Monday of the
Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Jeremiah 13:1-11; Matthew 13:31-35)
Walking through a shopping mall, both men and women are
allured by the lingerie shop. The window
display arouses such interest that all wonder what can be inside. Of course, the apparel is meant to increase
the intensity of desire of a husband for his wife. In today’s first reading the prophet Jeremiah
uses such an image to describe the relationship between God and Israel.
The loin cloth described in the passage was to be worn by
men to cover their genitals. In public
the loincloth was worn under a tunic, but whether in private or in public it signifies
intimacy. The prophet himself states this
meaning: “As close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so had I made the
whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the
Lord.” The tragedy that Israel abandons intimacy
with the Lord for flings with its neighbors’ idols is symbolized by the
loincloth being buried and rotting.
God has created humans as sexual beings so that we might
relate to one another. Genital sexuality
is reserved for a husband and wife to solidify their union. That union further becomes the source and environment
for children. Thus, it fulfils God’s
plan for creation. Unfortunately, humans
often distort this blueprint by making pleasure the sole purpose of sexual intimacy. Like Jeremiah‘s rotting loincloth, such a practice
cannot last long. We can look to Jesus,
who reinforces the original teaching on sexuality in Genesis, as our advisor in
these affairs.
