MALE AND FEMALE, HE CREATED THEM – part II
Getting out of loneliness
The second description of creation (Yahwist tradition) emphasizes yet another meaning of sexual difference. In the form of a symbolic story, we are told the fundamental truths about man. God molds man out of the dust of the earth, which means that the human body is made of the same matter as the entire universe. At the same time, God gives his nostrils a breath of life. This breath is synonymous with the soul, it is here the equivalent of the "image of God" from the first description. The human body carries the breath of the Most High in it, God's spark is in it, the leaven of immortality. Adam (this Hebrew word means man) experiences loneliness. God notices this; therefore, he says, "It is not good that man should be alone: I will make him a helper suitable for him" (Genesis 2:18). It is not about the loneliness of a man without a woman. Rather, it is about the loneliness of man as such.
The Bible emphasizes the equality of humanity between the sexes and that the difference between "being a man"
and "being a woman" is something good and willed by God.
Man (Adam) is at this point somebody "asexual” if one may say so. He experiences his unfulfillment despite having the whole world of plants and animals at his disposal. Only when a woman appears does Adam become a man. God calls Eve from Adam's rib during his sleep. It is a pictorial emphasis that a man and a woman are "molded of the same clay", that is, they have the same human nature. They are equal in humanity. When Adam (human) awakens from sleep, a sexual duality appears: male and female.
At the level of the Hebrew language, it is very clear. The man is called ish (איש) the woman ishah (אשה). There is the same root (gender equality), different endings (gender differentiation). Adam (here as a man) utters words full of delight at the sight of a woman: "This one is only bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh" (Genesis 2:23).
A man finds in a woman "a help that is appropriate for him", which can be better translated as "help like him." The point here is not that the woman is meant to serve the man. Let us remember that primordial loneliness relates to man as such. Man and woman, in their sexual difference, can be of help to each other, precisely because they are equal in humanity. They are for each other an exit from loneliness, a complement. The next verse indicates the purpose of sexual differentiation: "Therefore it is a man who leaves his father and his mother and unites with his wife so closely that they become one flesh" (Gen 2:24).
Sexuality serves love, the unity of persons, which is also expressed in the unity of bodies. So, it is not only about transmitting life, but about "creating one body", that is, communion, unity. " Man and woman were made "for each other" - not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be "helpmate" to the other, for they are equal as persons ("bone of my bones. . .") and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming "one flesh", they can transmit human life: "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth." By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents cooperate in a unique way in the Creator's work "(Catechism 372).
The biblical view of gender is not exhaustive in the description of creation. The Word of God refers many times to the spousal love of a man and a woman, seeing it as an image of love between God and man (Christ and the Church). But what is written in Genesis is the primary point of reference. John Paul II bases the entire beautiful theology of the body on these texts. The most important conclusions can be summarized as follows:
a) Sexual identity, as well as related sexuality, is an idea of God, that is, it is something good and serving man.
b) The goal of gender differentiation is the transmission of life and mutual "help" of women and men. This "help" should be understood very deeply as being with and for each other, helping each other to become a complete human being, building a community of persons. Only in community can man find his fullness.
c) Man and woman have the same dignity, equality in humanity, they both bear the "image of God" which is fully shone in love.
d) The prerequisite for a successful life is accepting the gift of one's gender, recognizing masculinity or femininity as God's talent to be developed. "Femininity finds itself in the face of masculinity, and masculinity is confirmed by femininity" (John Paul II). Rejection of the truth about the Creator and attempting to completely "create" oneself must end in a disaster. Therefore, "whoever defends God protects man" (Benedict XVI).
Reflection on Today’s Gospel
The theme of the feast appears surprisingly often in the Gospels. Today we read about the second successive multiplication of the loaves and fish. Jesus also comes to the feast of the tax collector Levi and the tax collector Zacchaeus and the Pharisee Simon and his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The feast appears frequently in parables of the Lord Jesus, such as the parable of a man who did not have a wedding garment, and also in other parables about the wedding that the king gave to his son.
The mere realization of the importance of the theme of the feast in the Gospels shows how carefully the Lord Jesus prepared the foundation of his Church, and also that the Gospels were written in the Church and for the Church. Suffice it to remember that the Church lives by a feast, namely the Eucharistic feast. It is enough to realize how important it is for me to be a Catholic coming to Mass every Sunday.
The miracle of the multiplication of the bread described in today's Gospel allows us to bring out at least two aspects of the meaning of the Gospel for the Church, that is, for us. First, the Lord Jesus performed this miracle in the desert. Staying in the desert means that we are here temporarily, that we have to go further, because we cannot live in the desert; in the desert, you can only put up a tent and stay there only for a short time. Let us add that for God's people the desert was irrevocably associated with the road to the promised land. I think that if many contemporary Catholics have lost their understanding of the Eucharist, it is because their awareness that we are only temporarily on this earth has weakened. And if someone forgets or almost forgets that our goal is to go to eternal life, it is hardly surprising that such a person no longer understands the meaning of the Sunday Mass and frequent Holy Communion. And the second detail, which is worth paying attention to in today's Gospel is: The Lord Jesus multiplied the bread because he noticed that people were hungry and tired, and they couldcollapse on the way home. Yes, this is why the Lord Jesus gave us the Eucharist, so that we would have the strength to go to the Father's house, that we would not fall down in difficult moments in our path, that we might be strengthened when we are overcome by some doubts or discouragement.
“Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd.” The full cooperation of God with man ... Jesus gave... And man distributes further ... And then we become witnesses of the miracle.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george