Today’s Gospel Text: And Pharisees came up to
him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any
cause?" 4 He answered, "Have
you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and
female, 5 and said, 'For this reason
a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two
but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put
asunder." 7 They said to him,
"Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to
put her away?" 8 He said to them, "For
your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the
beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever
divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits
adultery."
10 The
disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is
not expedient to marry." 11 But he said to them,
"Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who
have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by
men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the
kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it." Matt 19:3-12
Reflection: The
many complications faced in married life is sometimes difficult to fully
comprehend.
Living
one’s vocation to marriage is sometimes an uphill task.
When it comes to the difficulties faced by husband and wife we do not know in which direction the balance is tilted, who faces more of the brunt.
When it comes to the difficulties faced by husband and wife we do not know in which direction the balance is tilted, who faces more of the brunt.
But
in all probability it should be the weaker sex who must be facing the most as
corruption hits the powerful more than the weaker. So the male as head of the family and on
account of the power he wields may tend to corrupt it.
Similarly,
the woman too may carry her own seductive power or her subtle domination over her
husband to corrupt a situation and bring ruin to the institution of marriage.
There
are sometimes irreconcilable differences between husband and wife, when those
who once affirmed that they can’t do without each other now wow that they can
very well do without each other.
The bitterness
and the souring of the relationship has already reached its zenith and there
seem to be no way out, other than a divorce.
In
this great conflict between the spouses, the message of Jesus speaks to us
loud and clear:
"Have
you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and
female, and said, '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. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put
asunder." (vss. 4-6)
Too
difficult to practice in situations when there are severe irreconcilable
differences and any move that goes against the will of God amounts to a failure
not just on the part of the couples and their family but also of the whole
church, even if it be legitimized, sometimes, in the garb of annulments.
If
there is one primary assertion that I would make is this: Do the couple believe, before they come to get married and in their course of their married life, that
it is God who has put them together and let no man put them asunder?
The
matter doesn’t end there but it could be the beginning of a decision to live
with the living God as the center of one’s married life, seeking to please him
rather than pleasing themselves.
Prayer: Lord
bless all those couples united in matrimony that they may realize that their
unity comes from you and they have no right to seek division.
DD = Dedicated
Discipleship: Come grow
in the Lord with us
