[...]
But then, they switch over to the word "Woman"
(Greek:
gynai,
"γύναι"
- pron. yee-neh) exclusively in the passage
describing the wedding at Cana and they of course do not
realize that this is their tombstone and a victory for
the Holy Mother Theotokos and Orthodoxy.
And the question is
posed: Do you find it difficult dear sirs to
interpret the words: "What
have I to do with you"?
(τι εμοί και σοι) Well,
let us help you,
and tell you that it is interpreted as: "How does it
concern me?" "What do I care?" "What
business is it of mine?"
Yes,
that is
the inference, and not the belittling of the
Theotokos. Besides, the pursuant passages and
Christ's finally heeding Her request (in spite of His
statement that "My time is not yet come"
(
οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου), are proof of
Her authority and the Lord's respect towards Her.
Because, if He was supposedly being disrespectful
towards Her with those words, He would not have
changed His plans and performed that miracle. The
fact that He did change His plans and performed the
miracle (of turning the water into wine)
only proves the depth of His respect for Her.
The word
"Woman" is not an insult or a word with a
simplistic meaning; because, when He said "Woman,
behold your son"
(
γύναι,
ίδε ο υιός σου
-
John
19:26)
while on the Cross, He certainly was not insulting or
belittling Her.
Even to the ancients, the word "gynai"
was equivalent to the contemporary term "madam" and in
fact the expression "honorable madam".
When writing to his
beloved Cleopatra, Augustus says: "Take courage, woman,
and be of good demeanour". Likewise, Homer and
Sophocles use the word "gynai" with an honorific
inference.
Even the "gynai"
with which the Lord had addressed the woman of Samaria (
...λέγει
αυτή ο Ιησούς· γύναι, πίστευσόν μοι...
- John 4:21) and the "gynai,
why
do
you
weep?' that
He said to Mary Magdalene (...λέγει
αυτή ο Ιησούς· γύναι, τι κλαίεις;
- John 20:15)
both prove the honorific significance of the word.
Otherwise, woe betide if we were to admit that after His
Resurrection, the Lord had spoken in an insulting manner
to Mary Magdalene!
With the word "gynai", the Lord not only honored His
Most Holy Mother; He also taught the Judeans and others
of His Godhood:
Because the Lord used to preach with statements like:
"I am the living bread,
which has descended from heaven" (εγώ
ειμι ο άρτος ο ζων
,
ο εκ του ουρανού καταβάς
-
John
6:51);
"I am the
resurrection and the life" (εγώ
ειμι η ανάστασις και η ζωή
- John 11:25);
"I am the Way
and the Truth and the Life" (εγώ
ειμι η οδός και η αλήθεια και η ζωή
- John 14:6)
and because the Judeans used to say: "Isn't
he the son of the carpenter? Isn't his mother's name
Mariam....?" (ουχ
ούτος εστιν ο του τέκτονος υιός; ουχί η μήτηρ αυτού
λέγεται Μαριὰμ; -
Matth.13:55, Mark 6:3),
this would have caused certain confusion.
That is why the Lord did not address Her
as "Mother" at the Cana wedding, and also why He didn't respond to Her
request there: because He would have been confirming the shallow
thoughts that the Judeans had of Him, who would
have said: "How can you be the bread of life that
descended from heaven, if this woman here is your mother - whom you
are actually
addressing as 'Mother' and whose requests you are obeying?"
So, it was in order to avert such "suspicions" that He spoke that way.
The careless
"Evangelicals" should be more careful...
