Tehillah Generation Chapel
Daily Manna
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Topic: The empty tomb 35
Reading: Matthew 27:57-66, 28:1-15
Scripture: He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee. (Luke 24:6)
Note: As we approach the 2nd Sunday of May, dedicated to celebrating motherhood, I can’t help but be filled with pride and a deep sense of inner joy about all the women who have contributed significantly in one way or the other in making me who and what I am today. To my wife, my late mum and grandma, sisters and all mothers that mentored me along the way, I honourably bow in salutation and in celebration for your silent sacrifices that were willingly endured in an ambiance filled with heavy dose of unconditional love that was displayed generously towards me and showered abundantly on me in an unbiased manner.
As I reminisce on the amazing goodness of womanhood in our part of the world and most importantly in my own life, I can’t help in thinking reflectively about one profound statement I shared regarding the psyche of the average Jewish man in relation to women as at the time of the 1st century. “Many a Jewish man started the day with a prayer to God, expressing thanks that he was neither a Gentile, slave, or a woman.” It is profound in the sense of the paradox of contradictions, shallowness and apparent senselessness in the depth of thought.
A little willingness on the part of the men to express appreciation to their mothers who spent countless sleepless nights nursing them with love and nurturing them with life sustaining milk just so they could have a fair chance to survive the early stages of the harsh realities of this world, would have adequately cured the epidemic of insanity in the average Jewish man before he ever gathered the courage and the effrontery to approach God in prayer in the first place. They were simply breaking God’s heart as enshrined in the 10 Commandments and cutting their lives short.
Food for thought: How many Jewish men in the first century would have survived into adulthood, without a mother figure or a woman in their lives?
Declaration: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (Exodus 20:12)
© Author: Rev Fred Aboe
