FRIDAY, 24-5-2013, 7TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

SIRACH 6:5-17/ MARK 10:1-12

Our world today is plagued and bedeviled by a mélange of catastrophes. We are confronted by multiple contradictions which face our world, a world seemingly held down by a complexity of evil forces. Religious and traditional norms no longer hold sway in the life of many people in different parts of the world. Marriage and family are being re-defined by the gay-movement. And as Fr. George Ehusani puts it, “many men and women are simply living together, refusing to commit themselves to any lasting union.” Our gospel reading couldn’t have come at a better time then, as Jesus seized the opportunity in the gospel reading of today to teach the ideals and basic tenets of marriage as an institution. The church and the society have always been at variance as regards this issue. But, truth be told, just as the church as always upheld the truth so shall we in our reflection today.

Marriage as an institution was established and raised to the level of a sacrament by Christ. It is therefore a union between a man and a woman. One man, one wife. To therefore, have a man seek union with another man, a woman with another woman, or a man or woman with an animal is a disorder of created order. The marriage institution is sacred and should be upheld as such. For us Christians, this is a further challenge for us who wish to sincerely follow Christ.

Again, we must bear in mind that, divorce is not allowed. Married couples constitute one flesh and the union cannot be dissolved. Do not mind the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Their question in our gospel reading today, addressed the legality of divorce and not the grounds for divorce. This means they already knew Christ’s. The question was therefore just to test Jesus. Moses allowed dismissal because of their hardness of heart. That was therefore a deviation from God’s original plan. This teaching today, is geared towards the restoration of God’s plan for marriage. As such, let us not be hypocritical like the Pharisees. We already know the evil outside any union that is not of a man and a woman or that which is inherent in one man and more than one wife and vice-versa. Let us not use science or psychology to grace our corruption. Think about the number of marriages that has been torn apart because of hardness of heart? Think about the suffering children from broken homes undergo? All we need to do is to propagate this ideal teaching on marriage, stating that, the love which binds a man and a woman should be eternal just as God’s love is. I pray today and always for couples all over the world, that God would give them the grace to remain faithful to their marital vows and may our lady help of Christians continually protect and cater for children from broken homes. Amen!