The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 6, 2024

Mark 10, 2–16

The Pharisees approached Jesus 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.”  And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. 

“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”  Since the Law plainly allowed for divorce and gave detailed instructions on the legal procedure for it to be followed by those involved, we might wonder at why the Pharisees might ask such a question of the Lord.  One possibility is that, in their minds, Jesus was breaking the Sabbath  and teaching others to do the same, so he might also harbor heretical thoughts on divorce as well.  However, the words of God through the last of the Prophets, Malachi, rang in their ears: “I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel” (Malachi 2, 16).  And so, what was it to be?  Lifelong marriage, or marriage that could be dissolved by divorce?

“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.”  Jesus speaks of “the hardness of your hearts” — that results from Original Sin.  The sin of Adam and Eve did more than wound the inner human nature, but through this wounding disrupted relations between people.  Without grace, it is extremely difficult to remain true to someone throughout life, and out of recognition for that, God allowed divorce in the Old Law.  It is clear, however, that this was not his intent when he crested the human race: “The two shall become one flesh.”  This is no mere saying but the truth about marriage.  If it does not make a man and woman “one flesh” then there is no point in it.  And that is true today for those who believe in divorce, that the two do not become one flesh.

How does a man and woman become one flesh?  “Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  It is an of a spiritual nature.  It is not a man who makes another man and woman one flesh, but God himself who does this — who alone can do this.  And when he does this within his Church, it is so holy a thing that it is called a sacrament.

We might think that the reasons why God makes a man and a woman one flesh in marriage are easy to understand.  We call them the goods of marriage: so that the married couple might enjoy lifelong intimacy, that they might be truly free with one another since they have exchanged vows of fidelity, and for the good of any children whom God might send them.  But even beyond this, the faithful, lifelong marriage of a man and woman are a sign of the faithful and eternal love of God and his people.  As God will never forsake us, neither should husbands and wives forsake their spouses.  Speaking to Israel on the day of her repentance, God says through his Prophet Hosea, “I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy.  I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord” (Hosea 2, 19).

We should pray for those seeking to marry and those who are married so that through grace they may carry out God’s holy will in their lives.