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We’ve all heard of that characteristic which appears to be unique to
females of the human species. It’s called “women’s intuition.”
Somehow, in some strange way, and for some unknown reason, God has
“hotwired” women to know in the very moment that “something’s
up.” They might not know exactly what’s up, but their “high alert”
button gets jammed on and there’s no stopping them from trying to
figure exactly what it is that’s up.
Few know exactly how women’s intuition works. But, there’s a lot of
men and children—much to their chagrin and embarrassment—who possess
first-hand experience of and know infallibly that women’s intuition
does work.
More importantly, it seems that women’s intuition is always at
work. They can intuit the unspoken feelings and emotions of a
spouse, of children, neighbors, friends, co-workers, and—believe it
or not—even ladies who check out groceries at Giants or Genuardi’s.
They can know when a loved one—whether in a different room of the
house or even hundreds of miles away, it matters not—is struggling,
having difficulties, or being tempted. With startling ease, they
can sense a child’s or spouse’s honesty or dishonesty as well as a
car mechanic’s or contractor’s estimate.
Women’s intuition isn’t rational, in that most women report not
knowing exactly how they know all of these things. It’s more of an
“inner voice” or “gut feeling” that almost always ends up being
correct.
There are skeptics, of course, who don’t
believe there’s any thing such as “women’s intuition”. But, for those who are
skeptical, doing so is at
one’s
peril! I speak from personal experience.
Despite the skeptics, it is interesting to note that according to
traditional Jewish thought, women are viewed for the most part not
only as different from but also equal to men, making women’s
obligations and responsibilities different from but no less
important those of men.
However, in some ways, traditional Jewish thought considers women's
responsibilities more important than those of men.
And, guess what?
One of those more important responsibilities is intuition.
This assessment is traced back to the two creation narratives in the
Book of Genesis where God endowed women with a greater degree of “binah”
(that is, intuition, understanding, and intelligence) because God
“built” the first woman out of man (Genesis 2:22) in contrast to how
God “formed” the first man (Genesis 2:7). The key to this
understanding is how, in Hebrew, the root of the verb “to build” has
the same consonants as the word “binah.”
This understanding helps to explain how and why the Hebrew
matriarchs (e.g., Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah) were superior to
the patriarchs (e.g., Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), especially as this
concerned the gift of prophecy.
Sound odd?
Then recall that, unlike men, women didn’t participate in idol
worship. Only the Hebrew men worshipped the Golden Calf at the
bottom of Mount Horeb.
For these and other reasons, some Jewish scholars suggest that women
are closer to God’s ideal human creation than are men. So much
for patriarchy in Genesis!
What is intuition and how does it work?
Generally speaking, intuition is “the act of knowing something
without any reasonable and logical way of knowing it.” Neurologists
associate this power with the right side of the brain, to be found
in the realm of emotions, creativity, and imagination, what some
believe is the “domain of the feminine.”
So, in light of today’s gospel about the disciples walking along the
road on the way to Emmaus, let’s consider why the disciples—all of
those “guys”—just didn’t “get it” and what that might teach us about
“spiritual intuition.”
Throughout the Jewish scriptures, there are hints that the Messiah
would have to suffer before entering into his glory. But, the
disciples apparently had already closed their minds to this notion.
For them as well for most of their co-religionists, the Messiah
would be a “king.” This mighty ruler would deliver the Jewish
people from oppression and slavery at the hands of the imperialist
and heathen Romans, establishing Israel as the greatest of nations.
He would be another King David and living in the nation of Israel
would be like living in the Garden of Eden. Because of this
understanding, and as we heard last week, the disciples could not
believe the reports that Jesus had risen from the dead.
Furthermore, in today’s gospel, as Jesus taught the disciples what
the Jewish scriptures were indicating about how the Messiah would
free the Jewish people from oppression and slavery to sin, the
disciples felt their hearts alighting. They were experiencing an
intuition into who this stranger really was which, in turn, caused
the disciples to welcome the stranger to dine with them. Then, at
that meal, when Jesus broke bread with the disciples, they once
again experienced an intuition of who this guest really was.
Something important was happening in both instances and each of the
disciples experienced that within their hearts. But, as their
minds’ power of reason trumped their hearts’ power of intuition, in
that very instant, Jesus disappeared. Once again, the
disciples’
preconceptions blinded them to the truth that Jesus was
revealing to them.
Like the disciples, most of our days are consumed by work, worries,
and many diverse responsibilities. Then, we come here on Sunday—to
Mass—to listen to and reflect upon God’s word and to partake of
God’s life in the Eucharist. Sometimes our hearts alight with an
intuition into what God’s word and our lives are all about.
Sometimes our hearts alight with an intuition into God’s love and
the liberation from sin that God so generously and freely offers
us. Sometimes our hearts alight with an intuition into the vocation
for which God has created us and its power not only to change us and
how we live our lives, but also its power to change how we relate
with others and can be a powerful force for changing their lives and
society as well.
That’s “spiritual intuition” not “women’s intuition.” But,
like the disciples in today’s gospel, we oftentimes also allow all
of our preconceived notions to overrule those intuitions arising
from deep within our hearts. And, before we know it, those
intuitions disappear—just like water runs through an open hand—and
we return to life as we’ve always known it. We’re the worse for it;
those we can influence are the worse for it; and, society is also
the worse for it.
The “it” is our reliance upon what we think rather than what we are
experiencing when God’s word alights within our hearts, nowhere more
so than when we hear the Word of God in scripture and partake of his
divine life in the Eucharist each Sunday at Mass.
How your family
might celebrate the Easter Season:
Easter is so important that it cannot be celebrated in just one,
single day. To celebrate Easter appropriately, the Church
takes fifty days (forty days leading to the Ascension and ten days
leading to Pentecost Sunday, fifty days that culminate on what used
to be called "Quinquagesimea Sunday"). These are the days that
constitute the entire "Easter Season."
Here are four
simple ways you might celebrate the entire Easter Season with your
family:
1. Place a white pillar candle in the
center of your kitchen table. Each night before dinner, assign
a member of your family to light the candle and to recall
what a person said or did that day to reveal the Risen Lord.
As part of the blessing prayer, give thanks to the Lord for the gift
of that person.
2.
Take a daily walk around the neighborhood. Identify one sign
of new life each day. After completing the walk, sit down
together as a family in the living room or family room and relate
each sign to the new life that God has given all of us in the
resurrection of His only begotten Son.
3. Invite an estranged family member,
relative, or friend (or a family member, relative, or friend who
hasn't been to visit for a while) to dinner each of the Sundays of
the Easter season. Before the prayer of blessing over the
food, read a resurrection appearance where Jesus says to his
disciples, "Peace be with you." Following the blessing of the
food, offer one another the sign of peace before partaking of the
meal.
4. In preparation for the Solemnity
of Pentecost, have each member of the family on Easter Sunday write
down on a piece of paper a gift of the Holy Spirit that he or she
needs in order to become a more faithful disciple. Fold and
place these pieces of paper in a bowl in the center of the kitchen
table. At dinner each evening, pray the "Prayer of the Holy
Spirit" to send for these gifts upon the members of the family so
that your family will become a light to the world. Then,
before the prayer of blessing over the dinner on Pentecost Sunday,
burn the pieces of paper to call to mind that the gifts have already
been given in the Sacrament of Confirmation. The challenge is
now to live out those gifts in the ordinary time of our daily lives.
Easter is an event that
happens each and every day. During the fifty days of the
Easter season, in particular, you and your family can prepare to
make Easter happen each and every day of your lives by "practicing"
these simple exercises which connect Jesus' risen life to yours as
well.
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HOMILY
