Tuesday of the
Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ephesians 5:21-33; Luke 13:18-21)
Betty and her husband lived in a Texas city fifty years
ago. It was still a time when most women
did not work outside the home, and Betty was no exception here. But she had social interests that brought her
in contact with the poor. She began to
advocate publicly for needy children.
She asked for government support for programs like Head Start. Her husbands’ friends saw such social schemes
as communist. They told him that his
wife she should stay at home. But he
told them that he believed his wife was right.
The community should assist poor families meet the needs of their
children.
Betty’s husband was motivated by a deep love for his
life. He did not come to favor community
social assistance on his own. It was his
love for his wife that made him see its justice. No doubt he took seriously today’s first
reading. Husbands have to love their
wives wholeheartedly. True love requires
careful attention to what the other believes.
It calls forth patience to both understand her truth and question her
inconsistencies. It also elicits
sacrifice so that she might flourish in her goodness.
Today’s passage from Ephesians has been dismissed as
culturally conditioned. Even St. John
Paul II said that love excludes any kind of servile subjection. But it contains a message as critical as a
hurricane warning. Husband and wife must
love one another unreservedly. If they
do not, they will not only fail their families but also their Lord. As the Letter makes clear, their relationship
is to reflect Christ’s love for the Church.
