Code of honor and shame
Code of honor and shame
3rd visit to the doc - haha, really broke all my past records - never seen a doctor so regularly before. Well, thankfully, doc says I'm recovering a lot better than when I saw her last week - cough and cough until I can't even speak a sentence without being interrupted by the cough =P so no more MC - yey! but some more medicines =(
Anyway, was sharing with my lecturer how I felt so inspired every week after her lectures that I had reflections which I could blog about (she visits my blog too =) and I think I'm getting her curious about what I'm going to blog about for now ... haha =)
Well, today's lecture was on "code of honor and shame" and she was highlighting how different actions and words, status of the person, etc, during Jesus' time were interpreted according to this code. I haven't received the full set of notes from my subject rep. yet so I can't recall all the details but what struck me was the code for women during Jesus' day ...
For a women to be considered honorable, she must be someone that is shy, timid, not loud, not sexually aggressive (aka not one who takes initiative to say to a man "I like you"), etc. My! I wouldn't be able to fit in to that kind of society - haha, I'm definitely someone who will not be classify under "honorable" =) I can be quite loud (as in vocal) ... when something tickles me, I can really laugh heartily and loudly ... I believe in women having our rights and speaking it up ... I can be bold if I believe that's what I need to do ... so now you see =) Well, come to think of it, I think a lot of us, modern women, wouldn't be able to fit into the society of Jesus' time. *wink*
Besides, during Jesus' time, an honorable woman would be someone who's spoken of in relation to another person (probably her husband or someone in the family that is also honorable) - that's why widows are so marginalized in those days. No wonder God has to say in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Jesus turned the entire "code of honor and shame" topsy turvy - because all these are "obstructing" the expansion of the Kingdom of God! On many occasions, we find Him speaking to women, healing women, helping women. Aren't we thankful that our Savior is not a sexist and one who loves all He created with equal love, concern and care? Aren't we thankful that Jesus dared to challenge the legalistic ways (and legalism) of the leaders in His days when the issue at heart is not so much ritualistic living as opposed to living with compassion? Thank God for His teachings to the disciples which we can receive in our modern day as well. Thank God for freeing us from all these bondages of sin, legalism, etc.
Am I talking sense? Haha, I'm really brain-dead for now, esp. after such a long day and also without my notes - either I'll write another post on something similar in days to come, or I'll add on to this entry. Thanks for reading thus far =)
3rd visit to the doc - haha, really broke all my past records - never seen a doctor so regularly before. Well, thankfully, doc says I'm recovering a lot better than when I saw her last week - cough and cough until I can't even speak a sentence without being interrupted by the cough =P so no more MC - yey! but some more medicines =(
Anyway, was sharing with my lecturer how I felt so inspired every week after her lectures that I had reflections which I could blog about (she visits my blog too =) and I think I'm getting her curious about what I'm going to blog about for now ... haha =)
Well, today's lecture was on "code of honor and shame" and she was highlighting how different actions and words, status of the person, etc, during Jesus' time were interpreted according to this code. I haven't received the full set of notes from my subject rep. yet so I can't recall all the details but what struck me was the code for women during Jesus' day ...
For a women to be considered honorable, she must be someone that is shy, timid, not loud, not sexually aggressive (aka not one who takes initiative to say to a man "I like you"), etc. My! I wouldn't be able to fit in to that kind of society - haha, I'm definitely someone who will not be classify under "honorable" =) I can be quite loud (as in vocal) ... when something tickles me, I can really laugh heartily and loudly ... I believe in women having our rights and speaking it up ... I can be bold if I believe that's what I need to do ... so now you see =) Well, come to think of it, I think a lot of us, modern women, wouldn't be able to fit into the society of Jesus' time. *wink*
Besides, during Jesus' time, an honorable woman would be someone who's spoken of in relation to another person (probably her husband or someone in the family that is also honorable) - that's why widows are so marginalized in those days. No wonder God has to say in James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Jesus turned the entire "code of honor and shame" topsy turvy - because all these are "obstructing" the expansion of the Kingdom of God! On many occasions, we find Him speaking to women, healing women, helping women. Aren't we thankful that our Savior is not a sexist and one who loves all He created with equal love, concern and care? Aren't we thankful that Jesus dared to challenge the legalistic ways (and legalism) of the leaders in His days when the issue at heart is not so much ritualistic living as opposed to living with compassion? Thank God for His teachings to the disciples which we can receive in our modern day as well. Thank God for freeing us from all these bondages of sin, legalism, etc.
Am I talking sense? Haha, I'm really brain-dead for now, esp. after such a long day and also without my notes - either I'll write another post on something similar in days to come, or I'll add on to this entry. Thanks for reading thus far =)
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