[ Today's Readings ]
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Outside of the kingdom the advice to be subordinate isn't as good of an idea. Everyone is out for their own self-interest. But husbands are called to assume this leadership by love and self-giving. Woman are called to subordinate themselves out of love and thankfulness, not out of obligation or fear.
In the kingdom Christ gives us the power to love one another as we love ourselves. Obedience becomes practicable and, in fact, preferable. Everyone no longer has to do everything themselves. We can truly trust and rely on others. This is why the kingdom is like a large bush in which the birds of the sky can dwell. Everyone can come together within the kingdom without overstepping their boundaries or taking for themselves that which should belong to another. This is why the kingdom is likened to yeast that leavens the dough. It makes what is insufficient enough to feed the masses. Our own love is limited, thin, and easily broken. The yeast gives our love the volume and elasticity to embrace the poor, the hungry, and the needy.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
Kingdom love is possible because Christ first loves us. It is possible because he first hands himself over to sanctify us "by the bath of water with the word" (Baptism), "that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing" so that we can, somehow, "be holy and without blemish." Because this is where it begins, when we live it we show forth the great mystery of Christ and the Church.
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