16th August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 19:3-12): ‘They are no longer two but one body’. (2024)

16th August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 19:3-12): ‘They are no longer two but one body’.

Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA)Matthew 19:3-12Husband and wife are no longer two, but one body.

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and to test him they said, ‘Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’They said to him, ‘Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?’ ‘It was because you were so unteachable’ he said ‘that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife– I am not speaking of fornication– and marries another, is guilty of adultery.’The disciples said to him, ‘If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is not advisable to marry.’ But he replied, ‘It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by men and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’

GospelMatthew 19:3-12Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, 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, man must not separate.” They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” His disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

Reflections (10)

(i) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus turns to the opening chapters of the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, when he is put on the spot by some Pharisees regarding the question of divorce. The Jewish law made provision for divorce. The only issue of debate among the religious leaders was the grounds for divorce. One school of thought favoured very lenient grounds; another school insisted on much stricter grounds. However, both schools followed the Jewish Law in asserting that it was only the man who could initiate divorce proceedings, whatever the grounds. The woman was not free to do the same. The divorce laws gave a freedom to men that it did not give to women, and it left women very vulnerable to being cut adrift by their husbands, for the flimsiest of reasons. In that context, Jesus’ teaching on marriage was intended to protect women. It reminded men of their obligation to love and honour their wives as they would their own body. Jesus went back beyond what the Jewish law allowed to God’s original intention as expressed in the Book of Genesis, according to which husband and wife are to become one in love, faithful to each other all the days of their lives. It is a wonderful vision for married life and, yet, we all know from experiences that people’s marriages don’t always reflect this vision of Jesus. Some marriages irretrievably break down. Jesus has a desire for all our lives, whether we are married or single; it is that we would love one another as he loves us. We don’t always live out of that vision of Jesus, but it is always worth striving towards, and if we open ourselves to the help of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord’ love, we will be empowered to give expression to this vision, at least from time to time. Whenever we do so, the kingdom of God is at hand.

And/Or

(ii) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading Matthew gives us Jesus’ teaching on marriage and celibacy. Even though within the Jewish tradition the Book of Deuteronomy allowed for divorce, Jesus refers back to the original intention of the Creator as expressed in the Book of Genesis, according to which the union between man and woman in marriage was to be enduring. We are all only too well aware that marriages break down. Many of us will know that from our own families. Yet if the church is to be faithful to the teaching of Jesus it must keep promoting God’s vision for marriage as the giving of a man and a woman to each other for life. Jesus also acknowledges the value of celibacy, for those to whom it has been granted, for those who have the graced capacity for celibacy from God. Jesus declares that it is a value given with a view to a greater value, God’s kingdom. It is to be lived for the sake of that kingdom, to further the coming of God’s kingdom and the doing of God’s will. Whether married or single we are all called to work together in the service of God’s purpose for our world and our lives, as revealed to us by Jesus.

And/Or

(iii) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The opening verses of today’s gospel reading are often chosen as the gospel reading for a wedding Mass. They give us Jesus’ vision for married life, which goes back to the second chapter of the Book of Genesis, the first book in the Jewish Scriptures. According to this vision, a man and woman become one body in marriage, understanding body as the physical expression of the whole person. This vision of two individual lives becoming one shared life is what couples who come to be married in church aspire to, which is why this gospel reading speaks to them. Even though, in practice, those who come together in marriage do not always stay together, the vision for marriage that Jesus articulates remains God’s will for married life. Not everyone, of course, gets married or is called to marriage, as Jesus acknowledges in the concluding part of our gospel reading. Indeed, Jesus himself was not married. Married or single, we are all called to bring the Lord’s love into the world, to love others in ways that build communion or community. Insofar as we allow something of the Lord’s love to become flesh in us, the Lord will be able to continue his work through us. He once described that work as gathering together the scattered children of God, building communion among people.

And/Or

(iv) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, the religious leaders are presented as testing Jesus. They were aware that his teaching often went much further than the Jewish law required, even, at times, to the point of undermining the Jewish law. On this occasion the Jewish leaders wanted to test how faithful Jesus was to the Jewish law on marriage. They suspected that Jesus’ teaching would go against what the Jewish law permitted in relation to marriage, namely, divorce in certain circ*mstances. Their suspicions were well founded. Jesus’ teaching on marriage was more radical than that of the Jewish law. He called on men and women to marry for life, and went back to the book of Genesis to support his teaching. We are all aware that many marriages do not last for life; relationships break down, and people go their separate ways. That is the reality. The gospels show that Jesus knew how to accept the reality of people’s lives; he engaged with people as they were. He relates to all of us in the concrete situation of our lives. Yet, he also shared God’s vision for human life, including married life. He proclaimed that vision while continuing to relate in a loving way to all who could not reach it, for whatever reason. That includes us all, because none of us lives up fully to the values Jesus proclaimed and lived. There will always be that two-fold aspect to Jesus’ relationship with us; he loves us where we are, but keeps calling us beyond where we are.

And/Or

(v) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Very often in the gospels Jesus is presented as taking a much more relaxed attitude to the Jewish Law than the religious leaders of the time. He is much less strict about the Sabbath law of rest than they are, for example. Jesus heals on the Sabbath, even though this would have been considered work and, therefore, a violation of the Sabbath Law. When it comes to marriage and divorce, however, Jesus seems to have taken a more strict line than the religious leaders of the day. They understood, from the Book of Deuteronomy, that a man could divorce his wife, although a woman could not divorce her husband. This was the interpretation of the Law that was in vogue in the time of Jewish; it left women very vulnerable. Jesus, however, goes back behind the Book of Deuteronomy to the Book of Genesis and declares that God’s original will was that a man and a human who become one flesh in marriage should not then go their separate ways. His vision of marriage was of a faithful relationship which reflected God’s faithful relationship with his people. Jesus must have been as aware as we are today that, in reality, many marriages did not last. When that happens, people have to manage their lives and find love as best they can. We can certainly never judge. Yet, in faithfulness to the teaching of Jesus, the church has to keep on proclaiming his vision of two lives becoming one in marriage, in a self-giving love. At its best, such a love is an ‘incarnation’, with a small ‘i’. It is God’s love in human form. In that gospel reading Jesus also speaks of the single life, those who are single for the sake of kingdom. That is a different expression of God’s love in human form.

And/Or

(vi) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus’ teaching on marriage in this morning’s gospel reading was not the standard understanding of marriage in the Jewish world at that time. The Pharisees who put a question to Jesus to test him took it for granted that divorce was permissible in certain circ*mstances, as was clear from the Book of Deuteronomy. Jewish men were allowed to divorce their wives, although Jewish women could not divorce their husbands. The only question was on what grounds a Jewish man could divorce his wife. This is why the Pharisees asked Jesus if a man could divorce his wife ‘on any pretext whatever’, as some Jewish teachers held. However, in his response to their question Jesus showed that he did not accept their premise that divorce was permissible and the only issue was on what grounds. Instead Jesus went back beyond the Book of Deuteronomy to the Book of Genesis to show that God’s original intention for marriage was that a man must cling to his wife so that the two become one body for life. Jesus’ teaching on life-long fidelity within marriage would have been considered quite radical at the time. In the gospel reading, even Jesus’ own disciples declare in response to Jesus’ teaching, ‘if that is how things are between a husband and wife, it is advisable not to marry’. Jesus believed that a man and woman were capable of a love that lasted until death. The teaching of Jesus, not just in this area of marriage but in other areas as well, must have seemed too demanding, too idealistic, to many of his contemporaries. Yet, Jesus’ vision for human living, whether it is married life or single life, always appeals to what is best in us. The way of life he puts before us may be demanding but he assures us that it is what we were created for and, therefore, it is the path of life.

And/Or

(vii) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading, Jesus upholds both the value of life-long fidelity in marriage, and the value of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The Jewish tradition did not place great value on celibacy, and divorce was quite common and acceptable. The Pharisees quote from the Book of Deuteronomy which was the basis of the Jewish divorce law. That law in the time of Jesus was very much weighted in favour of the male. Men could divorce their wives but wives could not divorce their husbands. One school of thought within the Jewish tradition held that husbands could divorce their wives on any pretext whatever. A second school held that husbands could divorce their wives only on certain pretexts. That is why the Pharisees ask Jesus the question, ‘Is it against the law for a husband to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?’ Their question took divorce for granted; they simply wanted to know which of the two schools of thought Jesus favoured. In his answer, Jesus went back beyond the Book of Deuteronomy to the Book of Genesis, to what Jesus considered God’s original intention, ‘a man must leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and the two become one body’. In highlighting the value of life-long fidelity in marriage, Jesus could be understood as protecting women in marriage from being cast aside at the whim of their husbands. Jesus proclaims the value of a love between a man and a woman that is constant and faithful unto death. We are all aware that marriages break down. Most families in this church, including my own, are aware of this reality from personal experience. There will always be a tension between the ideal and the real, between the goal and what is reached. Jesus wants us to live with that tension and not collapse it. He keeps holding before us the value of a human love that is a reflection of God’s faithful love, whether such love finds expression within marriage or in the single life.

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And/Or

(viii) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospels show that Jesus was often tested by his opponents. They sought in various ways to trip him up. We have an example of that in today’s gospel reading. The Pharisees put a thorny question to Jesus, ‘Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?’ There was a school of teachers of the Law who held this view; a man could divorce his wife for any reason. There was another school of teachers who held that a man could only divorce his wife on certain grounds. Jesus was being tested as to which school he favoured. It is simply presumed that it is the man who divorces the woman. There was no provision in Jewish Law for a woman to divorce her husband. This left women in marriage rather vulnerable. As often when Jesus is asked a testing question, he doesn’t answer directly. Instead, he goes behind the divorce law which is to be found in the Book of Deuteronomy to God’s original intention for marriage, which is be found in the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. When a man and woman marry, they are one body, one flesh. In other words, a husband is to treat his wife as if she were himself, and the wife is to treat her husband as if he were herself. Man and woman are equal in marriage; they belong to each other equally. This original intention of God for marriage was much more enlightened that the current divorce law, regardless of how that law was interpreted by the two schools. Jesus speaks here as the authoritative interpreter of God’s will for marriage. We can broaden that out and say that Jesus is the authoritative interpreter of God’s will for our lives in regard to every issue he speaks about. He is the one who lights up God’s purpose for our lives and our world. That is why, as followers of Jesus, we always read the Jewish Scriptures in the light of Jesus’ teaching and way of life.

And/Or

(ix) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading, Joshua reminds the people of Israel of the many ways they have been blessed and graced since God first called Abraham. The land they had recently entered with its towns, vineyards and olive groves was not the result of their own efforts but was much more by way of a gift from God. We all need to be reminded of how much we have received, the extent to which we have been graced by God. The more aware we are of the giftedness of life, the more thankful we will be. Saint Paul often called upon the first Christians to be thankful. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, which is the earliest Christian document that has come to us, he says, ‘give thanks in all circ*mstances’. We are to live out of a sense of gratitude to God for what we have received from God. We express our gratitude to God in prayer but also in life, by our willingness to give to others out of what we have received from God, by seeking to love others in the way we have been loved by God. In the gospel reading, this is the kind of love Jesus calls for within marriage. For a couple to give to each other as they have received, to love one another as they have been loved by God, is to be faithful to each other for life, as God is faithful to us throughout our lives. Married love has the potential to be the greatest living sign of God’s faithful love. Not everyone marries, of course, as Jesus recognizes at the end of the gospel reading. Those who are not married can equally reflect the faithful nature of God’s love in the way they live, through the love of friendship which they extent to others, and through their loving service of the community. Regardless of our state in life, we are all called to acknowledge how much we have received from God, and to give from what we have received.

And/Or

(x) Friday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The teaching of Jesus on marriage in today’s gospel reading can seem very challenging and uncompromising today, especially in the context of the high proportion of marriages that do not last. His vision of marriage can seem far removed from the reality of married life for many couples. Yet, perhaps it is precisely because so many marriages do not last today that the teaching of Jesus on marriage is all the more important. Jesus calls for a love between husband and wife that is faithful and enduring, a love that lasts in good times as well as bad, a love that is generous and ready to forgive. His vision of how a man and woman are to relate to each other in marriage is shaped by his insight into how God relates to all of us. God loves us with a faithful and enduring love. God’s love for us never changes; it lasts through good times and bad times in our lives; it is a love that is generous and ready to forgive. This is the quality of God’s love that is reflected in today’s first reading from the prophet Jeremiah. In that reading, the Lord accused his people of breaking the covenant he made with them. Yet, in spite of that infidelity, the Lord promises them, ‘I will remember the covenant that I made with you… I am going to renew my covenant with you… you will be reduced to silence when I have pardoned you for all that you have done’. Jesus calls on married couples to relate to one another in the way God relates to us. That call is addressed to all of us, whether we are married or single. We are to love one another in a way that reflects how God loves us. Maximilian Kolbe whose feast we celebrate today is a wonderful example of God’s love in human form. As a celibate man, he laid down his life in love for a married man, a father of a family. As Jesus says, ‘no one has greater love than this’.

Fr. Martin Hogan.