Scripture Study for

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Understanding the Word

By Br. John R. Barker, OFM

The Genesis passage gives an account of the origination of sexual  attraction and marriage, as well as the fact that there are many  different kinds of animals in the world. God recognizes that humans  are not meant to be alone; they are essentially social creatures. None  of the animals, both similar to the man yet fundamentally different,  is a “suitable partner.” The woman, on the other hand, is an exact  counterpart to the man, being made of the same “stuff.” The fact  that man and woman are both essentially the same (bone of bones,  flesh of flesh) and yet differentiated explains why there is such an  irresistible attraction between them and why they regularly seek to  “become one flesh.” 

The Letter to the Hebrews begins with an affirmation that “in  these last days” God has spoken to the world through the Son. This  Son is “far superior to the angels,” yet when he became human, he  was “for a little while” lower than the angels. Only by becoming  incarnate could the Son be made “perfect through suffering.” Only  by becoming a human could Jesus be a true brother to those who  “taste death,” and thus bring them salvation through that death.  As will become clear later in the letter, by offering himself on the cross, Jesus became the eternal High Priest, and as such he is able  to consecrate others, giving them access to God and bringing them  to glory. 

The Pharisees test Jesus to see if he will uphold the Mosaic  teaching allowing a man to divorce his wife (Deuteronomy 24:1– 4). Possibly behind the question also lies the execution of John the  Baptist, who was put to death precisely because he challenged royal  marriage practices. Were the Pharisees hoping to get Jesus in trouble  with the authorities? In any case, in his response, based on Genesis,  Jesus insists that marriage cannot be abrogated by human—even  Mosaically-sanctioned—power. Perhaps because this response seems  to deny the authority of Moses, the disciples are perplexed. Yet Jesus  insists that anyone who claims to divorce someone is not, in fact,  divorced in the eyes of God, who alone can effect such a separation. 

Living the Word logo

Copyright © 2021, 2020, 2019, 2012, 2011, 2010 World Library Publications, a div. of GIA Publications, Inc. www.giamusic.com
All rights reserved. Used by permission.