| 30th Week in Ordinary Time Tuesday, Yr. II "Wives should be
submissive to their husbands as if to the Lord because the husband is
head of his wife just as Christ is Head of the body the Church, as well
as its Savior. As the Church submits to Christ, so wives should submit
to their husbands in everything" (Ephesians).
1. In ancient Israel, a Jewish king named Ahab married a pagan
Queen named Jezebel. Their union is a perfect example of how original
sin infects and perverts even the institution of marriage. In the First
Book of Kings, King Ahab desires a piece of land near his palace owned
by a man named Naboth. This good man refuses to sell the land since it
was his ancestral property
land that was part of his family heritage.
King Ahab went away sad and filled with self-pity. Queen Jezebel notices
the condition of her husband and finds out about Naboth refusing to sell
his vineyard. Jezebel cries out, A fine ruler over Israel you are indeed... get up and eat...I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth for
you. The Bible then tells us that she wrote letters using the King's
seal. Jezebel, it seems, took the scepter of power, usurped authority
and falsely condemned Naboth. She then announced to Ahab, Go on, take
possession of the vineyard of Naboth... which he refused to sell you,
because Naboth is not alive, but dead. Throughout her reign as Queen,
Jezebel was anything but subject to her husband. And as for King Ahab,
his unwillingness to practice his God-given authority
his shrinking
from responsibility and giving the scepter into the hands of his wife
brought weakness and corruption to the family of Israel.
2. Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, a Jezebel
spirit roams about the world seeking to convince women to usurp
authority within the family
take the scepter from the man
while an
Ahab-like spirit infects countless men causing them to flee from
responsibility
shrink from exercising their God-given authority. The
Revelation of God is very clear. Granted that men and women are equal in
their human dignity, God has brought order to this equality: the husband
is head of his wife just as Christ is Head of the body the Church.
Remember that Adam was created first and then came Eve
First the head
of the family was created and then the helpmate created from Adam's
side making Eve the heart of the human family. But then came sin and
with sin infection within the divine institution of marriage.
3. In his First Letter to Timothy, St. Paul writes: It was not Adam
who was deceived but the woman. It was she who was led astray and fell
into
sin. The devil did not seek to seduce Adam directly, but only indirectly
through Eve. Adam was the head, but the serpent sought to chop off the
head by means of the heart. I am convinced that Adam would have coldly
dismissed the serpent Get behind me Satan. As the head, he was focused
on the goal of eternal life for him and the human family. Any obstacle
that presented itself would have to be confronted and removed. But Eve
talked to the devil that was her first mistake. The heart should have
turned to the head and asked direction. The head sees, the heart
executes, carries through. But having been seduced, she took the
forbidden fruit, ate it, and then offered it to her husband. Now it was
Adam's turn. Here the father of the family, the husband failed to
exercise his God given authority Put the fruit down, Eve, he should
have said. Adam could then have interceded for his wife he could have
acted as the mediator to bring down forgiveness. But no he shrunk from
his responsibilities he hesitated he flees his duty he hems and
haws he procrastinates he fails to lead. Though lacking eyesight,
the heart can be very strong
although not meant to lead, the will can
be quite powerful, even demanding. Eve took up an authority not
rightfully hers she guided Adam and Adam ate.
4. The key to restoring marriage the key to defeat the Jezebel spirit
and the weakness of Ahab is found in Ephesians: Wives should be
submissive to their husbands as if to the Lord because the husband is
head of his wife just as Christ is Head of the body the Church, as
well as its Savior. As the Church submits to Christ, so wives should
submit to their husbands in everything. The head should lead and guide
the head is visionary it's where the eyes are. The heart, on the other
hand, should execute, carry through it's where the will is. Consider,
for example, the marriage of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now
Mary was immeasurably above Joseph filled with grace. Her mind and
heart were most pure. But Mary was not the head of the Holy Family. Her
husband was. She would never, like Jezebel or like Eve, seek to usurp
the scepter, assume the headship. And believe me, Joseph was not slow to
exercise his God-given authority. When he received that dream Take the
child and his mother and flee into Egypt Joseph lovingly and calmly
led Mary we're leaving Bethlehem now. And Mary did not fail to
execute. The Jezebel spirit would have sought to usurp the headship Come now Joseph, what sort of crazy dreams are you having now. We
finally have some money, the gold of kings we're out of that cave and
finally into an apartment you have a good job the Child is the Son
of David. He's meant to be in Bethlehem, the City of David. No, Mary
immediately
executes she carries through because she knows that Almighty God
works through the head of the family. Mary lives and breathes that
statement she made to the servants at Cana DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU.
5. The Jezebel spirit and the weakness of Ahab is not just present in
some marriages, but it is also present in some dioceses in the Church.
You know, Fr. Corapi gave a retreat to our community a few years ago and
I remember he once stated: There are Jezebels in the Church and Ahabs
with miters on their heads empower them. Bishop Ahab, Fr. Ahab fail to
exercise their God-given authority churchmen hesitate fleeing
responsibility and duty and the family of the Church suffers. The key,
again, to the restoration is for the head to be the head and for the
heart to be the heart. There is nothing more wonderful to see than when
a man leads, guides, and confidently directs. The woman is proud of her
husband that's my man. And there is nothing like a woman who fully
executes the directives of the man. The greatest disciples the best
followers in history have always been women. Mary was the greatest
follower of Jesus and St. Clare was the greatest disciple of St. Francis
of Assisi. When a man willingly takes the lead and the woman willingly
embraces his direction with her whole heart, the spirit of Ahab and
Jezebel are exorcised for good.
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