27th Sunday Ordinary Time (B) 6 October 2024 Marriage
When God created Adam and then Eve, He joined them together in marriage. It was the first marriage, and the first thing that happened in what was now a society.
Why was marriage so important to God and why is it still so important, that God and His Church have detailed so much about it?
Marriage is given to the human race by God as a way of sharing in His life and love, and of coming to understand Him more deeply.
We can see this from different aspects of marriage.
1) Covenant love. As God gave Himself for the human race (most notably with Jesus dying for us) - husband and wife give themselves to and for each other.
There is a dying to self in marriage as each partner gives to the other.
Whenever this happens the love of Christ for His Church is activated and many blessings follow.
2) Fidelity. As God is faithful to His people, even if they are not faithful to Him, so husband and wife promise to be true to each other. Ideally, this promise is made regardless of the other partner’s attitude.
I
will be faithful to you even if you are not faithful to me (imitating and
drawing upon God’s fidelity, cf Hosea, and other passages.) God loves and
forgives, far in excess of what we can give to Him. Mercy is a strong
illustration of this.
3) Permanence. God is faithful forever. His fidelity lasts not only till death but beyond. It stretches across millennia. Compared with that a life together of 50-60 years is not so demanding. That is all that is asked of married couples. True love endures. The promise to be together till death is a reminder of God’s greater promise to be with us always.
4) Children. God loves to create, to give life, to share what He has with His children.
Parents
have the power, the privilege, and the joy of
sharing in the creation of their own children. As they freely decide to
have children they share in both the power to create and the love which makes
that creation desirable.
All of these elements reveal and enable humans to participate in God’s love.
True, they are not always achieved in every marriage. Love can be lacking. We can take rather than give.
Fidelity and Permanence can be sacrificed if there is too much of a self-seeking attitude at work.
Children can be seen as a burden not a gift.
But the best outcomes are worth striving for, as they carry so much good effect.
God never fails from His side of the covenant, and His covenant love keeps married people and all people going. He will provide help for all who need it.
We all benefit from God’s great love for us, and need to participate in that love.
It canot be just my marriage; it all comes under the light of Christ’s marriage to the Church.
Fortunately, wrong attitudes can be forgiven, as God is merciful. We ask that mercy for all who need it, and for the good effects which will follow.
Jesus calls the people of His time back to one husband and one wife. And they protest, How come people of Moses’ time were allowed to have more than one spouse?
Jesus says, because you were so unteachable (Mt 19,8). God tolerated polygmaous marriages for a time, but now it is time to get serious again!
We are still trying to get this right. It is an area where there is so much resistance to trusting in God's way.
Married or not we pray for a deeper understanding of marriage itself and for all who face difficulties.
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