Thursday, April 30, 2009

Multigenerational Vision

WHO GIVES THIS WOMAN?

Voddie asks two questions:

1) "Do we really believe that a woman needs the consent of her father in order to marry?"

2) "Do we really believe a young man needs permission from the father of the bride?"

I think the key word in both of those questions is believe. It is one thing to theoretically believe that the answer is YES to both of these questions and it is quite another thing to reclaim this ground.

As I was thinking about this last night, a scene from one of my favorite movies comes to mind. Tevye the father in The Fiddler on the Roof has his life built on traditions. Tevye is a man who would definitely answer YES to both of Voddies questions but he is faced with the reality that his daughter Hodel has not embraced the beliefs of her father, at least when they come to marriage. You see, he has lived his life thinking that a young man will someday ask permission for Hodels hand in marriage and she will ask for his consent and this doesn't happen. When Tevye denies permission Hodel informs her father that they are not asking permission, they are just asking for his blessing. As you can imagine, this rocks Tevyes world.

The look on the broken mans face is heartbreaking.

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