Jesus Defends Women And Children
2021년 10월 3일Jesus Defends Women And Children
<Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time>
Although divorce was allowed under Jewish law, it was still very controversial. According to the law given by Moses, a man could divorce his wife for doing “something dirty.” Scholars debated what “something dirty” meant. One group said it referred to adultery. The other group insisted it could even mean something as nasty as burning supper. And so these groups appealed to the Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth: was it lawful for a man to divorce his wife or not? To everyone’s surprise, Jesus not only denied men the right to divorce– he also denied that right to women. And they never had that right to begin with!
Jesus thus declared men and women as equals before God. For as scripture says, “What God joins together, people must not divide. In this, Jesus defended women because at that time a divorced women had little choice but to either beg or become a prostitute, as few men would marry her. Jesus denied men the right to do that to women. Similarly, Jesus upheld the dignity and worth of children, who were (and still are) considered insignificant by society. In these two areas, Jesus showed himself to be a champion of women and children thousands of years before the world would agree with him. Jesus looked at people through the eyes of God and saw the reflection of the divine image in them. They are worthy of respect, protection and love. As Christians we must do our part to defend them.