12 Nov Jesus’ Model of Positive Masculinity

JESUS’ MODEL OF POSITIVE MASCULINITY

Mark 5: 21-42

The passage has four main characters: Jesus, Jairus, an unnamed adult woman, and an unnamed little girl. Both the female characters needed healing from Jesus. In these verses, we see how Jesus is busy with the crowd that followed him. Jesus is quick to respect women and give them the dignity they deserve. We do not know why the women in the passage have no names. Were their names forgotten or omitted because they were women? Gender violence is when we think one person is less important than the other and, in this case, always denote women as less important. The stories of the two women in the passage will teach us how Jesus treats women as equal to others.

According to the Jewish tradition, power resided in men. Men were significant and were leaders. Here we see a man named Jairus, the leader in the synagogue with power, humbling himself and kneeling before Jesus to heal his daughter. This is a Jewish leader who is concerned with a girl child. She was his child, and he valued her, ready to do anything for her to be cured. In some homes today, girl children are not valued. Jairus gives us an example of a responsible man and father over his family. If parents, especially fathers, were more responsible and good parents, many girls would be protected by them and respected as human beings. Other people would fear abusing them.

Jesus, on the other hand, as a male, has divine power. He uses his power positively to the advantage of the women in the passage. Here we see positive masculinity, one that is ready to protect women from gender violence and exploitation. He affirms the two female figures in the story by healing them and giving them the dignity they require as human beings. Jesus demonstrated his healing power and, at the same time, the power to treat people with the dignity they deserve.

According to Jewish traditions, Jesus should have been unclean after being touched by a woman who had a flow of blood and touching a girl who was declared dead. Blood and death are serious issues that would make one unclean. However, Jesus was not restrained by society's cultural and traditional norms, which were negative to women and gave them what was right for them. Women suffer gender-based violence because of some of the negative cultural and traditional practices that victimise women. We need to take a serious look at all such negative practices to free women and make them feel accepted in the communities.

Jesus calls the woman with the flow of blood, daughter, giving her the dignity she deserved as a child of God. Jesus was aware of her situation and freed her from all the stigmas. He demonstrated the importance of every person despite gender differences. He gave the woman the dignity she deserved. To the little girl, Jesus said, Talitha koumi meaning, “little girl, get up”. No need to be looked down upon, get up.

We are expected to honour and value one another as humans. Women must be treated equally as men are. When women are violated, we are violating the image of God as they, too, are created in the image of God.

prayer

Lord, our parent, you have created and treated all of us equally. Help us that we, too, have your mind in treating the women in our families and societies with the same respect that we expect others to give us. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen!

for further thought

What do I need to change in my home (and myself) so that women’s safety and dignity are preserved?

Gertrude Kapuma

Zomba Theological University, Malawi