27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Genesis 2, 18-24; Hebrew 2, 9-11; Mark 10, 2-16; 27^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B)

Today’s liturgy presents for our reflection the noble institution of marriage. The first reading from the book of Genesis and the Gospel show clearly that marriage, the union of one man and one woman, has its origin from God. One of the characteristics of marriage is that it is a union of fellowship, companionship and love. Adam was first created and had no companion. He was lonely and not able to find a fitting companion from among all the animals God had created. God then created Eve from the rib He took from Adam’s side. When Adam saw Eve he realized intuitively that he and Eve were of the same nature. He exclaimed: This at last is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. This is to be called a woman, for this was taken from man. Matrimonial union is meant to fight solitude. But alas, many of our married couples are lonely even though they live together in the same house, eat at the same table and sleep on the same bed. They stay together but seek the happiness of their life elsewhere other than from their marriage. They are supposed to be of the same bone, of the same flesh and even of the same heart. Unfortunately, it is not so. Openness to one’s wife or husband is a necessary ingredient for the happiness of the couple.

It comes out clearly from the readings that God created man and woman equal. None was created superior to the other. Earlier, we hinted that Adam and Eve possessed the same nature and,therefore, the same dignity. Therefore, the wife is not to be domineered, enslaved, reduced to the status of a servant and a domestic one for that matter, abused, ordered about, or simply used as an object of pleasure. Reflecting on what the text of Genesis says that the man is to leave his father and mother and cling to his wife so that the two become one flesh, we note that in God's plan the union of a man and a woman in marriage is inseparable, indissoluble: they are one flesh. God's plan for marriage is that through this stable union, a planned and ordered continuance of the human race is assured. In the gospel reading, Jesus neglecting the concession granted by Moses to the man to divorce the wife by giving her a writ of divorce as a sign that she could remarry, insisted that God ab initio made marriage indissoluble. To maintain the union of marriage is difficult but not impossible, otherwise God would not have so established it. We need to understand that what keeps the couples together in marriage is love that is reciprocal and generous. If any of the couple thinks only of his/ her interest, pleasure, and satisfaction, there is no true love. Such union of selfishness will not last. Whoever is wishing to marry will have to understand that marriage is a union of a man and a woman who love themselves and not two egoists. In marriage there is always need for faithfulness.

The second reading shows the faithfulness of Jesus. For the author of the book of Hebrews, Jesus is exalted far more than the angels, but was made like us to become for us our high priest. He died for us as an example of his faithfulness in love. He was faithful to the will of God the Father and was faithful in showing solidarity to us. This example of Christ should therefore, inspire our married couples, motivating them to fully live the graces of matrimony to the point of reaching the summit of generous love of giving one's life for the sake of the partner. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye.