27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

My dear parishioners,

God is Good!!!  All the time!!!  And all the time!!!  God is Good!!!

Adam already enjoys the Garden of Eden and the fruits of its many trees. He is forbidden to eat from just one tree. God so commanded to protect him because, as the narrative later reveals, that tree brings with it the knowledge of suffering and death. Despite all the good provided by the garden Adam’s joy is not yet complete. So this reading begins with God recognizing Adam’s need for a suitable partner. It is the first time in the creation account that God declares something to be “not good.”

Today’s Gospel presents Jesus’ teaching on divorce according to Mark. The Pharisees are attempting to test Jesus, so we know that this is not to be an open and honest conversation. It is also important to remember that the issue here is divorce and remarriage and not just divorce itself. Paul (1 Cor 7:10–16) and Matthew (Mt 5:32; 19:19) approach the issue from a slightly different perspective. Most scholars think that Mark captures what Jesus really taught while Matthew and Paul reflect later Church adaptations aimed to meet specific pastoral needs of their communities.

Jesus responds to the Pharisees. The Pharisees confront Jesus with a test question about the lawfulness of a husband divorcing his wife. Moses taught that divorce was permitted (Dt 24:1–4). The grounds for divorce are vague. Legally all that the husband has to do is write a bill of divorce against the wife and the marriage is over. Jesus, however, considers that teaching an exception due to the peoples’ hardness of heart. He prefers to go back to the beginning stories of creation (Gn 1:27; 2:24). There the teaching is that marriage is the process of two people becoming one flesh. This constitutes a new reality sanctioned by God and unable to be divided or split by a decree from the husband or anyone else.

No remarriage after divorce. In private while teaching his disciples Jesus further specifies that the real issue is remarriage after divorce. Based on Jesus’ understanding about two people becoming one flesh, remarriage is not permitted because the original marriage bond remains intact. For Jesus, this is the plan of God which predates the teaching of Moses.

The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. This section of the Gospel does not carry on the discussion about divorce and remarriage. It is more concerned with the kingdom of God and who should be considered members of it. It is not the private domain of the rich and powerful. In fact it is open to those who have no power, no wealth, no influence. The people who best fit this description are children. They occupy the lowest rung of the social ladder. Jesus makes this clear by the way he accepts children and embraces them. The kingdom is pure gift and children are the best models for how to receive this gift.

Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved

 Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Aloysius