Be submissive to authority.

My grandson, a captain in the Marines, was telling me about life in Afghanistan. “My men follow me. I say, they do. And they hurry to complete the maneuver. They are young, eager, naive and committed to me. They give me their all, even their lives if need be. They give me this awesome burden, the responsibility for their very lives. And in turn they know that I would die to protect them.”

As we talked I thought of my marriage. Fifty-five years and counting. The writings of St Paul often speak of wives being submissive to their husbands.

Many religious leaders, harassed by feminists or just ignorant, balk at these readings. They literally censor the word of God. If only they would just complete the readings. It is very clear that Paul also told the husband that he must be willing to lay down his very life, to die for his wife. That is love!

I muse on the fact that a teenager, 15 when I met her and married at 19, spent, no, dedicated her life to me, a lifetime willingly given to me. Did she know or suspect the joys and sorrows she would have to endure? Do I feel an obligation to her? Yes, my very life for her. And it has all been worth it.

Like the Marines who are “committed to carry out the assignment,” we too are committed “until death do us part.” And reading this just now, she added that she would do it all over again.