This week, the Gospel reading continued to focus on the Bread of Life Discourse. I want to take a closer look at our second reading, though, and what it means for the women (and men) of our Church. The reading talks about how wives should be submissive to their husbands. Sound the alarm! There goes the Church being all misogynistic! No. That's not it at all.
Christ is the Groom, and the Church is the Bride. Jesus died to save the Church. His body was broken so that the Body of Christ (the Church) might live. The Body of Christ has Jesus at the head. The Church is a part of Christ, and Christ is a part of the Church. Similarly, a husband is a part of his wife and a wife is a part of her husband. A husband sacrificially serves his wife. She follows the lead of her husband. Still think this is archaic? Hang on...
This isn't a one-directional teaching. When we look at how Christ sacrificed everything for the Church (the people), we also see how the Church is called to sacrifice everything for Him. It's a circle. In a perfect marriage, and in a perfect church, the groom and the bride live to serve each other. Furthermore, Jesus says, “no can come to me unless it is granted him by my father.” Both Christ (the groom) and the Church (the bride), need to be in communion with the Father and with each other.
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