Role, Use, and Purpose of Marriage and Family Life in the ...

Teachings of SCTJM - Sr. Clara Maria Malay, SCTJM

THE ROLE, USE AND PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE IN THE FIRST CENTURY CHRISTIAN CHURCH Sr. Clara Maria Malay, SCTJM September 25, 2013

This paper will explore t he role use and purpose of marriage and f amily lif e in t he t ime period of t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church. Exploring t he meaning of marriage will help def ine what t he early Church would have used or perceived t his union t o be f or male and f emale. The word marriage or mat rimony is derived f rom t he Lat in word f or Mot her, Mat er; t his reveals one of t he original and main purposes of marriage; t o bear and rear children. 1 The Marit al union is made up of a male and f emale while t he f amily unit includes t he f ruit s of t his union (and may also include cross generat ional members). Throughout hist ory and in nearly every cult ure we see t hat t he f amily is t he most basic unit in many societ ies. This was also t rue f or t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church, and st ill is f or us t oday as Bl. John Paul II wrot e, "Since t he Creat or of all t hings has est abl ished t he conj ugal part nership as t he beginning and basis of human societ y, " t he f amily is "t he f irst and vit al cell of societ y. " 2 Unf ort unat ely we have seen in our present societ y t he damaging ef f ect s on t he cult ure of t he breakdown of t he f amily; t his only conf irms t he import ant role t hat t he f amily has in societ y. The Cat echism of t he Cat holic Church st at es t he basic out l ine of marriage and f amily lif e as, " The marriage covenant , by which a man and a woman f orm wit h each ot her an int imat e communion of lif e and love, has been f ounded and endowed wit h it s own special laws by t he Creat or. By it s very nat ure it is ordered t o t he good of t he couple, as well as t o t he generat ion and educat ion of children. " 3 Now let us examine t he individual roles of men and women t hat make up t he marriage covenant , specif ically in t he f irst Cent ury and t hen t he union of t he t wo in Mat rimony and f urt hermore in t he role of f amily lif e.

The role of women in t he f irst cent ury was very dif f erent in comparison t o what we live t oday, which is why it is crucial t o t ake not e of t hese dif f erences when seeking t o underst and t he role and purpose of marriage in t hat t ime period. Women were not considered equal t o men alt hough t hey did have a very prominent role in t he home and t heref ore in t he marit al union; as well, and were valued as wives and mot hers. 4 Bef ore l aw women were not considered equal t o men in t he polit ical scene. They were seen as second class cit izens, and not educat ed t o part icipat e in t he polit ical seen. They were subj ect t o t he aut horit y of a man be it t heir f at her or husband. 5 Alt hough t he polit ical scene was reserved f or men, " t eachings in t he Talmud emphasized t hat every individual possessed equalit y, dignit y, and self -wort h. But in pract ice t his equalit y was def ined in t erms of st rict male-f emale roles. " 6 As wives and mot hers t heir role wit hin t he home included preparing meals, of which t here were t wo main meals a day, making and washing t he clot hing, t he caring f or and educat ion of t he children mainly t he girls and t he up-keep of t he house. 7 A regular household may have al so included unmarried children, parent s of t he husband or wif e, who were usually all housed in a one t o t wo room home wit h a dirt f loor. As we can gat her women were a crit ical part of making societ y and civil izat ion run and t hey st ill are t oday. As previously ment ioned t he root of mat rimony being t he Lat in word f or mot her (mat er), helps us underst and what a signif icant role t he woman and mot her plays in t he union of marriage and f amily lif e. Women worked very hard but likewise f ound f ulf illment in t heir role of wif e and mot her as t hey were ent rust ed wit h great t asks.

The Husband served as t he spirit ual and legal head of t he household. He was t he main provider and prot ect or of t he f amily. 8 The man also had an import ant role in societ y represent ing his f amily, t ribe and village. The Jewish people were a t ribal people and lived in villages t o support one anot her, f amily and working t oget her were necessary t o survival in t hose t imes.

The role, use, and purpose of marriage and f amily lif e in t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church would have most ly derived f rom t he Jewish marriage cust oms and t radit ions. Marriage has a long hist ory and has shif t ed slight ly in t he past as even t oday some are t rying t o redef ine it ; however, t he basics have f or t he most part remained t he same. " The f irst recorded evidence of marriage cont ract s and ceremonies dat es t o 4, 000 years ago, in Mesopot amia. In t he ancient world, marriage served primarily as a means of preserving power, wit h kings and ot her members of t he ruling class marrying of f daught ers t o f orge alliances, acquire land, and produce legit imat e heirs.... . In ancient Rome, marriage was a civil af f air governed by imperial l aw. But when t he empire collapsed, in t he 5t h cent ury, church court s t ook over and elevat ed marriage t o a holy union. As t he church's power grew t hrough t he Middle Ages, so did it s inf luence over marriage. In 1215, marriage was declared one of t he church's seven sacrament s. . . But it was only in t he 16t h cent ury t hat t he church decreed t hat weddings be perf ormed in public, by a priest , and bef ore wit nesses. 9

The act ual marriage ceremony t hat would have t aken place in t he f irst cent ury dif f ers f rom how many celebrat e a marriage t oday. Deriving f rom Jewish cust oms t he marriage consist ed in t hree main st ages t hat can be summarized in t he t hree C' s; cont ract , consummat ion, and celebrat ion. The cont ract or bet rot hal of man and woman was signed by t he f at her of t he bride and t he soon t o be husband and it served as a prot ect ion of t he bride. The cont ract al so known as a ket ubbot h, 10 was a legally binding document , t hat was discussed and decided upon by t he f at her of t he bride and t he groom. The use of marriage was t he f at her' s way t o assure t he cont inued lineage of t he t ribe. They would discuss t he dowry, t he bride' s cont ribut ion t o t he husband' s est at e; t his was paid by t he f at her t o t he new husband. Af t er t his f irst st age of t he Jewish marriage, t he couple was legally married alt hough t hey were not co-habit uat ing nor had t hey come t oget her in t he marit al union. 11

The second st age of a Jewish marriage cust om was t he sexual consummat ion. The t ime bet ween t he cont ract and t he consummat ion could last years, if t he child was promised at a young age t hen t he groom would wait unt il she reached t he appropriat e age. However, it would most commonly l ast 12 mont hs. " When t he f at her consent ed t o t he groom, he was all owed t o come t o t he home of t he bride and consummat e t he marriage in her own house. " 12 The t hird st age f ollowed almost immediat ely af t er t he second st age, t he couple would commonly leave t he home and process t oget her t o t he home of t he groom or of a f amil y member and rej oice wit h f riends and f amily. This celebrat ion is read about in t he New Test ament where Jesus pref ormed his f irst miracle at t he wedding f east of Cana, (cf : Jn 2: 1-11) and t he marriage f east is alluded t o in many parables; f or it was a common societ al event as well as a cent ral t heme in Christ (our)redempt ion.

Ancient Roman had dif f erent st andards and t radit ions f or choosing and carrying out t he marriage, but it was similar t o Jewish t radit ions, f or t he ceremony including a procession, and large f east .

" Marriage in Roman t imes was of t en not at all romant ic. Rat her, it was an agreement bet ween f amilies. Men woul d usually marry in t heir mid-t went ies, while women married while t hey were st ill in t heir early t eens. As t hey reached t hese ages, t heir parent s would consult wit h f riends t o f ind suit able part ners t hat could improve t he f amily' s wealt h or class. " 13 The Roman obj ect ive and execut ion of marriage dif f ered f rom t hose of t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church, because many of t he f irst Christ ians were Jews many of t he marriage cust oms would have carried over at least init ially. From t his point we see t hat t he role, use and purpose of Marriage were mainly f or; t he cont inuat ion of l ineage and f urt hering t he f amily name and t ribe, t he building up of societ y and village as it was f or t he Jews.

The role, use, and purpose of f amily lif e in t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church is imaged of t en in t he early writ ings of t he Church and in t he New Test ament epist les. St . Paul st at es, " Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved t he Church. . . . This is a great myst ery, and I mean in ref erence t o Christ and t he Church" (Eph 5: 25, 32). The rel at ionship of Christ and t he Church serve as a model f or t he roles of Husband and Wif e in a marriage. Then and now t his imagery remains a myst ery as well as a demanding call. The role of f amily lif e is t o image Christ and t he Church, t he use is t o f ulf ill t he specif ic vocat ion wit hin t he home and t he local communit y f or t he purpose of f amily lif e in t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church is t he cont inuat ion of lif e, survival, and glorif ying God wit h one' s body (1Cor. 6: 20). The f amily t hen as now,

" has vit al and organic l inks wit h societ y, since it is it s f oundat ion and nourishes it cont inually t hrough it s role of service t o lif e: it is f rom t he f amily t hat cit izens come t o birt h and it is wit hin t he f amily t hat t hey f ind t he f irst school of t he social virt ues t hat are t he animat ing principle of t he exist ence and development of societ y it self . Thus, f ar f rom being closed in on it self , t he f amily is by nat ure and vocat ion open t o ot her f amilies and t o societ y, and undert akes it s social role. " 14 Family lif e indeed had a vit al role in t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church.

The role, use and purpose of marriage and f amily l if e in t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church was int erest ing t opic t o research, and very benef icial f or t he underst anding of t he Script ures and message of Christ . Alt hough much t ime has passed and our societ ies are very dif f erent I was surprised t o f ind so many similarit ies among t he t wo t ime periods. This encourages t he belief t hat alt hough our surroundings may change our heart s are st ill creat ed by God in t he same manner and t heref ore seeking f ulf illment which can only be f ound in Him and doing what He creat ed us f or; more specif ical ly living f ait hf ully our roles in marriage and f amily lif e. There are t hings t hat remain t imeless such as t he sacred script ures and even what Bl John Paul II wrot e in Familiaris Consort io in t he year 1981 is applicable t o f amilies now and t hose of t he f irst cent ury Christ ian Church. This is lesson learned wil l bear f ruit in f urt her st udies of The Act s of t he Apost les and Sacred Script ure in general. ______________________________ 1 " How Marriage Has Changed Over t he Cent uries" The Week (2012), at ht t p: / / t heweek. com/ art icle/ index/ 2Blessed Pope John Paul II, Apost olic Exhort at ion On t he Role of Christ ian Family in t he Modern World Familiaris Consort io. (November, 22, 1981), 42. 3 Cat echism of t he Cat holic Church, 2nd ed. (Washingt on, DC: Unit ed St at es Cat holic Conf erence, 2000), 1660. 4 " The Roman Empire in t he 1st Cent ury; Women" Public Broadcast ing St at ion, (2006), at ht t p: / / pbs. org/ empires/ romans/ empire/ women. ht ml . 5 ibid

6 McDaniel, Violet . " A Women' s Place in First Cent ury" The Trut h Magazine, Vol. XLIV: 9 (2000), 18. at ht t p: / / t rut hmagazine. com/ archives/ . 7 Harris, MD. " Daily Lif e in First Cent ury Israel and t he Roman Empire" (2011), at mdharrismd. com/ 2011/ 12/ 19/ daily-lif e-in-f irst -cent ury-israel-and-t he-roman-empire. 8 " Lif e of Jesus - First Cent ury Cont ext of Palest ine" Jesus Cent ral, at ht t p: / / j esuscent ral. com/ j i/ hist orical-j esus/ j esus-f irst cent urycont ext . php#Cult ural 9 " How Marriage Has Changed Over t he Cent uries" The Week, (2012), at ht t p: / / t heweek. com/ art icle/ index/ 228541/ 10 Rudd, St eve. " The Three St age Rit ual of Bible Marriage" The Int eract ive Bible, at ht t p: / / bible. ca 11 Rudd, St eve. " The Three St age Rit ual of Bible Marriage" The Int eract ive Bible, at ht t p: / / bible. ca 12 Rudd, St eve. " The Three St age Rit ual of Bible Marriage" The Int eract ive Bible, at ht t p: / / bible. ca 13" The Roman Empire in t he First Cent ury, Weddings, Marriage and Divorce" PBS (2006), at ht t p: / / pbs. org/ empires/ romans/ empire/ weddings. ht ml 14 Famil iaris Consort io, 42. Works Cited: Blessed Pope John Paul II. Apost olic Exhort at ion On t he Role of Christ ian Family in t he Modern World,

Familiaris Consort io. (November, 22, 1981). Cat echism of t he Cat holic Church, 2nd ed. Washingt on, DC: Unit ed St at es Cat holic Conf erence, 2000 Harris, MD. " Daily Lif e in First Cent ury Israel and t he Roman Empire" (2011), at

mdharrismd. com/ 2011/ 12/ 19/ daily-lif e-in-f irst -cent ury-israel-and-t he-roman-empire " How Marriage Has Changed Over t he Cent uries" , The Week, (2012): at

ht t p: / / t heweek. com/ art icle/ index/ 228541/ " Lif e of Jesus - First Cent ury Cont ext of Palest ine" Jesus Cent ral, at

ht t p: / / j esuscent ral. com/ j i/ hist orical-j esus/ j esus-f irst cent urycont ext . php#Cult ural McDaniel, Violet . " A Women' s Place in First Cent ury" The Trut h Magazine, Vol. XLIV: 9 (2000), at

ht t p: / / t rut hmagazine. com/ archives/ " The Roman Empire in t he 1st Cent ury; Women" Public Broadcast ing St at ion, (2006), at

ht t p: / / pbs. org/ empires/ romans/ empire/ women. ht ml Rudd, St eve. " The Three St age Rit ual of Bible Marriage" The Int eract ive Bible, at ht t p: / / bible. ca

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