CENTERING HUMAN DIGNITY
Once I dated a guy that on paper seemed like the perfect match. Initially, he said and did all the right things. He became antagonistic towards my religious beliefs and very controlling. When I ended the relationship, he did not take it well. Not taking no for an answer, I started to feel real fear for my life. One day, I noticed he was waiting outside my school building. I stopped in my tracks, frozen. My male friend was walking out with me and noticed my pale white, fear stricken face. I pointed out the window, and he saw the guy outside, turned to me, and asked, do you want me to ask him to leave? I nodded yes. They talked and the guy left. I looked at my friend and thanked him. He said, He should not have come, I got your back. That gesture told me, It’s not my fault, and I felt a wave of relief.
How many of us women have been through this and more? How lucky I was to have an intuitive friend who refused to be a bystander and chose to be an ally. He was like Jesus in today’s Gospel: interrupting violence and uplifting the human dignity of the woman brought before him. Jesus chose to center her dignity no matter what. Perhaps Jesus was also “filled with the holy spirit” like Daniel in today’s first reading, choosing not to “take part in the death of a woman.” What great examples we have in scripture of good men, who resist the culture of violence, who refuse to let women be victims to the systems that dehumanize. May these examples encourage all of our brothers in Christ and inspire us in our day-to-day living.
Jesus, teach us how to follow you. Forgive us when we have participated in the culture of death. Inspire us to do the right thing in the moments it matters most. Amen.
Ana Lopez