27th Sunday of OT, year B | Gen 2:18-24; Mark 10:2-12
Although I am not married, as a priest I have witnessed many weddings! Whenever I hear the couple vowing to love and honour each other for the rest of their lives, I am not only struck by their love for one another, but by their courage and trust in God. In that moment, they do not know what the future will hold: the joys, but also the great challenges. In spite of this, they promise to never give up on one another, irrespective of what will happen. This is an incredibly brave thing to do. In the readings today, we heard a strong message about the beautiful and radical nature of marriage.
The first reading from Genesis (Gen 2:18-24) spoke to us about the special relationship that exists between a man and a woman who are married. The story of the first man and woman, far from being some eye-witness account or instruction in history or geography, represents the inspired reflections of wise individuals who were raising fundamental questions and trying to answer them through the use of symbolic language. Where do we come from? What is the relationship that exists between God and humanity? What is the relationship that exists between man and woman? In presenting an answer to this last question, the story explains that woman was made from a rib taken from the side of the man. This tells us something about how the author of Genesis understood the relationship between men and women. Earlier in the story we saw that none of the animals in the garden were a suitable partner for the man. In saying that woman was formed from the side of man, the author is perhaps explaining that man and woman are meant to be “side by side” with one another. This denotes a closeness and equality. It also conveys the message that man and woman are incomplete without the other. Without woman, man is missing a part of himself, his rib. Likewise, without man, woman is missing a part of herself, the rest of the body that went with the rib. Only when man and woman are together are they complete. As Genesis explains, this unity between man and woman through which they complete one another occurs in a unique way in marriage.
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| Rogier van der Weyden [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
In the Gospel (Mark 10:2-12), Jesus teaches us that the unity that exists between husband and wife is meant by God to be indissolvable, that is, to endure for the lifetime of the couple. At the start of the Gospel, the Pharisees question Jesus in order to draw him into a debate on a question that was hotly contested at that time. According to Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Moses permitted a man to write a note divorcing his wife because of “an indecency in her”. At Jesus’ time, religious authorities argued whether this “indecency”, and therefore the reason for which a man could divorce his wife, had to be something serious, or whether it could be a trivial matter. In his response, Jesus appeals to the text from Genesis that we heard in the first reading. He bases his argument on how God originally intended marriage to be. Moses’ instruction permitting divorce, Jesus explains, was a concession based on the inability of people to accept God’s design for marriage. According to Jesus, the unity between a husband and wife was intended by God to be permanent. As a result, anyone who divorces and marries another commits adultery.
We need to continue proclaiming Jesus’ teaching on marriage because it is a source of hope and life for us. Now, there are those who argue that Jesus’ teaching was conditioned by the time in which he lived. In our current context, they argue, we should understand his teaching differently. It is important to understand that Jesus’ teaching on marriage was as radical sounding when he first said it as it is today. This teaching was as difficult to proclaim then as it is now. When it comes to proclaiming Jesus’ teaching on marriage, we must, on the one hand, have a great sensitivity for those whose marriages have broken up. As Pope Francis has so beautifully said, the Church is a “field hospital”. We are to meet people where they are, accept them and care for them. We realize that there are cases, such as abuse, in which a separation may be the best way forward. We need to do all we can to ensure that those who are divorced and those who are divorced and remarried feel genuinely welcomed by the Church. We should seek to integrate them as much as possible into the life of the Church. On the other hand, this care for those whose marriages have broken up should be accompanied with the proclamation of Jesus’ message that God intends marriage to last for the life of the couple. God intends the best for us. Jesus wants people to know God’s plan for marriage because he wants people to have joy and the fullness of life. In marriage, God intends the couple to make a complete gift of themselves to each other. This gift is something permanent, not just for a time. All marriages encounter difficulties. By proclaiming that God intends marriages to be permanent, we can give hope to couples. Though there are difficulties, perseverance will be for their good since it is in accord with God’s plan. God’s plan for us is happiness. This can be a source of hope and support for the couple.
The readings in the Mass today encourage us to reflect on the gift of marriage. We give thanks today for those couples who, in their perseverance through the ups and downs of their marriage, give witness to the unity that God intends marriage to have. We recognize that the break up of a marriage is always a tragedy and we commit ourselves to caring for those who find themselves in a broken marriage. We pray for couples who are struggling in their marriage, that God may give them the strength to persevere. Finally, we pray for those couples who are preparing for marriage, that they may, with great courage and confidence in God’s assistance, promise to love and honour one another for as long as they live.
