From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013
Father I am one of your readers who like your News Dispatch very much. There is one question which has been bothering me so much and I would like if you can answer me-
Was it possible for Jesus to have been romantically attracted to Mary Magdalene?
Answer
If I may answer you correctly and firmly, the issue here is not whether Jesus was romantically attracted to Mary Magdalene or other women, the issue here is the fact that every normal human being is romantically attracted to the opposite sex and this is very normal human emotion.
As Jesus was fully man, it was within the realm of possibility that he experienced it just as all of us do. Scripture tells us that Jesus experienced normal human emotions such as anger (John 2:14–17), love (John 11:5), grief (John 11:32–35), and joy (Luke 10:21). He also experienced normal human desires such as hunger (Matt. 21:18), thirst (John 4:7; 19:28), and the desire for rest (John 4:6).
The only different is that Jesus did not suffer disordered romantic attraction. This is because Jesus’ mission did not include marriage to a human being—his bride is the Church (Eph. 5:25–33)—so there was no apparent purpose for him to feel romantic attraction to form a family of husband and wife.
Secondly Jesus could not be romantically attracted to or involved with a single woman for sexual purposes since his mission was focused on saving mankind. Another input here is that women loved Jesus because he cared for them unlike other priests who distanced themselves from them according to Jews customary law that required that no priest would associate with women.
On the way of the Cross Station six we see Veronica caring for Jesus as she took a cloth and began to wipe the blood and sweat from his face. She could not do much, but she offered what little help she could in appreciation for what Jesus cared for women.
The 8th Station, we see the women of Jerusalem mourn over Jesus. The women were just wondering what could happen to them when Jesus dies. Who would be closer and care for them?
Another explanation here is that despite the popularity of the DiVinci Code alleging that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married with children, the women weep because they know Jesus is about to die and leave no offspring.
This is because the two greatest values of life in ancient times were the maintenance of your ancestral land and your family; your ancestors behind you, your unborn descendants before you.
“Woe be it if your generation cuts that because you don’t have kids and all of your ancestors behind you are anticipating an unlimited eternity of descendants but that stops because you were infertile.”
Jesus loved women in their weaknesses and flaws that is why he was quick to forgive them no matter how serious the sin, showing mercy and grace instead of judgment and condemnation. In deed Jesus respected women. They discovered Jesus was one of the few men they could fully trust.
The best example here is the adulterous woman Jesus forgave. As he was teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem some scribes and Pharisees interrupted his teaching as they brought in a woman who had been taken in the very act of adultery. The man was not brought in along with the woman.
After a time of silence, Jesus stooped down and wrote with his finger on the ground. It was unlawful to write even two letters on the sabbath but writing with dust was permissible (m. shabbat 7:2; 12:5). The text includes no hint of what he wrote.
The woman’s accusers were trying to entrap Jesus, not just the woman. To them she was a worthless object to be used to “catch” Jesus on a theological legal issue.
Finally, Jesus stood up and said to the accusers, “Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone.
He stooped down once more and again wrote on the ground. In his answer Jesus did not condone adultery. He compelled her accusers to judge themselves and find themselves guilty—of this sin and/or others. No one could pass the test, and they slipped out one by one, beginning with the eldest.
The Gospels record several instances where Jesus reaches out to “unnoticeable” women, inconspicuous silent sufferers who blend into the background and are seen by others as “negligible entities destined to exist on the fringes of life.
The issue here is that people were not happy that Jesus associated with women. That is why they were not happy when Jesus chatted with Mary as Martha cooked. Luke relates the story of tension between Martha and Mary on the occasion of the visit of Jesus to their home (Lk. 10:38-42).
While Martha prepared the meal, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and “she was hearing his word. Martha became distracted and frustrated over having to serve the meal without any help from her sister.
Finally she openly shared her feelings, stood over Jesus who was either seated or reclining, and complained: “She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Jesus gently rebuked Martha for being so distracted and troubled over many things, when only one thing was necessary.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Mary’s choice was not a conventional one for Jewish women. She sat at the feet of Jesus and was listening to his teaching and religious instruction. Jewish women were not permitted to touch the Scriptures; they were not taught the Torah itself, although they were instructed in accordance with it for the proper regulation of their lives.
A rabbi did not instruct a woman in the Torah. Not only did Mary choose the “good part,” but Jesus related to her in a teacher-discipleship relationship. He admitted her into “the study” and commended her for her choice.
In the tradition of that day, women were excluded from the altar-oriented priestly ministry, and the exclusion encroached upon the Word-oriented ministry for women. Jesus reopened the Word-ministry for woman. Mary was at least one of his students in theology.
Jesus vindicated Mary’s rights to be her own person—to be Mary and not Martha. He showed his approval of a woman’s right to opt for the study and not be compelled to be in the kitchen. Jesus established his own priorities in declaring, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word proceeding out through the mouth of God.
Apparently, Martha and not just Mary had benefited from the study. Mary stayed in the house until Jesus called for her. When Martha went to get her, Mary came quickly fell at Jesus’ feet.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002