Ephesians 5:21-33 (NIV)

Today’s passage is one that many of us might roll our eyes at. It’s a passage that has been abused and misused by those who understand maleness as dominance at whatever cost. But in order to understand what Paul was talking about, we have to understand the world he was talking to. And for that  we have to check our modern biases at the door.

In Paul’s day and for many centuries before after, women  were regarded as inferior--their bodily rhythms making them “impure,” and burdensome. Headship and leadership were a means of dominance and power. In this passage, Paul radically turns the cultural norms of his day upside down. The king to imitate is now Jesus, not Caesar. The way of headship is sacrifice, not dominance. A wife is no longer a subservient, inferior being, but rather a treasure, like the church is to God--worthy to be loved, served, and cared for.

Listen now, with open ears, to Ephesians 5:21-33.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What ideas bristle your modern ears? Why do you think that is?

2. Think of some of the most popular role models for men and women in our culture. In what ways do their attitudes and behaviors compare with the portrait Paul is painting of husbands and wives?

3. Relationships of mutual submission don’t mean that no one leads or that nothing gets done. What it does mean is that the needs and desires of the other are always forefront in our minds. It means allowing our selfish impulses to take a backseat. It means allowing vulnerability to be a space where love grows, instead of shame, imitating the way of Jesus that leads to life and wholeness. Is there a relationship in your life that needs to grow in mutual submission?

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