Twenty-seventh Sunday Ordinary Time
October 3, 2021 •
Did you know that kids? Your mommy and daddy should live each other more than they love you. It doesn't mean they should love you less. But mother and father should put each other first. Before even the wants of the children. I'm not saying you don't take care of the needs of the children, but the child doesn't know the difference between its wants and needs, does it?
You are perfectly justified to ignore your child when your spouse needs you more. And even if it hurts their feelings, it will teach them a great and valued lesson. The lesson that our Lord is trying to teach us today: Spouse always comes first.
It makes sense when you think about it. This passage also says "the two become one flesh." Jesus is saying in marriage the husband and wife are so beautifully united, that they become one body.
If you don't take care of your own body, how can you use your body to take care of somebody else? It's a basic rule not only in our temporal life, but even in the spiritual life. If you're not healthy yourself, how can you take care of someone who may be sick? If you're not right with God, how can you help someone else draw closer to the Lord? Every parent knows you need to keep yourself healthy so that you can care for your children. It doesn't mean you love your body more than your love your children. Your body is just the tool you use to care for them.
Well, marriage makes these two bodies one. Therefore it's not enough for a father to care for his own body. His body is also his bride. And that goes the same for every wife. It will actually serve their children, and even their parents, best if they are putting their spouse first.
But we don't always do this.... we don't love as Christ is clearly commanding us to love in holy matrimony. That lack of love is what ultimately what leads to divorce.
This is what our Lord is condemning in the Gospel isn't He? The evils of divorce. This is not how God made you. ...
Why and how does our heart become hard toward the person we should love most in this world? It's because they make us suffer. That person who should love me more than anyone else might not be loving me properly. And it hurts.
We don't cope with hurt well. So what do we do? We harden our hearts so our hearts cannot be hurt any longer.
The problem is a hard heart can't love.
When we harden our hearts against our spouse because of our fear of pain, we stop loving them. And the relationship dies. Is it surprising then that people get divorced? Not surprising at all.
The example that Christ gives us is that He does not harden His Heart towards His people. He lets that Heart be pierced. He is the perfect example of marital love.
"For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Gn 2:18-24; Ps 128:1-6; Heb 2:9-11; Mk 10:2-16
Homily begins at 18:39