Reading I: Genesis 2:18-24
Reading II: Hebrews 2:9-11
GOSPEL: Mark 10:2-16
Jesus Gets Real About Marriage
Today we are reminded of the importance of the Sacrament of Marriage. What does this have to do with those who are not married? Read on and find out!
In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus makes some pretty intense statements on marriage from the Christian perspective. What does he mean? Should we take him literally or should we look a little deeper to see if there’s a little more nuance to his message?
“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.”
The Two Become One
The notion of marriage is described in the Old Testament as two people being made one. The Hebrews believed that God had designed all of creation with the idea that women and men are meant to be joined together as a single unified whole.
But then Jesus took the Old Testament idea and added to it by declaring that the ideal marriage is also a lifelong bond.
“Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”
Divorce
Jesus addresses divorce in this reading; however, we must take this reading and remember what Jesus teaches us throughout the Gospels. The message of Jesus is always love and compassion first and foremost. Jesus is telling us the way that marriage is supposed to be. The truth is we all know people who have struggled through the devastation of divorce.
Divorce is a tough solution to a very desperate problem. It should always be the last resort. We all know the truth is that there are married people who should not be together. The difficulty is telling the difference between a relationship that needs work and a relationship that is simply dead. The health of a relationship is like a person’s health – the important thing is determining if the marriage is ill or terminal.
It would be silly for someone to give up on their body if they were just suffering from a cold or the flu. Yet sometimes that is the way people treat marriage. They decide to give up because they don’t feel good! They walk away because married life can get difficult.
There are many distractions throughout the history of a marriage. Just ask anyone who has been married for a long time and see if they won’t tell you that there has been “relationship illness” more than a few times. They will also tell you that it changed for the better because they gave their marriage time and attention.
“Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment.”
Preparing for Marriage
One of the most important things the Catholic Church does is prepare people for marriage. The idea is that we prepare for the marriage as opposed to the wedding. The mindset is that the wedding is not the end of the planning, but rather the beginning of a life together.
When a couple is contemplating marriage, there are some things they can do for a reality check. For example, the couple can discuss it with family and friends to see what they think of the idea. While one person may have a bias for or against your proposed spouse, the truth is that when you ask all of your family and friends, you will get a good balance of honesty. Romeo and Juliet themes are great in plays and movies, but the reality is that we need family and friends to support us as single people, but we need them even more to support us in marriage.
We believe that two people becoming one speaks of the importance of meeting as many people as possible. Try your very best to not get too serious with one person, but rather try very hard to meet many other people. See many different types of personalities and characteristics.
The more people you meet, the better chance you have of finding the right person for you. The trick is to not get so involved with anyone until you have decided that this is the person you want to marry. Being too involved (living together, being sexually active, or sharing finances) clouds the issues and makes it difficult to freely enter into marriage.
Don’t Forget God
Christian marriage means that God is part of the relationship. God is the third part of a good marriage (hmm, a trinity of persons – very biblical). Anyway, don’t count God out. You also need to pray. What is God’s plan for you? Make sure that your will and desire is consistent with God.
Jesus is very specific on the ideals and attitude of the Christian marriage. Let us pray that we can follow the plan that God has for each and every one of us. The commitment is intense but the rewards are worth it!
Life Applications:
How do you feel about divorce in general?
Do you think that most people are adequately prepared for marriage?
What more can the church do to help couples who are struggling with their marriage?
Check out the REAL Word Podcast for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B):
Original article by Deacon Jim Corder, 2003-2021.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.