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ARTICLE NAVIGATION: You are presently looking at Part 30 WARNING: Don't read this commentary if you are afraid  Tom McMahon is one commentator not afraid to confront the most cherished cliches, and the deepest held ideas contained in our mythologies and credal belief statements. To introduce today's commentary he writes: "We polar down Nazareth way, trying to find the florist shop that sold lilies to Joseph; we leave the Bronze Age, now using texts that circle the life of Jesus. We are on the trail of how ancients used the terms marriage and wife … the man in Joseph is out!" Where did the lillies come from? Our three year old grandson Sebastian enjoys repeating "heavens to Betsy" and the hands go out in mock amazement; then one year old Dominic throws up his hands with a "yea" … we can also go through the "OH NO!" routine with no meaning whatsoever, especially if we have a "crasharue" with toy autos. All this makes as much sense as the pictures of holy Joseph with a clump of lilies and the Christ child in his arms. Poor Joseph, in western culture he can't be portrayed as a swarthy Palestinian and he has to be pictured as the chaste husband of the illusive woman who gave the world the first birth by spiritual invitro fertilization. The unhealthy mythologies that accompany this man we call the father of Jesus are plentiful.
When first ordained I was stationed at Assumption Church, San Leandro, Ca. I was the first full time associate to an Irish-born pastor who seven times daily was served "a spot of tea"; he was a man who often spoke to me about modesty of the eyes, referring once to a female parishioner as a "fleshy woman". Two white marble statues immediately caught my eye for their proclamation of truth and human sexuality; Mary was very pregnant and full bosomed while Joseph, on the other side of the church, was virile with muscles, hammer and saw. Back then in 1954 I saw the Middle Ages folly of lilies to promote the idea of an old sexually disinterested man and I must confess to a tease when I titled today's commentary; the monks had to get rid of Joseph's manhood. I doubt if the Irish pastor ever looked at the two statues after they came from France, especially the 36D busted Mary. The school nuns and graduating classes over the five years I was there tempered the situation by soliciting funds for and buying three statues of Mary and placing them around the grounds of the church and school; you know the kind, those plastic flat-chested jobs that make Mary look like a teen age anorexic virgin. To this day I can't think of a more ridiculous title than virgin-mother. One never sees or hears of Joseph and Mary as lovers; I see Jesus as a child of human love. The de-sexualising of Jesus... By the time the papacy is completely taken over by monks (around the Lateran Council in 1215 ce) those advocating the de-sexualizing of Jesus had pulled the rug out from under Joseph and they had to fabricate a psychology that violates the Jewish tradition (all history is written by the victors). If we polar express down to Nazareth town (Mark, 6th chapter, 1st paragraph) and ask questions about "the carpenter's son" we might discover some ancestral information on Joseph and Mary's marriage, especially the dodging that takes place around the issue of Mary being Joseph's wife. I need acknowledge confusion when I read the birth account of Jesus in Matthew, chapter 1, verses 18 to 25. Betrothal to the Jewish mind came full circle when the woman became pregnant. The man must be able to support a family; this is portrayed well in Fiddler on the Roof.
We need now read again the book of Tobit to see what a good Jewish father is obliged to in raising a son so as to please Yahweh and bring salvation to his home. To be enrolled in carpenter's school, and thereby Joseph is taxed by Roman law, Jesus had to possess an education. It is folly to think of Jesus as an ignorant itinerant preacher; Jesus of Nazareth earned the title of rabbi because of his wisdom in Jewish law. A rabbi had to be married! (I almost made my oft repeated mistake by typing in Jewish Rabbi; while at Fort Ord in 1967 a Jewish chaplain remarked to me when I put those two words together: "Reverend, is there another kind of rabbi?") Now what were the obligations put upon Joseph by Jewish law and custom? Did the "Holy Family" (as we choose to call them) know the biblical Book of Tobit? (did the neighbor's mark the house over which the Star of Bethlehem stopped and to which the Magi came?) Did Joseph abide by the law. Tobit — A love story... Tobit is a love story; love of Yahweh is fleshed out in love of family, especially in son Tobias and his marrying the daughter of Raguel, Sarah who has been widowed seven times; in her prayer (III Sarah, vs 15) she speaks in trust to Yahweh: "O Lord, you know that I have remained pure; Raguel and Sarah live in Nineveh, a city in the Babylonian captivity. Sarah will not marry outside the Jewish faith nor "eat the food of the heathen" … Sarah has kept the law … and then along comes her rescuer (salvation) Tobias. The family of Tobit is schooled in fulfilling the Law and Tobias is on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to pay tithes and make sacrifice. It is the genuine compliance to the Mosaic-Judaic law that I see throughout the book. Joseph would fulfil this law by choosing a wife for Jesus around his 8th or 10th year. Don't get fooled by Vatican protests around the woman Magdalene as she may have been around in Jesus' life from early age; the 10th century monks who are cleaning out the house of human sexuality, especially women will twist early writings to demonize the woman who may well be the mother of sons of the man we call our Christ. The Jesus Seminar group calls us to return to an understanding of Jesus as a Jew; we can only appreciate his life and teachings if we return to that milieu. As I have said often: Jesus is the new-comer on the block; after Vatican Two he made his debut into the modern world; Jesus is the master of disguise as he resurrects again and again from the dead. Will the chancery office know who he is? Why does Rome panic when there is mention of Jesus being married? The Da Vinci Code helped out. Marrying and producing offspring — a serious duty of the Jewish people… Marrying and producing offspring was a serious duty of the Jewish people; it was according to the Law. Nazareth had no floral shop and there were more than likely few lilies in town; from my youth I sensed the earthiness of the Jewish people and their realistic marriage ceremony. Intercourse and propagating the species were as natural as eating, sleeping, and passing gas. The Jews did not invent Jansenism and the Victorian Period and I sense the historical Jesus would have shaken his head at the distortion of his Father's world. What's so horrible about Jesus being a sexual being? We need again to re-read Genesis where the Lord God created them, male and female and said they were good. I suggest that we humans have blinded ourselves to the beauty of creation with petty fears and hang-ups. Our Creator's gift of human sexuality and its glorious functions deserve better. I believe strongly that the Creator knew what SHE/HE was/is doing.
There are two more female books of the Old Testament that warrant recognition, namely Judith and Esther. Judith is more than likely the personification of the nation of Israel who outwits her enemies, using the wiles of sex to cut off the head of Holofernes. In every modern marriage the male should be alerted to the dreadful power of a woman who is scorned or neglected. The story of Esther could pass today as a modern TV thriller, complete with intrigue, romance, plunder, and murder; God is not mentioned and Esther is challenged to live up to responsibility because of her high position as queen. God's people are evaluated in terms of blood money (millions) not as persons made inviolable by God's free and loving choice. The commemoration of the slaughters is called the Feast of Purim, a festival day law-abiding Jews were timid to acknowledge. Romance is intertwined with death. Beauty and sexual charm have their advantage. I guess Joseph and Mary would not have read to Jesus from the Book of Esther. What were the formative years like for Jesus? Some will continue to insist he was a teenage God-Man and knew all, a superman from birth. Did Joseph ever have to "lay down the law "? Next week we enter a tomb of darkness called the Middle Ages; Carrion not only stands guard at the River Styx but appears as Middle Ages monks defending against our seeing creation as the genuine and original Garden of Eden. Take a look at what is the meaning of the word Carrion. I am reminded of the Jungle Cruise boat ride at Disneyland as we pick our way through this period with danger on every side. Hostility toward women is on the rise. Fasten your seat belts as the ride is rough. Tom McMahon, San Jose, Ca. … puzzled by the word marriage and how it is used historically. 22/03/2009  ARTICLE
NAVIGATION: You are presently looking at Part 30 Image Credits: The image used in the headline is adapted from an image available from AllPosters entitled "Tender Passion" available at: www.allposters.com. Clicking on the images in the body of the article will take you to the original source.
©2009 Tom McMahon |
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Tom McMahon, ordained in 1954 and now married, lives a very fulfilled life in San Jose and continues to contribute voraciously to several Catholic discussion lists in the States. He has been an enthusiastic supporter and encourager of the Catholica initiative from the very beginning.
How economic inequality harms societies... We feel instinctively that societies with huge income gaps are somehow going wrong. Richard Wilkinson charts the hard data on economic inequality, and shows what gets worse when rich and poor are too far apart: real effects on health, lifespan, even such basic values as trust. Richard Wilkinson, is Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, and cofounder of The Equality Trust, a nonprofit that aims to reduce income inequality by educating and engaging the public while supporting political commitment to address the problem. 16m55s [String on the Catholica Forum where the general issue of wealth inequality and this documentary was first discussed 25Jan12] | [WATCH THE VIDEO]
Doco 035: 25Jan12
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