Most roadways buses have a 2×3 seat configuration; that is, 5 seats in a row. Since that is cramped, luxury buses are 2×2 giving long distance travellers enough leg space.
I am writing this after attending Mass on Sunday 20th July. The first reading (Gen 18:1-10) and the gospel (Lk 10:38-42) both had two principal players each. The first had Abraham and Sarah while the second had Martha and Mary. It was significant that both the readings were on the same day.
This is because several celibate preachers read too much into the Martha-Mary episode while welcoming Jesus into their home. Jesus reprimands Martha while praising Mary for having chosen the “better part” (Lk 10:42). This has often been portrayed as the virgin who dedicates herself to God; and being superior to the married woman who is busy about worldly affairs.
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, pushes this further. “The unmarried woman and the virgin gives her mind to the Lord’s affairs and to being holy in body and spirit; but the married woman gives her mind to the affairs of the world and to how she can please her husband” (I Cor 7:34). Fortunately Paul begins this particular exhortation with the rider “About people remaining virgin, I have no directions from the Lord but I give my own opinion” (v 25). Nevertheless he ends by saying “She would be happier if she stayed as she is (unmarried) to my way of thinking – and I believe that I too have the Spirit of the God” (v 40).
This distorted idea is based on Paul’s mistaken notion that the end of the world was imminent. “What I mean my brothers is that the time has become limited” (v 29). Proponents of such eschatological virginity gloss over another statement by Paul that they should stop buying property (v 30). If virginity is an index of eschatological imminence then why do these same proponents (Catholic priests and religious) go on buying so much property? Why such a selective reading of Paul’s exhortation? Double standards.
This is why I am reiterating the significance of Abraham and Sarah on the same day as Martha and Mary. Martha was “reprimanded” by Jesus for being busy in making various preparations for him. “Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me” (Lk 10:40). In sharp contrast Abraham was blessed for going out of his way to serve his divine guests with fresh bread, a fattened calf, curd and milk (Gen 18:6-8). As an immediate consequence Sarah is given the blessing that she will now bear a child (v 10). This too, despite Sarah’s scepticism and unbelief. “Sarah had ceased to have her monthly periods. So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking – Now that I am past the age of childbearing, and my husband is an old man, is pleasure to come my way again?” (v 11).
I am belabouring the point to counter the gross misinterpretation of the Martha reprimand. It was specific to the given circumstances, certainly not a general prescription. At that point in time Jesus was prioritising his message over food that was secondary. I therefore hope and pray that preachers will give a decent burial to this virginity versus married life debate. Both are precious in the eyes of the Lord.
There is another incident at Bethany where Martha and Mary resided. It was the death of their brother Lazarus. Here there is a role reversal. While Mary “remained sitting” (Jn 11:20) it was Martha who wrested the initiative to meet Jesus half way (ibid). Bethany also sets the record straight for another disciple. Thomas has for long been derided as a doubter (cf Jn 20: 24-25), but at Bethany it was he who first spoke up to say that, despite the danger, “Let us also go to die with him” (v 16). The point therefore is that we should not blow any verse from scripture out of proportion, or out of context.
Now let us see what contemporary church teaching has to say about marriage. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “Sacred scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of the wedding feast of the Lamb” (CCC 1602, cf Gen 1:26-27, Rev 19:7-9). And again, “The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence at the wedding feast of Cana” (CCC 1613, cf Jn 2:1-11), the first miracle.
Echoing these sentiments the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, the most important document of Vatican II, says, “The family is, so to speak, the domestic church” (LG 11). Even Canon Law has changed. It earlier said that the primary goal of marriage was procreation. It now states that marriage “is ordered to the well being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children” (Can 1055:1). So human companionship comes first.
I myself am a twin, hence conceived in companionship. Over the years I have discovered that be it life or work, I need a companion to rise to my full potential. I have met the President, Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Governors, Cardinals, Nuncios etc, but never alone. Hence I am a firm believer in the power of 2X2.
From the beginning of time we find that God said “It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper (companion)” (Gen 2:18). At the beginning of his public ministry we read “The Lord appointed seventy two others and sent them out ahead of him two by two” (Lk 10:1). In the Acts of the Apostles we read, “I want Barnabas and Saul set apart for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). Again, “Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him” (Acts 16:3).
I cut my teeth in community service 56 years ago through the Legion of Mary. It has a strict rule regarding house or hospital visitation. Legionaries were always allotted duties in pairs. It is for this reason that I always advocate having two priests in one place rather than one priest each in two places.
When I made my first 30-day Ignatian retreat with Fr Dan Rice SJ in 1980 I was told to meditate for a full day on the Fall of the Angels. It seemed absurd. There was nothing to go by. But I experienced Hell. It is not a devastating fire; it is loneliness, being all alone in nothingness. Everything was black, the absence of all colour. Small wonder then that at the beginning of time the Creator said “It is not good for man to be alone”. God believes in the power of 2X2. So do I.
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