Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ephesians 5:21-33; Luke 13:18-21)
“What is the Kingdom of God like?” Jesus asks in the gospel
today. It is like a mustard seed that
grows into a large bush sheltering God’s creatures. It is also like a bit of yeast that folded
into a small amount of dough produces enough bread to feed a family. We might also say that the kingdom of God is
like the inclusiveness that St. Luke shows throughout his gospel.
In today’s passage we find the inclusiveness in a parable involving
a male planter followed by one with a female householder. At the beginning of the gospel the angel
Gabriel appears first to Zachariah and then to Mary. After Jesus is born, his parents take him to
the Temple where they meet the seer Simeon and then the prophetess Anna. Luke reminds us throughout his work that
women as well as men are direct participants in and beneficiaries of the
Kingdom. They are by no means
second-class Christians.
The Catholic Church is often criticized as being sexist or,
more simply put, of favoring men over women.
Regrettably there is evidence to support the assertion. However, we should not accept the charge that
because the Church insists on a male clergy, it is sexist. After investigating the issue fully, Pope St. John Paul II concluded that the Church cannot ordain women at least as priests
or bishops because Jesus did not do it.
It is still possible that the Church will decide to ordain women deacons. Studies have shown that women served in analogous
roles in its initial centuries.