Potiphar names Joseph administrator … Potiphar is a Biblical example of a married eunuch (Bode Museum, Berlin)
Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and this week began with the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XI).
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
An icon of Saint Philip the Deacon with the Ethiopian Eunuch, by Ann Chapin (2008)
Matthew 19: 3-12 (NRSVA):
3 Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?’ 4 He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning “made them male and female”, 5 and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ 7 They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?’ 8 He said to them, ‘It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but at the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.’
10 His disciples said to him, ‘If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.’ 11 But he said to them, ‘Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’
Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922), the last surviving castrato of the Sistine Chapel’s Choir
Today’s Reflection:
This morning’s Gospel reading comes in two parts that are both difficult and painful to read, to the point that it would be easier to reflect on one of the other appointed readings in the Lectionary (Ezekiel 16: 1-15, 60-63; Psalm 118: 14-18 or the Canticle Song of Deliverance; Isaiah 12: 2-6).
As a priest who is divorced and remarried, I find the first part of the Gospel (Matthew 19: 3-11) is a challenge every time I read it, even though I have dealt with its topics on many occasions
in sermons I have preached in a parish and pastoral setting, in preparing couples for marriage, and in my own life. I wish some of my priest colleagues had been as generous to me in the past as I hope they are to their own parishioners when it comes to providing true pastoral care, understanding and support.
The second part of the reading (Matthew 19: 11-12) causes me even greater confusion and all my attempts to understand its context still leave me in search of meaning and understanding. But then even the text itself warns that some readers will not be able to receive what is being said.
Jesus’ words seem to find echoes in Saint Paul’s writings when, for example, he seems to advocate remaining single if someone is called to do so (see I Corinthians 7: 24-28), yet says it is wrong to forbid marriage to anyone (I Timothy 4: 1-3). However, both Jesus and Paul stress that relatively few people were called to a life of celibacy, a lifestyle that was generally unacceptable socially in their time.
I wince and even imagine physical pain when it comes to thinking about the concept of a eunuch, thinking of references to men who had been castrated before puberty, especially the
castrati or male singers who, for the sake of retaining their high voices, underwent surgical castration before puberty.
Castration affected boys’ vocal cords, but it also had a profound effect on the rest of their body. By disrupting normal growth hormones, castration could result in a variety of unusual physical attributes, including remarkable height and an abnormally large chest cavity – which, in singing terms, meant powerful thoracic muscles and extra lung capacity. As such, castrati were uniquely equipped to produce the loud, sustained, highly ornamented phrases that Baroque audiences loved.
The earliest records of
castrati date from the 1550s. At the time,
castrati sang only sacred music. A supposed biblical injunction against women singing in church left a dearth of singers able to sing the high parts in sacred choral works.
When opera became part of the musical scene
ca 1600, the
castrato’s unusual voice was quickly embraced by composers working in the new genre. Claudio Monteverdi’s opera
Orfeo (1607) featured
castrati singing the opera’s Prologue as well as two female roles. Yet the
castrato’s vocal powers lead them to be cast as the manliest role in opera: the
primo uomo, or heroic male lead.
Successful
castrati were the rock stars and celebrities of their day. The
castrato known as Farinelli, born Carlo Broschi (1705-1782) was knighted by the King of Spain and held a ministerial role at the Spanish court.
By the 19th century, however, changing operatic styles and new conceptions of medical ethics meant the
castrato tradition was quickly dying out. The Vatican banned
castrati in 1903, and the last known
castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, died in 1922. Recordings of Moreschi singing are the only surviving example of this voice type.
The Biblical references to eunuchs include impotent men and men not capable of sexual relations. In this morning’s reading, however, Jesus says that some men were born this way, some were made impotent by men and some made themselves impotent to better serve the kingdom of God.
The terms also described men who were trusted in royal courts to serve as chamberlains and to care for harems (see Esther 2: 15) or men trusted in royal courts with high positions and authority (see Daniel 1: 3-18; Acts 8: 27). Because eunuchs often served in the courts of kings, the words translated as ‘eunuch’ may have come to be used as a label for many senior officials, whether or not we would now regarded them as having been castrated.
The Hebrew word in the Bible is סְרִ֨יס (
sarís) and it means ‘to castrate’. But this word is translated ‘officer’ or ‘officers’ 12 times in the Old Testament (see Genesis 37: 36; 39: 1; 40: 2; and 40: 7) and as ‘chamberlain’ or ‘chamberlains’ 13 times (see Esther 1: 10, 12, 15; 2: 21; and 4: 4-5).
In the Septuagint, the Hebrew word סְרִ֨יס is translated into Greek by εὐνοῦχος, and the word also has the meaning ‘eunuch’. However, in its context in the Tanakh, the word almost always refers to ministers or high servants at the court of a king. Not all of them were castrated in order to hold their posts, maybe they were merely bound to practise celibacy; the Bible, in Genesis, mentions at least one married eunuch, Potiphar, who is one of Pharoah’s courtiers in Egypt.
The Greek word εὐνοῦχοι (
eunouchoi is usually understood as castrates, but the context speaks for understanding εὐνοῦχοι as ‘single’, and its etymology suggests the Greek word εὐνοῦχος (
eunouchos) originally meant either ‘bedroom guard’ or ‘of good mind.’ Later, the word rendered ‘eunuch’ came to refer to a castrated man, to an impotent man and to an unmarried man.
At the time Jesus is speaking, the word ‘eunuch’ may have simply referred to a senior and trusted official in royal courts, a courtier who could be trusted not to take advantage of others, particularly people who depended on royal justice and who must not be exploited for personal financial or sexual advantage.
In the Roman world, the word eunuch was used to refer to a homosexual man. Some translations refer to ‘men who never marry,’ instead of ‘eunuchs’. Both terms were used as euphemisms for homosexual men.
Some commentators suggest that at the time of Jesus the word eunuch was used as a euphemism for people who were seen as being different or even outsiders because of their sexuality, men who were gay but dismissed as being ‘effeminate’, people who were gay and found it difficult to explain why they remained single in a society where marriage was the norm and celibacy was frowned on, individuals whose sexuality was not of their own choice but would have been unacceptable if they admitted to it publicly.
In the any case, in both the Hebrew and Christian texts, eunuchs had the same standing in God’s eyes as anyone else (see Isaiah 56: 3-5; Acts 8: 26-39).
These definitions might mean that those who make themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven are simply men who remained unmarried to spend more time seeking the Lord and spreading the Gospel.
This morning’s passage was interpreted so literally in some parts of the early church that Origen of Alexandria (185-254 CE), in the impetuosity of youth, castrated himself. In later life he knew better. In his commentary on Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Origen rejects the literal interpretation of the words. He acknowledges that he once accepted a literal reading, but came to accept the saying should be understood spiritually and not ‘according to the flesh and the letter.’ But it was too late by then to reverse the process, I imagine, as I wince yet again this morning.
Perhaps, this passage should no more be taken literally than Christ’s words about cutting off my hand or foot, or gouging out my eye. If so, should the preceding verses on divorce be taken literally either? Perhaps they too are hyperbole, raw humour or reminders of the ideals of marriage which some may attain but many cannot live up to.
Both parts of this morning’s Gospel reading may be read more easily if we hear Jesus saying that all Christians, are representatives of the Kingdom of God, courtiers or ambassadors of that kingdom, irrespective of our marital status, our gender, our sexuality or what others may see as inappropriate or unacceptable lifestyles judged only by the cultural standards of the world today. We are called by Christ into the Church and into the kingdom, and some of us are even called to give up everything in order to pursue this calling.
Origen of Alexandria (185-254 CE), in the impetuosity of youth, castrated himself … in later life he knew better (Icon: Eileen McGuckin)
Today’s Prayers (Friday 16 August 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Whom Shall I Send?’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update from the Revd Davidson Solanki, Regional Manager Asia and Middle East, USPG, on the Episcopal Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East’s new programme launched in accompaniment with USPG, ‘Whom Shall I Send.’
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 16 August 2024) invites us to pray:
Lord, we pray for an end to conflict in the Holy Land. We pray for peace across the nation.
The Collect:
O God, you declare your almighty power
most chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace,
that we, running the way of your commandments,
may receive your gracious promises,
and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Lord of all mercy,
we your faithful people have celebrated that one true sacrifice
which takes away our sins and brings pardon and peace:
by our communion
keep us firm on the foundation of the gospel
and preserve us from all sin;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
God of glory,
the end of our searching,
help us to lay aside
all that prevents us from seeking your kingdom,
and to give all that we have
to gain the pearl beyond all price,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife … a ceramic plate produced in Urbino ca 1537 … Potiphar is a Biblical example of a married eunuch (National Museum of Bargello, Florence)
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
http://nrsvbibles.org
