and brought to Jesus to be stoned. It is a way to test Jesus and his attitude towards this kind of sins. If the woman has been caught doing adultery it means that there was also a man involved but the one under accusation is only the woman. Jesus makes people understand that there is no more difference between man and woman, we are all equal in front of God. They had asked him to judge the sin of the woman he asks them to judge their own sins: “Let he who has no sin throw the first stone”. All left. Jesus forgives the woman, not because she is innocent but because God is merciful, as long as we commit ourselves not to sin anymore.
Martha and Mary. They are the sisters of Lazarus. They are in the house with him which means they are not married yet and probably their father died. From the position of the house and the description it seems that they are rich. It seems that they are very good friends of Jesus and maybe even disciples though they do not walk along with him. In Lk 10 only the two sisters appear. They seem to be very familiar with Jesus in the way they speak to him and he to them. To entertain a guest should have been the duty of Lazarus not of Mary, hence the scolding of Martha to her sister. Jesus goes beyond the cliché of the culture giving preference to the spiritual site of the relationship.
In the occasion of the death of Lazarus they send to call Jesus, a gentle request of help from friends. Jesus seems to ignore the request and for that Martha scolds him: “if you would have been here my brother would have not died”. Martha is sad but her faith in Jesus is not shaken: “even now I know that whatever you will ask the Father for, he will grant it”. Neither Jesus nor her seem to have problem in stopping to talk in the middle of the road, where everybody can see and comment. Jesus uses her as an example to speak about the faith necessary for every miracle. With Mary the talk is shorter and here Jesus shows openly his love through his tears. Martha had shown us the divine side of Jesus, Mary shows us the human one. Now it is time for Jesus to make the miracle.
A few days later there is a banquet in Lazarus house, probably to celebrate his coming back to life and of course Jesus is the main guest with his disciples. Mary shows once again that she is a loving disciple attentive to the needs. In a simple gesture she anticipates the whole mystery which will unfold just a few days later. She washes his feet (like Jesus will do with the disciples at the last supper) and also anoints him anticipating his death and burial (Jesus himself comments that saying: “Was she not keeping it for the day of my burial?”). Even here the attitude of the woman is unthinkable. A woman should not enter the banquet hall where there are men, should not touch a man in public place and should not show her hair for people not members of her family. Here she even uses her hair to wipe Jesus' feet. (Uncovered hair where used by prostitutes to allure clients). She uses very expensive oil costing the equivalent of 10 months of salary, money which could have been used for the poor, according to all the teaching of Jesus himself. Jesus allows Mary to break all the barriers which enslave women and to teach the apostles how to put God and his honour above everything else (even apostolate). He allows her to express freely her sentiments of love and gratitude.
Mary of Magdala. Is one of the women at the feet of the cross. Magdala was a town of Galilee and we saw her there the first time so most probably she came down to Jerusalem together with the disciples of Jesus. Now we see her at the tomb of Jesus. She went there early in the morning, as early as possible, contrary of what the disciples did. She has true love for Jesus and so when she sees the open tomb she is worried that somebody may have taken away the body. She sees Jesus but do not recognize him because her sadness for his death is too strong. When the relationship is just formal (Woman whom do you search?) her heart is somewhere else. She recognizes him only after he calls her by name, when the relationship becomes personal. She is like the sheep that recognize the voice of the shepherd who calls them by name (Jn 10:4). She would like to hug him and not let him escape any more but Jesus does not allow her that. He sends her as his messenger of the greatest news ever: the resurrection. So she is the disciple sent (apostle?), she who was a woman. Who in Israel would believe in the witness of a woman?
Other women. In the synoptic gospels there are other female figures like those who were “disciples of the Lord and used to provide for the Lord out of their possession”. We have the prostitute who enters the house of Simon to wash the feet of Jesus and is indicated as example of love, the woman who touches his mantle and get cured of her haemorrhage, the Cananean woman who has more faith than all the people in Israel, the old widow who puts the coin in the treasury of the temple and is indicated as the greatest donor of all.
Recapitulating we can say that the behaviour of Jesus is peculiar and somehow transgressive. He breaks traditions old of centuries and based on passages of the Old Testament. The woman is not any more confined into the house but gets out to follow Jesus all through Palestine. Now the woman knows how to act independently from man, can take up her responsibility and becomes a real apostle. Now between man and woman a genuine communication is possible without prejudices or fear.
Now that the woman has been freed from marginalization she can express freely her potential of faith and love, dedication and identification with the person and the mission of Jesus. She can discover her real identity and function inside of the Christian community.
This journey of liberation for the women, started by Jesus, had a long and difficult journey during the centuries of Christianity. We do not need to go back too many years to see the woman still relegated at the corners of society and of religion.
Pope John Paul II in 1993 said: “The mission entrusted onto the woman is rooted in the depth of her personal being. This put her on par level with man in dignity. What makes the woman different is the richness of traits typical of her femininity. … The evangelical message about the dignity of women encounters today a renewed sensibility which now rediscovers the value of being a woman and gives justice to the past discriminations. No more violence against women”