Talk 4: Sacrament of Marriage & the Language of Sexual Love
Ephesians 5:21,24-25
We are called to submit or be subject to one another, not just wife to husband.
After the fall, God says the fruit of the original sin is that the wife’s urges will be to her husband and he will dominate her. St. Paul is calling us back to the original meaning of marriage.
“So therefore that ‘reverence for Christ’ and ‘respect’ of which [St. Paul] speaks, is none other than a spiritually mature form of that mutual attraction: man’s attraction to femininity and woman’s attraction to masculinity.” (JP2)
Mary is the ark of the New Covenant and all woman are images of that ark of the new covenant. What happened to ancient Israelites who touched the ark without respect? They died. What happens to us who touch the ark of the new covenant without respect, who dominate and manipulate women? We die and sometimes we take the woman with us.
St. Paul is not justifying male domination.
As the Church submits to Christ, wives should submit to husbands. Does the Church submit to tyranny? Christ submitted himself to tyranny in the Passion to show otherwise.
Husbands love their wives like Christ loved the Church. Wives, allow your husbands to serve you.
