Word to the Wise
Sunday, October 4, 2015 - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Gen 2:18-24; Heb 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12]SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2015 TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME [Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 2:9-11; Mark:10:2-16] "But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female. 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, no human being must separate." [Mark] Although this Sunday is a Sunday in Ordinary Time, it is no ordinary Sunday! October 4th is the feast of St. Francis, and this Sunday marks the beginning of the world-wide Synod on the Family in Rome. The event has been anticipated with great excitement and nervousness because the preparatory synod of the bishops on the same subject a year ago opened a real Pandora's box of questions about pastoral care for married and divorced persons and for family life and the sanctity of marriage. The coincidence of today's scripture readings from Genesis and the Gospel of Mark must have entered into the scheduling. The bishops will have these staring them in the face as they sit down to discuss the various tough questions that face all of us. We have Jesus' plain response to the Pharisees that Moses' commandment on divorce was not God's commandment! Jesus cites Genesis with those words, "from the beginning of creation." From Genesis, the Church has derived her teaching and belief that marriage is an exclusive, lifelong, commitment that includes human procreation, a participation in God's own power. It is a relationship between male and female. Secular legal definitions do not change that reality. Human beings have had problems with God's commands since the days of Eden, so it is no surprise that marriage has suffered at the hands of human decisions. The range of questions faced by the synod is huge because marriage is at the root of human society. It is more than a matter of communion for divorced/remarried Catholics. The whole reality of the family is involved with all its ramifications. This is a time of prayer for all of us that the Holy Spirit will guide the synod in its reflections and teachings. AMEN
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