XXVII Sunday of the Year

STAY COMMITTED

Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12

Readings for the XXVII Sunday of the Year

The elderly couple in the check-out line were talking about their upcoming golden wedding anniversary. The young cashier piped in: “I can’t imagine being married to same man for 50 years!” The wife replied: “Well, honey, until you can… don’t get married!”

This little exchange conveys what marriage is: two persons—not only imagining—but also and especially deciding and pledging to stay in a relationship forever. Marriage is a commitment. So are religious life and the priesthood!

This is the core of today’s first reading and gospel.

In response to the Pharisees’ question about the legality of divorce, Jesus argues that Moses’ permission for husbands to divorce (cf. Deuteronomy 24:1-4) was “because of the hardness of your hearts.” He, then, turns to the biblical ideal of marriage, as God intended it “from the beginning of creation”.

In God’s original plan (cf. first reading), marriage is not about male superiority/rights, but a communion of love between complementary partners who become one flesh. This oneness is not only the union of bodies, but also a union of minds, hearts, and wills.

This love reflects God’s love; hence, it is a commitment with a beginning and no end. 

Love-commitment is difficult because it means loving the other as she/he is; it does not redesign a person. 

There will be problems in marriage… and in religious life and the priesthood. Pope Francis alluded to these when he said: “Families have difficulties. Families will quarrel. Sometimes plates fly. And children bring headaches. I don’t want to speak about mothers-in-law… but difficulties are overcome by love.”

There are four p’s to overcome this mega “p”:

- be positive: appreciate and affirm the other; 

- be polite: show respect and courtesy, be careful about what-how-when-where we say things;

- be playful: make fun and humour a mainstay in relationships; 

- be prayerful: spend time praying together.

What will I do to stay committed?

On a lighter note, someone asked Henry Ford on his fiftieth wedding anniversary for his rule for marital bliss and longevity: “Just the same as in the automobile business: stick to one model.”