What God Has Brought Together
Father Phil Paxton, CP
To All,
One of the things I feel it is important to stress to couples who are preparing for the sacrament of matrimony is that their marriage is a vocation. Their call to holiness is lived out in their life together as married persons.
Their love for each other gives testimony to something larger than themselves. And I’m not only talking about the blessing of having children. In our Gospel reading for Sunday (Mark 10:2-16), the Pharisees once again seek to test Jesus by asking Him about divorce: “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” Jesus responds to their question with another: “What did Moses command you?” They reply that Moses permitted divorce. And then Jesus says, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment.” And then Jesus quotes from Genesis, which is part of our first reading (Genesis 2:18-24), saying: “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.”
At weddings, I often refer to the love of the couple as a witness to how commitment is not something that inhibits freedom, but is where we human beings find fulfillment and a peace the world cannot give.
Traditionally, the love of a married couple has been seen as a representation of the love Christ has for the Church. But for me, especially in these times, the love of a married couple is a representation of the love God has for the world, and an indication of how we are to relate, not only to a husband or a wife, or a child, but to each other in the world. The love of God has not only brought spouses together, but has also brought us all together in our world, with all the diversity and complexity that implies. And might that even extend to all of creation? Should we be so committed to separation rather than communion?
In our second reading (Hebrews 2:9-11), the author writes about the role of Jesus Christ in our salvation: “For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers.’” If Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, and He was not ashamed to die for His brothers and sisters on the Cross, why do we have such trouble in seeing each other as brothers and sisters? In our Gospel reading, after Jesus talks about marriage and divorce, children come up to Jesus, but the disciples rebuke them. Indignant, Jesus says, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of heaven 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.” Might it also be said that whoever does not accept another like a child will not enter the kingdom of heaven? It has been expressed in various ways throughout the years that it seems evident that children have to be taught prejudice.
May God continue to bless married couples. May their love and commitment to each other grow and blossom, and be a witness to our hurting world. May we not fall into the fear and hate which keeps us separated, but be overcome by God’s love in Jesus Christ which can bring us together.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP