Formed

A Reflection on the First Reading for October 3rd, 2021:
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Genesis
2.7ab, 15, 18-24

The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.”

Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.
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This is one of those Bible passages that changes in meaning for me as I go through the different stages and seasons of my life.

As a child, I would imagine the woman being formed from soil with a human bone embedded into it and, shazam, the woman is alive! I imagined that she was totally dependent on the man, because without him, she would not exist. In my mind, the notion of woman coming from soil or clay was ‘icky’.

As a teenager, I saw the beginnings of clarity in the woman’s role as a helper to man. I believed that the man, as head of the family, was superior to the woman as he made the decisions for the family. This was reflected in our family life, as my mom would always defer to my dad’s decisions regarding our family and life in general.

As an adult, and in discovering my own talents, gifts, and capabilities, I've come to realize that I am able to make the same decisions as my dad always used to make for our family. There are areas of expertise where I can be a help to my spouse. Together we are a stronger force. I can do things that a man can do! In the same manner, I also realize that what was thought of as the woman’s role of caring, loving, and sensitivity to the others around her can also be performed by men. 

“Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” for me expresses our oneness in love and life. Equally and together, a couple will build their own life and their family by sharing responsibilities and heartaches and being committed to one another. We were given our gifts and talents by God to bring others to Him. We are to share these gifts and talents with one another, to fill the other’s lack, to reinforce each other’s strengths and together help create God’s kingdom here on Earth.

Most of all, all human beings are capable of self-giving love. Sharing this love that God gives us unconditionally is what we human beings should aim for. Whether as a man or a woman, as a child or as an adult, God desires of us to love each person as we would love ourselves.




​Liz Venezuela
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