Reading Scripture On Our Knees
December 27, 2023
Fr. John Riccardo
“Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.”
(COLOSSIANS 3:12-21)
For whatever reason, those who compiled the Lectionary that we hear proclaimed every Sunday often give the celebrant an option to omit parts of God’s inspired Word. I think we can safely suggest that the reason, at least sometimes, is so that people aren’t offended. Please let that soak in for a moment.
As I mentioned last week here, our race’s ancient foe deceived our first parents into thinking that God is our enemy, wanting to inhibit our freedom and happiness, an oppressive – not good – Father. We can easily fall for this deception when we approach God’s Word, and especially when we are confronted by Scriptures regarding marriage and sexuality. We have acquired something of a habit of excising those parts of the Bible that we find uncomfortable, confusing, and problematic. We simply delete, or bracket out as “optional,” those texts inspired by the Holy Spirit that we don’t like. Hans Urs von Balthasar was fond of saying we need to do theology “on our knees'' – not “at a desk.” In other words, we need to let God’s Word pick us apart, not us pick it apart.
If God is Love, if He has not only created us but became Incarnate in order to rescue us from Sin, Death and Satan, isn’t it reasonable to approach His Word with trust and gratitude? Wouldn’t it be right to start out with the posture of a beloved son or daughter and try to understand what’s being revealed to us – especially when texts are challenging? Isn’t reading Scripture often interspersed with prayers of this sort: “Father, I don’t get this! Help me to understand what You are revealing to us, for I am confident that You always and only love us and want what’s best for us.” What if those passages that can easily offend us – like the end of the 2nd reading this week – aren’t offensive at all, but actually liberating and beautiful?
It might be worth remembering that Paul isn’t writing to the Roman world at large. Colossians isn’t an op-ed piece. It’s a letter written by a pastor to disciples of Jesus. In other words, this is teaching for Christian believers. Perhaps my response to God’s Word is a revealing and convicting glimpse into how converted (or unconverted) in mind and heart I really am. It’s okay to struggle with Scripture, though; we should expect to, for lots of reasons. One reason is that Scripture wasn’t written in English but in Greek and Hebrew, and, as anyone who speaks another language knows, every time we translate from one language to another we also interpret it. Sometimes those translations and interpretations aren’t very accurate. This week is one of those times.
There’s way too much to say about what the Lord and Lover of our souls reveals in His Word about marriage, both here in Colossians and especially in Ephesians 5:21-33. For now, though, let’s just reflect on two points. First, when Paul says what he says to Christian wives, he is not telling them to submit to their husband’s wishes. He doesn’t even say, as it is translated for us this week, “Be subordinate.” The Greek he uses is in the Middle Voice. Without getting lost in Greek grammar, it means the wife is the one doing the action to herself. She’s making a choice – a free choice. That choice, drawing on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, is to place herself under her Christian husband’s loving care as someone who is absolutely equal in dignity to her husband. That brings up the second point: the Christian husband is commanded to love his wife. As most of us probably know, there are four words in Greek for love (family love, the love of friends, erotic love and that love that means a sacrificial self-giving, made most visibly manifest in Jesus’ laying down His life for us on the cross). Paul uses that last word for love here when he commands Christian husbands to love their wives. In other words, Paul exhorts husbands to love as Jesus loves. And how does Jesus love us? He lays down His life for us even to the end (cf. John 13:1). When that happens, well, it’s easy (or at least easier!) for a Christian wife to place herself under her Christian husband’s loving care. What had looked like an offensive residue from an earlier age when women were often treated without respect, turns out in fact to be something very different. This is what happens when we approach Scripture on our knees and read it with humility.
God’s revelation on the beauty of marriage served to attract countless people in the Roman Empire – especially women. In a culture where men and women were not equal, and where women were denied so many basic rights that we in our modern culture can often take for granted, the Christian vision of marriage and the inherent dignity of women served as a magnet to draw people into the Church. Here was true freedom! Here was real love! Here was real equality, without losing sight of the God-given differences that are part of His beautiful design!
As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, let’s beg the Holy Spirit to help us understand ever more fully God’s Word. Let’s pray for the grace to be converted more and more in mind and heart as Jesus’ disciples. And let’s pray that our joyful witness might serve to draw others into the beauty and freedom God has for marriage and family.
1 For anyone interested, a fuller discussion of the relationship between Christian husbands and wives in Scripture can be found here (click this hyperlink)
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
Protection for us, our mission and our families.
All the Bishops, priests and lay leaders we are ministering to this month.
December: Our missions with Ohio and Illinois, and the Christmas season.