Catholics emphasize the context in Ephesians passage on spouses

At its recent convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, the denomination amended the Baptist Faith and Message to include a passage from Ephesians that states that wives should "submit graciously" to their husbands.

That passage (Ephesians 5:21-33) has long caused elbow-poking and eye-rolling in Catholic churches when read during Sunday Mass. But without an understanding of the context in which the passage was written, there can be trouble interpreting its meaning, say Catholic experts.

In context

Rev. Roger Karban, a Scripture scholar who writes a column about the Sunday Mass readings for Catholic newspapers, including The Evangelist (see page 18), said it is important to know how Paul writes in order to understand this passage.

"There is a context, and without the context you can misinterpret," he said. "Paul will give the largest space to the thing that is the most problematic."

Spousal roles

"The problem is men not being in proper relationship with their wives," he said. "The problem is men lording it over women. Men were being honchos, and women had no rights."

It makes sense that Paul would state the wives' obligations first, Father Karban continued. That way, men would be listening to the letter and tell their wives to pay attention. Once Paul had the men's attention, he could begin to address the obligations of husbands.

Challenge to men

Both Father Karban and Sister Kay agree that men were being challenged.

"This needs to be taken in context," Sister Kay said. "In the historical context, women were property. This [passage] was raising the wife to a mutual relationship."

Misinterpretation

Some individuals use the Scripture passage to justify their dominance over a partner to the point of complete control and abuse, she said. Some women also read the passage to mean that they must stay in an abusive relationship.

But careful reading of the passage calls couples to mutual respect, modeled by Christ and His relationship with the Church, she noted.

Sacrament

A sacramental marriage, she said, is a covenant by which a couple establish a partnership that involves their whole lives. Fidelity, permanence, openness to having and raising children, and the total gift of self to each other are required in this covenant.

In a pastoral message on family life, the U.S. bishops said marriages should be characterized by mutual submission of husband and wife.

Submitting

Sister Kay agreed, saying that a marriage relationship must allow for growth and interdependence. "Submission is the interdependence," she said. "You come into the marriage as an independent person and you grow into interdependence. It's a give-and-take, so we learn to dance with one another."

That interdependence allows for growth, Mrs. Moriarty said. "We have only our own life experience," she said. "In marriage, we can learn from the other's life experience."

Submitting

Married for 37 years and the mother of six, she said the reading used to trouble her.

"What it means to me now is that I should have the respect I had for him when we were dating," she said. "It doesn't mean he rules the roost."

How an individual defines "submissive" is important to understanding the passage, Mrs. Viscusi said. "What do you mean by 'submissive'?" she asked. "If it's 'walk two steps behind and agree with things you don't' -- well that can be detrimental to a marriage."

(07-02-98) [[In-content Ad]]