True Family Values

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.

Jesus’ teaching on divorce can sound harsh to our ears and even cause pain to  anyone who has suffered the trauma of a divorce. It is important to understand that  the scribes are testing Jesus the rabbi/teacher and his understanding of the law of  Moses on marriage and divorce. Maybe they simply wanted to know what Jesus  thought, but it is more probable they wanted to get him in trouble either with the  authorities (consider the preaching of John the Baptist on Herod’s marital situation)  or with the people who revered Moses and the law that allowed for divorce. 

Two rabbinic schools of thought had weighed in on this matter. Rabbi Shammai  allowed divorce only for adultery; Rabbi Hillel allowed it for just about anything.  In Jesus’ day a more liberal interpretation prevailed, and divorce was allowed for  trivial reasons. 

Jesus the teacher becomes Jesus the prophet here, going back to Genesis and  proclaiming the intent of the Creator: that a man leave his mother and father’s  home and cling to his wife, the two becoming one. Here the woman was equal to  the man, not subordinate, made “from (a rib) nearest his heart to be alongside him,  equal to him, loved by him, and from beneath his arm to be protected by him.” 

The Church’s teaching flows from that of Jesus. God’s plan is that marriage be  graced and life-giving, a community of love and life. Children, the fruit of marriage,  are to be cherished, blessed, and protected, never neglected or abused in any way. 

Consider/Discuss

  • How do the teachings of Jesus and Genesis relate to the contemporary experience of marriage? 
  • Why does the kingdom of God belong to children and what does it  mean to accept this kingdom like a child? 

Responding to the Word

Loving God, you created man and woman in your image, and have called many  to the vocation of marriage as a witness to and participation in the love that binds  you, Father, with the Son and Holy Spirit. Hear our prayer for all married couples;  make their love faithful, fruitful, and forever.

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