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Thought for the Week 13 June – 2nd Sunday after Trinity
Yesterday I attended a wedding. It was a
glorious day, the bride and her bridesmaids looked stunning in their
glamorous gowns, they were clearly very much at ease. It was quite a change from the rehearsal on
the previous day when everyone had been concerned about their responsibilities
– anxious lest they should forget what to do on the day itself. How do today’s readings relate to
marriage? After Ahab had become king of Israel he
married Jezebel – daughter of Ethbaal who was king-priest of Tyre and
Sidon. Jezebel was a Phoenician, not
and Israelite. Mixed marriages can
prove very successful, but this one is a reminder of how they can cause
disastrous consequences. This marriage
was a political alliance and included provision for Jezebel, who had 450
prophets, to continue to worship her god Baal (1 Kings 16.31-33; 18.19;
18.17-40). Ahab, an Israelite, was bound by the law
of God and supposed to set an example for his subjects to follow. [Dt
17.18-20] Ahab did not commit a crime by offering
to buy Naboth’s vineyard. His crime was in not accepting Naboth’s refusal. Naboth was legally entitled to refuse
Ahab’s offer [Lev 25.25-28; Num 27.1-11; 36.7] Ahab’s sullen depression was
tantamount to breaking the commandment concerning covetousness. Jezebel clearly did not accept the
Israelite religious laws, and thought that Ahab was entitled to confiscate
Naboth’s property simply because he wanted it. Jezebel used terrible means to justify her
end. Between them Ahab and Jezebel
broke the commandments concerning covetousness, murder, theft, and false
testimony. Jezebel never repented of her wickedness
so she could not be forgiven, unlike the univited guest at Simon the
Pharisee’s house. The woman in Simon’s house was not at all
like Jezebel. It seems that she had
already recognised her need of forgiveness from Jesus who could truly
forgive. Although she wasn’t invited,
she didn’t gatecrash the dinner party.
In those days it was customary to leave the door open and all sorts of
people would wander in: friends, passers-by, beggars, so the woman’s presence
wasn’t surprising – but her actions were! The woman was not afraid to make a fool
of herself in public – she knew she needed to put her life back in order and
Jesus was the only person who could help her.
She brought ointment in an alabaster jar. Clay pots were the norm in those days,
alabaster was precious and expensive, and so the ointment was probably
costly. No self-respecting woman let
her hair down in public but this woman let her hair down to wipe Jesus’ feet.
Like King Ahab, Simon the Pharisee was an
Israelite but he was as far off beam as Jezebel because he viewed the
penitent sinner in the same light as Jezebel viewed Naboth – of no account at
all. Saint Paul sums it all up for us by
humbly acknowledging that Jesus is about forgiveness – righteousness comes
from God, not through any pious thoughts or good works on our part. Result of Jezebel’s action – the
extermination of the house of Ahab.
Her name has become a byword for apostasy – the abandonment of
Christianity. Result of the fallen woman’s action – the
news of Jesus’ forgiveness spread abroad and continues to this day. The Church is the bride of Christ – the
woman of bad character knew forgiveness when she gave her soul in marriage to
God. At the wedding service yesterday
we began with the words: “God is love and those who live in love
live in God, and God lives in them.” [1 John 4.6] Let us ask God to come and live in us
today, and every day. Amen. Revd
June Hutchinson: Anglican Chaplaincy of Midi-Pyrénées & Aude To return to main Thought for the Week page, click X at top right to close this window. |