20181007
SEEKING TO ARRIVE AT
THE IDEAL
07 OCTOBER,
2018, Sunday, 27th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Genesis 2:18-24 ©
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A man and his wife become one body
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The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that
the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord
God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought
to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the
man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of
heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for
him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept,
he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he
had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man
exclaimed:
‘This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.’
This is why a man leaves his father and
mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 127(128) ©
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May the Lord bless us
all the days of our life.
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper.
May the Lord bless us
all the days of our life.
Your wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
May the Lord bless us
all the days of our life.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
in a happy Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children.
On Israel, peace!
May the Lord bless us
all the days of our life.
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Second reading
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Hebrews 2:9-11 ©
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The one who sanctifies is the brother of
those who are sanctified
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We see in Jesus one who was for a short
while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour
because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for
all mankind.
As
it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was
appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything
exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them
to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified,
are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn17:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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1Jn4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
As long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.
Alleluia!
EITHER:
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Gospel
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Mark 10:2-16 ©
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What God has united, man must not divide
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Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him.
He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said
‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them,
‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you.
But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a
man must leave father and mother, 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.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and
he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty
of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries
another she is guilty of adultery too.’
People
were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples
turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them,
‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as
these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not
welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he
put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.
OR:
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Alternative Gospel
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Mark 10:2-12 ©
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What God has united, man must not divide
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Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him.
He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said
‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them,
‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you.
But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a
man must leave father and mother, 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.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and
he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty
of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries
another she is guilty of adultery too.’
SEEKING TO ARRIVE AT THE IDEAL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Gen 2:18-24; Ps 127:1-5; Heb 2:9-11; Mk 10:2-16 (or Mk 10:2-12) ]
Today, we are presented
with the plan of God for humanity. When God created us, He wanted us to be
happy. The paradisiac scene where our first parents lived was meant to be
the ideal life that God wanted us to live. Creation is meant for man’s
happiness. That is why man was created last because we are created to
enjoy creation. Everything was created for man.
Even then, man is not
contented just to have things to enjoy. He needs more than
things. He needs a relationship. Man wants to love. Hence, “the Lord God said, ‘It is not good
that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the
Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. But no
helpmate suitable for man was found for him.” Indeed, no animals can
replace the deep desire for love and relationship in man.
Man not only needs love
but he needs to relate with someone whom he can share his love and reciprocate
that love on a similar basis. He needs a helpmate like him. “And while he slept, he took one of his
ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the
man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed: This at last
is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh! This is to be called woman, for
this was taken from man.” God found the perfect companion for man, someone
like him and yet not exactly identical to him. God did not clone man;
otherwise he would have ended up loving and worshipping himself. God
chose to create someone different and yet alike in many ways. He created
a woman to complement the man, and vice versa. God found the perfect
match for man in the woman.
This is the ideal of
God’s plan for humanity. “From
the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must
leave father and mother, 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.” This is what it means to be created in the image and likeness of
God. In God, there is complete unity in diversity, one being in three
persons. When we are able to love each other, although we are different,
we truly participate in the Trinitarian love of God. It is the highest
form of love because loving someone exactly like us is easier than to love and
appreciate someone who is different from us. The greater the diversity,
the higher the intensity of love.
Consequently, the Church
has always seen marriage as a sacrament of God’s perfect love. St Paul wrote, “This is a great mystery,
and I am applying it to Christ and the church.” (cf Eph 5:25-32) Marriage is not just the
means of participating in the Trinitarian love of God, it is also a symbol of
our relationship with God. We are called to intimacy with the
Lord in the final analysis. Human love between a husband and wife is but
a prelude and a foretaste of God’s fullness of love. Unless we understand
and know what human love is, it would be very difficult to grasp the height,
depth, width and breadth of God’s love for us. For this reason, mystical
writers often describe our relationship with God in terms of nuptial
love. What does nuptial love entail if not love, passion, communion,
fidelity, commitment, creativity and fruitfulness?
But the love between man
and woman, or with God, does not stay within the relationship, it pours out
into other relationships. A
man and a woman do not exist for each other only, but for others. If they
are called to love each other intensely, it so that from the love they receive
from each other, they can share their love with the rest of creation, beginning
with their own children; the fruits of their love. This explains why
procreation and fruitfulness are considered properties of a true marriage and a
relationship. If love only exists between two persons, regardless how
much they love each other, it is self-love. It is insecure and unstable,
inward-looking and impoverished. But when that love between themselves is
shared with others, it shows the abundance of love between the two persons.
Thus, true love is passed on from the couple to their children and then to the
rest of humanity. In this way, the family of God is built. This is the
beautiful plan of God for us all – to live in love and in happiness. This
is what the psalmist meant when he said, “Your wife like a fruitful vine in the
heart of your house; your children like shoots of the olive, around your
table.”
Conversely, the failure
to observe these expressions of love means a failure in the ideal plan of God
for humanity. As
the Lord said, “It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this
commandment for you.” Divorce is a reality as old as humanity
itself. Why? Because of sin that entered this world. With sin comes
selfishness, individualism, lust and greed. Relationships are broken and
man betrays each other. Instead of caring for the other person, we only
care for ourselves. Hence, divorce is a symbol of infidelity to God’s
plan as well, when we turn away from our beloved and seek after false gods.
But it is difficult to
accept the ideal of the indissolubility of marriage today, or even heterosexual
relationships as the plan of God. Today, people are struggling with fidelity in marriage
and even the definition of marriage itself. This is no surprise because
the disciples also found the teaching of Christ too hard to swallow. We
read, “Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he
said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of
adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another
she is guilty of adultery too.'”
That is why we must be
like children when it comes to understanding the plan of God. Jesus said to them, “Let the little
children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the
kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the
kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” We might find
the ideal of God’s plan too difficult to accept, but we know that deep in our
hearts, this is what we are made for. Whether we can be true to our
calling, is another question. But we should at least be docile and accept
the divine plan of God for us in marriage. This is based on nature and we
should not seek to try to change the laws of nature as some people try to
do. Instead of fixing ourselves, we try to fix the laws. The laws
of nature are perfect, but we are not perfect. So what is needed is that
we work from our limitations and challenges. We need to acknowledge our
difficulties and weaknesses. We might never reach it in our life time but
we should not forget the ideals.
Indeed, the Church
understands the struggles of humanity today because of the sinful situation we
are in.That is why she
advocates compassion, understanding, acceptance, encouragement and
tolerance. There are some who, because of various reasons, some due
to no fault of theirs, have difficulty in being faithful to their
relationships. This was the same reason why Moses permitted divorce for his
people even though it was against the Ten Commandments. The truth is that
all of us are struggling against sin, whether it is infidelity, greed or any of
the capital sins. For this reason, we should not judge, just as Jesus did
not condemn the woman who was caught with adultery. But we must be
tolerant, forgiving, accommodating and not be too judgmental. We are not
in their shoes and so we should not be too ready to judge. The law is one
thing, but the circumstances will determine whether the law can be easily
observed.
At any rate, love is a
process of growing and
purifying, whether it is with respect to marriage, other relationships or with
God. Hebrews tell us, “We see in Jesus one who was for a short while made
lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour because he
submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all
mankind.” Jesus too had to die to Himself for us. We too are called
to die for each other in love and in relationship. But conversion is not
an instant moment. It begins with a call, but it is a lifelong decision
to die to self every day for the love of someone.
We must follow Jesus and
rely on His grace alone.
The author of Hebrews says, “As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his
sons into glory, it was appropriate that God should make perfect, through
suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation.” He
understands us because as the author says, “for the one who sanctifies, and the
ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls
them brothers.” As a man, He empathized with us in our struggles.
He was the compassionate High priest.
So let us never give up
on each other and ourselves even if our life is not perfect. Let us be content to live with our
imperfections and sins. But this is not to say that we do nothing.
Let us remember that salvation by faith is His grace, not by good works.
We just need to cooperate with His grace as much as we can. St Paul says,
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are
called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) We continue to work and strive
for the ideals of love and relationship. We might fail at times but we
should never give up because it is difficult. Indeed, the psalmist
reminds us, “O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and
prosper.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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