Ephesians 5:21-32
21Be subject to one another out of reverence
for Christ.22Wives, be subject to your husbands as
you are to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the
head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. 24Just
as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything,
to their husbands.25Husbands, love your wives, just as
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26in
order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, 27so
as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or
anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. 28In
the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He
who loves his wife loves himself. 29For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and
tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church,30because we are members of his body. 31“For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and
the church.33Each of you, however, should love his
wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.
Reflection:
Passages like this are often
hard to read; they do not correspond well with our 21st century ears. While the
command that wives be subject to their husbands may seem restrictive and
controlling today, it helps to put the author's words in context. In the first
century, during which this was written, marriages were not based on romantic
love and desire to make one life together, as marriage is today. Marriages were
usually arranged by the young people's families to create stability, economic
fruitfulness, and raise children. Women were considered to be little more than
property to first their fathers, and then their husbands.
Imagine being a woman in this
time. Now imagine hearing these words about marriage read in church. These
commands for wives to be subject and husbands to be loving were likely received
as a radical step toward partnership, not as keeping women beneath their
husbands. As Paul wrote, the marriage relationship is "a great mystery,"
and it recent months we have reexamined this great mystery as a country and as
a church. Although Christians may disagree about the make-up of marriage, it is
clear from the letter to Ephesians that all Christian marriages should contain
both love and respect.
Questions:
1. What is my
initial reaction to this passage's advice about marriage? Is it positive,
negative, or indifferent?
2. What would I
imagine by initial reaction would be if I were a first century woman?
3. How can this
passage enhance the conversations about marriage that we are having in our
country now?
Prayer: Lord, give
me the wisdom and discernment to find your message for me today in these
ancient texts. May I seek you and find you in all my relationships, including
my romantic relationships. Amen
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