Friends,
in our Gospel today, Jesus defines the fundamental sacredness of
marriage. I’m convinced that the deep sacramental and religious meaning
of marriage—even within the Church—has been, in recent years,
dramatically compromised. We say that marriage is a vocation, but do we
mean it?
We
can look at human sexual relationships at a number of different levels.
Two people can come together purely for physical pleasure, for economic
reasons, or for psychological companionship. And we might witness two
people coming together out of authentic love.
But
none of these levels is what the Bible means by marriage. When I was
doing parish work I would invariably ask young couples, "Why do you want
to get married in church?" Most would say something like, "Because we
love each other." But I would reply, "Well,
that’s no reason to get married in church."
They
usually looked stunned, but I meant it. You come to church to be
married before God and his people when you are convinced that your
marriage is not, finally, about you; that it is about God and about
serving God’s purposes; that it is, as much as the priesthood of a
priest, a vocation, a sacred calling.
Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 345
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered.
You have heard of the perseverance of Job,
and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,
because
the Lord is compassionate and merciful.But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath,
but let your "Yes" mean "Yes" and your "No" mean "No,"
that you may not incur condemnation.
Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan.
Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom,
he again taught them.
The Pharisees approached him and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation,
God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."
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