Marriage and
family is the theme of today’s reading. In the first reading we hear about
second account of creation from the second chapter of Genesis. In the Gospel
the Pharisees ask Jesus about the legality of divorce. As the question is
pointed toward the legality of divorce Jesus begins His response from law given
by Moses and proceeds to catechize God’s original plan for marriage and family.
The Pharisees are very cunning as the serpent in the Genesis was. They seek legitimacy
for the violation of original commandment of God. They know the whole context
in which Moses permitted divorce for man, yet the Pharisees present the divorce
issue to Jesus separating it from the context. They know that divorce is not a
law that destabilizes marriage but only an exception given for particular
circumstances in marriage. However, they ask Jesus about divorce and its
legality. Jesus knowing their cunningness, situates the allowance of divorce in
marriage in the historical context of Moses and directs them to the original
plan of God. He asserts clearly that union of man and woman as the intention and
original plan of God for humanity.
In the first
reading we notice that man is not able to satisfy with any creature as his
perfect partner or helper except for woman. In the animals we see that they
exercise their sexuality and reproductive energy toward the opposite sex of
their kind. But today some human beings find rationality in exercising one’s sexual
energy with the person of same sex. It is not a rationality but stupidity. Imagine
if the animals that are without rationality able to orient their sexual desires
perfectly, how much more should we rational beings be channelling our sexual
energies? For animals sex and reproductions are done with instinct and with
force. There is no consent. We human beings give our consent for sexual act and
begetting children. If we remove consent, then we are equalizing ourselves with
animals. That’s why rape is an animalistic behaviour. There are homosexual
orientated persons in the society but they are exceptional. We accept their
difficulty and help them to overcome but legalizing their orientation as a sign
of respect only creates havoc in the society. If some people are born with Down
syndrome, they need treatment and care. Instead if we recognize their sickness
as normal as a sign of showing one’s respect and solidarity toward them we will
be depriving them from proper care as well as making the society to treat them
as other normal human being which will create further problem. Thus, legalizing
same-sex marriage only changes the orientation of many normal human persons in
the society. It creates confusion whether to marry a person of opposite sex or
same-sex.
In the second
part of the Gospel, Jesus invites children and catechizes the disciples to
receive the kingdom of God in/as children. Open to life is be open to God’s
kingdom. When a woman opens her womb to life, she is opening new account, new
member in God’s kingdom. Remember, we can enter heaven or hell only if we enter
this earth. Hence, by conceiving a baby in the womb, woman is opening possibility
for new member either in heaven or hell. God desires life (Jn 3:16-18). The generation
or country that desired autonomy and neglected begetting children earlier is observing
elderly day today because they don’t have younger generation to care for them. In
the last two decades of the last century sex was taken outside marriage, now
marriage is taken outside man and woman union, what is next? Taking man and
woman outside this earth! It is alarming. Sex without open to life, sex outside
marriage, marriage outside man and woman union are leading human race to its
end. Ha! the Satan is reaching his victory point!. The deviations have detracted
the human life. The Pharisees who seek legitimacy for divorce in the gospel are
seeking legitimacy for deviations in the concept of marriage in the present
world. As Christian we need to respond to those Pharisees by presenting to them
the original plan of God for humanity as given in the book of Genesis and
reiterated by Jesus in the Gospel. Marriage is not an experiment, rather a
commitment. Seeking legitimacy to destabilize eternal truth of marriage leads
to the termination of humanity. Family is incomplete without the participation
of both the sexes and open to life. Holy family was the perfect family as it
had persons of both the sexes and opened to life. In the beginning God created humanity
with family, at the appointed time He entered the history of humanity through
family and in the end He would restore the whole creation into His eternal
family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let us respect marriage and receive life
as kingdom of God.
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