Word to the Wise
Friday, August 17, 2012 - Friday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 16:1-15, 60, 63 or 16:59-63 and Matt 19:3-12]Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatsoever?"
Jesus' reply to the Pharisees quotes Genesis to the effect that marriage is a covenant created by God and therefore humans do not have the power to break that covenant. The Pharisees and the disciples are amazed by this response because elsewhere in the Torah, Moses allowed for divorce. Jesus' reply to that is to say that Moses may have granted divorce, but God did not! The disciples find this hard to accept because their position is that there is no point in getting married if you can't get divorced as well! All of this has a very modern impact! We might say to the Pharisees and disciples, "We now have no-fault divorce, so one doesn't have to have "grounds" anymore."
It is always with mixed feelings that I read today's gospel scripture. I am aware of the fact that close friends of mine have been divorced and remarried. I ddo some work for the appellate matrimonial tribunal for the dioceses of Texas and see the sorrows and tragedies of broken marriages. I also see the secular view of marriage which advocates that anyone can get married to anyone. Indeed, "gay marriage" may not be the last attack. I saw an article recently that pints out the existence of polygamous marriage in our own country. In short, the whole idea that marriaage is a covenant between one man and one woman created by God has fallen prey to the notion that marriage is whatever we humans decide it is! This seems to repeat the error that Adam and Eve committed in the garden: they thought they could play God! They had to answer to God for that mistake. So will we. AMEN
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