Christian Perspectives

Marriage and sex in the Christian family

Lenard Maharachchi

The companionship between man and woman, the differences between the sexes is frequently mentioned in the Holy Bible. Much of the subjects mentioned in the Old Testament acquires full meaning only in the New Testament and that too after Jesus’s arrival on planet earth. ‘Male and female he made them’ - This is the first mention of the sexes in the scripture. (Gen. 1/27). The Holy Bible tells us that man was made in the image of God., man meaning here both species. After the creation, but before the making of woman, God found that everything he had created was good.

But God, who saw that everything He created was ‘good’, found that it is ‘not good’ for man to be alone. He thought, “I will make a helpmate for man.” Then came Eve, made from Adam, by removing the re productery part of Adam’s body. Then God gave the duo the power to continue His creation of man through sex. So sex is Holy because it was created by God Himself, as “it is not good for a man to be alone sans a partner.” Sex, therefore is not something indecent as many Christians think today. Sex is a sacrament since Jesus made it, a sacrament by attending the marriage at Cana, (where according to a strand of legend, the shy groom is supported to be Nathaniel who is a native of Cana).

Sex was not something to be ashamed of before God who made both sexes, for the Bible says that “both of them were naked felt no shame.” (Ibid 2/25). It was sin that brought this difference for the first time,for God asked Adam “who told you that you are naked.” In the NT Paul says that “We are all one in Jesus Christ” denoting that there is no difference between male and female (Gala 3/28).

The fruitfulness of marriage is found everywhere in the Bible (canticle of canticles 4/1, 5/9 and 6/11) “Find joy with your wife in your youth.” (proverbs 5/18) Even in the time of Jesus, marriage was regarded sacred. Once Jesus tells that “They are no longer two but one body .” (Mth 19/4) St. Paul tells the Colossians re sexual duty, “Do not refuse each other, except by mutual consent. That too for an agreed time” (7/5). The Jewish rabbis were expected to marry. All of Jesus’ apostle, save John, were married, though Jesus glorified the celibate life saying “ There are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom.” (ibid 19/12) Paul also advocated celibacy though he was himself married. For the Christian community of Paul, sex was sacred and identified as a sharing of God’s creative act.

While this was the situation in Israel, the pagans around them however did sacrelize sexuality. They even had sacred prostitutes to represent divinity. In pagan Rome the empress Messalina, who messed up her early life with sex, used to visit brothels at night, using a different name, (Lyshiska) less she be identified by her clientele.

But what was the situation stance of sex in the old testament Israel? It was at the beginning that Eve, our first mother and first woman God created, said “I have acquired a man with the help of Yahweh” (Gen 4/1). She uttered this after giving birth to her child. In the NT, we have Jesus forgiving the sinner of Magdala, Mary, for her previous extra sex life.

The woman caught in adultery was forgiven too. (Jn 8/11) Jesus even went to the extent of saying that, “even prostitutes and such like will inherit the kingdom, because of their faith and repentance, while the so called devout Jew, will forfeit it.” Did Jesus glorify sex? Oh no. He only meant that even sins of sex will be forgiven if repented and confessed. The Jewry of Jesus’ day were obstinate and averse to repentance. Marriage in the OT was sacred that even priests were allowed to marry but disallowed marry the harlots and divorcees which is how that sex is sacred. (Lev . 21/7) Paul tells that people of immoral lives, Sodomites and adulterers will never inherit the kingdom (1 Cor. 6/9) All these things go to show that sex in the Christian family is not at all immoral.

Jesus affirmed the indissolubility of marriage on several occasions. We believe that God has joined man and woman in sacred matrimony, which the church has institutionalized as a sacrament. They become as ‘one flesh’ after been blessed by the celebrant at the Nuptial service. That their first marriage act is sex, goes to show that there is nothing bad in sex in marriage, but outside it, it is sin and need to be avoided. Marriage for a Christian family is for life and no divorce is permissible under any circumstance, save death of a partner. In Christian marriage the wife and husband should have the relationship that the church has with Jesus Christ. “Every man should have his own wife and every wife have her own husband,” Says St. Paul, (Ibid 7/2).

This was two millennia ago and since this dictum was broken by permissive society, today we have the often advertised slogan, “keep one partner for safe sex” as an advice to avoid the feared plague ‘AIDS’ which society invited with its free sex mentality, casting away God’s command and inviting trouble thereby. It is of the sex desire of each partner that St. Paul says on Christian marriage, this “A woman should fulfill her duty as a wife and each should satisfy the other. “Paul also did say that the body is not to be used for sexual immorality, but to serve the Lord. ”(ibid 6/12-17)

In Mathew 19/1-9 we have a series of teachings of Jesus about marriage. When some pharisees with a view to trap Him, asked, “Does our law allow a man to divorce ?” Jesus in reply said that a man leaves home and parents to unite with his wife and that the two will become one and no man has a right to sunder that union. Continuing, Jesus said that a man who divorces his wife commits adultery if he marries another. Adultery which was forbidden in the OT, took new meaning with Jesus who said that anyone who looks at a woman and want to possess her, commits adultery.

(Mth 5/27-29)

Pope begins summer vacation

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI officially began his summer vacation July 7, at the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, less than 15 miles south of Rome.

“One can find everything here: mountains, the lake, the sea, a beautiful church with a restored facade and good people,” the pope said as soon as he arrived. He was speaking from the balcony of the papal villa to a crowd that had gathered to welcome him to the small town.

“I am happy to be here. Let’s hope that the Lord will give us a good vacation,” he said.

For the second year in a row, Pope Benedict has declined invitations to spend a couple weeks of the summer in the Italian Alps. He will be based at Castel Gandolfo until the end of September, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman.

For the month of July, the Pope has suspended his Wednesday general audiences, but he will pray the Angelus each Sunday with several thousand people who gather in the courtyard of the villa at Castel Gandolfo.

Father Lombardi told Vatican Radio July 7 that skipping an Alpine vacation means reducing organizational and security and costs for both the Vatican and the Italian government.

In addition, he said, Castel Gandolfo has “the advantage of being a familiar location, prepared and equipped for the presence of the Holy Father, a quiet place, where even the altitude is suitable - cooler than Rome, but not particularly high — it has gardens to walk in” and is conducive to prayer and the Pope’s cultural work, “both particularly dear to him.”

The spokesman said the pope plans to prepare his speeches for World Youth Day in Madrid in August and for a trip to Germany in September. He also wants to continue working on the third and final volume of his ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ series.

The first volume was published in 2007 and the second came out in March. Father Lombardi said the pope, who has already begun writing the third volume, expects it to be shorter than the first two and “a bit different in nature and approach” since it will cover Jesus’ infancy and childhood, for which there is very little information in the Gospels.

Church jubilee to be celebrated

The parish priest and the members of the Jubilee Committee of St. Mary’s Church Nayakakanda call upon parisioners, well-wishers and organisations to support the reconstruction of the church in preparation for the 150th jubilee which will be celebrated in February 2012.

A walk and a fair will be held on July 31 at Nayakakanda in aid of the church, reconstruction.






 

Indian High Commissioner helps Payagala school

Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha, paid a courtesy call on His Eminence Most Rev Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith on July 1, 2011, at the Archbishop’s House, Colombo and donated Rs. 2,180,000 for further development of the Holy Angel Girls’ School of Hope at Payagala.

St. Joseph’s Balika Vidyalaya, Payagala as well as the Preschool of Payagala was completely destroyed when the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004. The Archdiocese of Colombo appealed to donors to assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction work of the houses and schools. In response to the appeals, the Preschool was constructed with the generous assistance of the ACCT of the Archdiocese of Singapore, Holy Angel Girls’ School of Hope at Payagala was constructed through the generosity of Dr. Rainer Thiel of Daimler Chrysler South East Asia Company in Singapore.

The School is under the administration of the Rev. Sisters of Holy Angels.

Since the demand for admissions has increased and the school is in urgently need of more classrooms. His Excellency Ashok K. Kantha obliged His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith in this much deserving project.

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith thanked His Excellency Ashok Kantha for his concern in this endeavour and for his generous contribution for the welfare of the children of Payagala and Kalutara areas.

Book Review:

The Duwa Passion Play

W T A Leslie Fernando

The Passion Play at Duwa is a pride of Negombo. The people of Negombo make it a point to attend the Duwa Passion Play annually. It is indeed a significant event in Negombo. Both the Duwa Passion Play and its outstanding staue of crucified Christ have fascinating histories.

In the 19th Century, some fisherfolk in Duwas sailed in their catamarans to South India to bring dry fish, nets and other fishing gear. Among those who went to South India, were three brothers, Juwam, Doingo and Peduru who were the sons of Mihindukulasuriya Adiriyanu Fernando. They came to know the great sculptor of Cochin Jokeenu Mestri. In consultation with the elders in Duwa, they entrusted Jokeenu Mestri to sculpt a statue of the crucified Christ for the Duwa Passion Play.

During the Lent of 1838, a team of Duwa went to Cochin to bring the statue that the people were so eagerly awaiting for. As the paint of the statue was not fully dried, Jokeenu Mestri advised them not to remove the statue immediately. As the South West monsoon was nearing, where sailing back would be difficult and time running short for the Duwa’s Passion Play in 1838, they brought the statue to Duwa against the advice of Jokeenu Mestri.

The people of Duwa welcomed the statue with all the pomp and ceremony. However, when they opened the casket, they found that the paint was smudged and the statue was mildewed.

To be continued

WEEKLY DEVOTIONS :

How faith moves mountains

Sunitha Sahayam

Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”Matthew 8: 5 – 13.

Here we find a Centurion coming to Christ requesting healing. A Centurion is a Roman Officer who had a lot of power, he had more than a hundred soldiers under him whom he could order about. It is apparent from this passage that he was a kind man.

He had not come all this way to meetwith Jesus for a member of his immediate family – in fact, he had takenthe time from his busy day for the sake of a servant who worked for him.During a period of time when slavery was prevalent and servants weretreated somewhat as a secondary group of people – this high officer comes to Christ, not for himself or his family but for his servant. I think it was very commendable, and shows us something of his character.

In verse 7 we find that Jesus says to him “I will go and heal him.”The reply “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof, but justsay the word and my servant will be healed.”

A Roman Centurion was endowed with many comforts. He not only had servants running around him at his beck and call but was also provided with a beautiful house.

Although Jesus was willing to come with him, he did not selfishly or with pride take him along to his home, but he humbled himself, as he understood the status of Christ, that he was the Son of God to whom such worldly materialistic things did not matter and says “Lord just say the word and my servant will be healed.”

He himself had power to rule people under him and understood the powerthat must belong to Jesus, the Son of God and continues “For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me – I tell this one “Go” and he goes, and that one “Come” and he comes, and I say to my servant “Do this and he does it.”

Again we find that this Centurion understood how much power the ‘word’that proceeded from the mouth of the Lord had, what maturity in his belief in the power of Christ. John 1:1 says

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.’John 1:14 says And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and webeheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) fullof grace and truth.

The above verses are referring to Christ, and although the Centurian didnot have this scripture to hand at the time he met Christ - somehow heseems to have got a grip of it in an amazing way - he seems to have this wonderful understanding and revelation of who Christ was and the power Jesus’ words carried. He was able to relate the power he had possessed, in a small way, to the mega power that God had.

He was able to connect up the power that his words carried to those under him to weigh up Christ’s words, how much more effective it would be. What a wonderful mind tobe able to focus on God’s power to such an extent, ‘self ‘was not in anyway blocking his attitude, although it could have, if he had given room toit. Oh no, the Roman Centurion was more interested in understanding God’s ways, and as his mind was working in the right direction God was able to reveal His power to him this resulting in the tremendous faith which Jesus recognizes.

Jesus marvelled at the words of this Centurion and said “I tell you the truth, I have not found any one in Israel with such great faith.”In other words,unlike the Israelites who were taught the scriptures andwho should know all about God and His powers, here was a non-Jew, a Roman who understood how God’s powers operated.

He did not allow ‘self’ or ‘pride’ or the fact that he had so much authority, block God’s power working in him instead he was able to relate all what he owned and possessed to understand God’s power. Therefore, faith was able to operate in his life where the love and compassion of Christ was able to work and produce results.

We learn that the word of God says “it is impossible to please God without faith”. Hebrews 11:6

However, whoever you are, if there is a ray of faith in you, to recognize The Son of God, as The Christ, the anointed one to take away the sins of the World - our Lord is able to work through this ‘faith’ that you exhibit and is able to move mountains for you and even through you.Brother, sister, do not allow self, pride, your authority, to block thefaith you should have – instead like this Roman Centurion humble yourself in Christ’s presence and allow His love and compassion to flow through you.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, unblock self, pride, authority, education, and suchtrivialities, that are not allowing my faith to operate. Enter into my heart Lord Jesus as I humbly bow in your presence and reveal yourself to me as you revealed who you are to this Roman Centurion Only you can do this as I bow down before you. Jesus, the Great I Am, help me to understand the sheer power you have, God incarnate, The Son of God, and Lord Jesus I want to believe in you and also believe that all things are possible to you, my Lord and my God. Amen