"Original Purity"
Based on pages 21-22 from The Theology of the Body in Simple Language
The bond is best described in the expression: he now belongs to her, because she belongs to him. They are now no longer without each other; they are one yet two . . . . They have from their origin been one and only in becoming one do they return to their origin.
Creation and Fall (p. 97) - Bonhoeffer
“One Flesh” summarizes what has been discussed by Genesis 2:23: Upon seeing Eve, Adam cries, “this at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” Knowledge of man—made in the image and likeness of God—passes through masculinity and femininity , which are two “reciprocally completing ways of ‘being a body’ and at the same time being human.” (TOB 10:1) Unity is possible because of the sexual difference between man and woman. Femininity finds itself in the presence of masculinity and vice versa. Each is known and made known through the other.
In an analogous way, true knowledge of God passes through Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The fullness of God is revealed as a trinity of divine persons, who live as a communion. Persons never come alone but always together, and this is true of both divine and human persons. And persons, as male and female, are understood in these primary relationships of their lives as gifts.
The gift of masculinity and femininity finds its deepest expression in conjugal love where they become “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). This union of husband and wife is a “rediscovery,” every time and in a special way, of the mystery of creation. This is in a sense the reliving of what JPII terms the “original virginal value of man.” Virginal value refers not to the absence of sexual experience but its opposite: the complete giving of body and soul together. It is in the fullness of the person as gift to another that one experiences the original experiences of solitude and unity together. One chooses to give oneself out of the solitude of one’s uniqueness and the two solitudes become one. Christopher West explains the virginal value in this way:
“In the beginning man and woman experienced a perfect psychosomatic (soul-body) integration. They were ‘untouched’ by the rupture of body and soul that would defile them as a result of original sin. In this sense, the experience of original unity remained virginal (untouched by the disintegration of sin)” (TOB Explained, p. 86).
The “one flesh” union refers the bodily embrace of husband and wife, and yet it points to more. The bodily unity of husband and wife points to and leads to unity between them of heart and soul. The oneness achieved in the body points to the whole unity of life that is achieved as husband and wife share life together. “Sex expresses an ever-new surpassing of the limit of man’s solitude, which lies within the makeup of his body and determines its original meaning. This surpassing always implies that in a certain way one takes upon oneself the solitude of the body of the second ‘I’ as one’s own.” (TOB 10:2) Through the marital embrace we are able, in a mysterious way, to enter into and inhabit the world of the other.
The part of the handout, entitled
1. Think about a good marriage you have seen in your life. Perhaps it was your grandparents, a couple in your neighborhood or at church. How did this couple model being one flesh? Can you recall an incident where you saw them exhibit deference or unselfish love toward one another?
2. Read Romans 12:4-5 in light of the “one flesh” teaching of Genesis 2:24. How does the broad meaning of the one flesh union inform our understanding of what it means to be “members of one another”?
3. “Formed in the image of God, and uniting to form a communion of persons, Adam and Eve became the model of marriage for all future couples.” (TOBSL p. 22) Men and women, together, are made in the image of God. What does this teach us about the way men and women should relate to one another? For married persons: What difference does it make to know that your spouse is made in the image of God? How might you nurture the one flesh union of your marriage?
A Teacher for our Time: A Reflection by Jeannie Light
was posted March 15 under the title "The truth was there all along," and can be found by clicking on this link.Questions for Discussion
1. Think about a good marriage you have seen in your life. Perhaps it was your grandparents, a couple in your neighborhood or at church. How did this couple model being one flesh? Can you recall an incident where you saw them exhibit deference or unselfish love toward one another?
2. Read Romans 12:4-5 in light of the “one flesh” teaching of Genesis 2:24. How does the broad meaning of the one flesh union inform our understanding of what it means to be “members of one another”?
3. “Formed in the image of God, and uniting to form a communion of persons, Adam and Eve became the model of marriage for all future couples.” (TOBSL p. 22) Men and women, together, are made in the image of God. What does this teach us about the way men and women should relate to one another? For married persons: What difference does it make to know that your spouse is made in the image of God? How might you nurture the one flesh union of your marriage?
No comments:
Post a Comment