For the 27th Sunday (OT B) Mark presents to us a controversy on the question of divorce. The question was a disputed one during the time of Jesus with two rabbinic schools taking positions in interpreting the ground for divorce. Jesus points out that divorce was never the intention of God; the He wanted man and woman to be joined in a union that no man should separate. The discussion should be understood within the theme of discipleship already started in Mark 8:34ff. In the Catholic Church, marriage is an "ordo", an approved way of life, a life where couples respond to the vocation to holiness. It is not something that is added to the Christian life one is already living; it is rather a way of life where one's baptismal consecration takes on a new meaning. When one gets married, one also takes upon oneself new responsibilities for the furthering of the Church's life. Read this article and use the following for your reflection.
1. It takes two to Tango but three to get married -- man, woman and God. Marriage, like sex, was in the mind of God since the beginning; they are His "ïnventions". Jesus knew well that divorce was not God's intention and that the divorce law from Deuteronomy was due to the hardness of heart of Israel. And so he tells the Pharisees what God wanted "from the beginning" -- the union of man and woman in marriage and their becoming one flesh in that union.
Reflect. Marriage is not a human institution that any human social institution can change and modify at whim. Since it is God who brings man and woman together in marriage, marriage too is a vocation. God makes the union possible "from the beginning" -- in his own heart. If this is so -- and it is -- what do you think are the consequences of this idea...
- for your choice of a marriage partner?
- for the way you sustain your own marriage?
- for the kind of marriage you and your partner should have?
2. Reflecting on Gen. 2:24 in a discussion on erotic love, Benedict XVI writes:
From the standpoint of creation, eros directs man towards marriage, to a bond which is unique and definitive; thus and only thus, does it (eros) fulfill its deepest purpose. Corresponding to the image of a monotheistic God is monogamous marriage. Marriage based on exclusive and definitive love becomes the icon of the relationship between God and His people and vice versa. (Deus caritas est, 11b)
Reflect. God thought of sex since the beginning and intended it to have its purpose fulfilled in a covenantal relationship that is definitive. Contemporary popular thinking has separated the sexual act from its natural context: marital union. In doing so, it has cheapened it, making it some form of tension release. How do you understand the sexual act? How do the words of the Gospel contribute to your understanding of what people popularly regard as "sex"?
3. Jesus interprets God's intentions for marriage strictly; for him, divorce can only be possible in the extreme case of adultery (Luke 16:18). This should put into perspective a Tagalog saying about marriage: Ang kasal ay di tulad ng pagsubo ng kanin na kapag napaso ka ay pwede mong iluwa. Marriage is not like eating a lump of rice; if it is too hot, one can always spit it out. Marriage is for life and therefore one should be careful in choosing one's partner for life. Since marriage is a vocation, one has to carefully discern and choose. Since marriage is a grace -- something hidden in God's heart and grants it to those who ask for it -- then prayer becomes a necessity.
Reflect: What role does prayer have in your love life?
