FRIDAY HOMILY OF THE 7TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: IN ALL VOCATIONS, WE ARE FOR THE LORD
BY: Fr. Isaac Awe
JAMES 5:9-12, MARK 10:1-12
What is God’s intention for our state in life, whether married or single? Jesus deals with the issue of divorce by taking his hearers back to the beginning of creation and to God’s plan for the human race. In Genesis 2:23-24 we see God’s intention and ideal that two people who marry should become so indissolubly one that they are one flesh. That ideal is found in the unbreakable union of Adam and Eve. They were created for each other and for no one else. They are the pattern and symbol for all who were to come. Jesus explains that Moses permitted divorce as a concession in view of a lost ideal. Jesus sets the high ideal of the married state before those who are willing to accept his commands. Jesus, likewise sets the high ideal for those who freely renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven ( Matthew 19:12).
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Both marriage and celibacy are calls from God to live a consecrated life, that is to live as married couples or as singles who belong not to themselves but to God. Our lives are not our own, but they belong to God. He gives the grace and power to those who seek to follow his way of holiness in their state of life. Do we seek the Lord and his grace in our state of life?
What did Jesus have in mind when he said that a husband and wife are to be “one flesh”? He likely intended it to mean more than just a partnership for establishing a family or intimate companionship between two individuals. Marriage involves a partnership of not just two persons, a husband and wife, but a third as well. It is God who joins with a husband and wife when they become “one flesh”. That is why Paul the Apostle used marriage as an analogy for Christ and the church, his bride (Ephesians 5:31). God wants an unbreakable union between himself and his people. And this is only possible through the gift and working of his Holy Spirit who purifies us and makes us one in Christ. Do we seek intimate fellowship and union with God?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, your call to holiness extends to all in every state of life. Sanctify our lives as married couples and as singles that we may live as men and women who are consecrated to you. Make us leaven in a society that disdains life-long marriage fidelity, chastity, and living single for the Lord. Amen
Happy Weekend!
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