Reading 1
Sir 6:5-17
A kind mouth multiplies friends and appeases enemies,
and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings.
Let your acquaintances be many,
but one in a thousand your confidant.
When you gain a friend, first test him,
and be not too ready to trust him.
For one sort is a friend when it suits him,
but he will not be with you in time of distress.
Another is a friend who becomes an enemy,
and tells of the quarrel to your shame.
Another is a friend, a boon companion,
who will not be with you when sorrow comes.
When things go well, he is your other self,
and lords it over your servants;
But if you are brought low, he turns against you
and avoids meeting you.
Keep away from your enemies;
be on your guard with your friends.
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;
he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price,
no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy,
such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly,
and his friend will be like himself.
Ps 119:12, 16, 18, 27, 34, 35
Responsorial PsalmR. (35a)
Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
In your statutes I will delight;
I will not forget your words.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Gospel
Mk 10:1-12
Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan.
Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom,
he again taught them.
The Pharisees approached him and asked,
“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?”
They replied,
“Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her.”
But Jesus told them,
“Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.”
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.He said to them,
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery.”
Meditation: Mark 10:1-12
“They were testing him.” (Mark 10:2)
What a contrast! While the Pharisees wanted to know what they could get away with and still be obedient to the Law of Moses, Jesus was focusing on the best that God wanted for his people. The Pharisees’ questions and Jesus’ response show that when we stop short at what is simply permissible, we miss out on untold amounts of grace and blessing!
Legalism like this can blind us to the beauty of God’s intention for marriage. When God created us male and female and blessed the union of marriage, it was not merely to institutionalize a cultural practice. It was because he wanted his children to have a sense of the loving intimacy that exists within the Trinity. He wanted them to know the joy that comes from giving and receiving love.
Let’s be clear: Jesus is describing an ideal. Not all marriages live up to this ideal, and there is not a single husband and wife who live it out perfectly all the time. We all have been self-centered. We all have taken our spouse for granted at one time or another. Some of us have even betrayed our spouses, deeply wounding the ones who love us the most. But that doesn’t mean we should give up. It doesn’t mean we can’t all take steps toward the perfect union that Jesus wants for us. The nitty-gritty of dealing with our fallen nature may make love challenging, but not impossible.
Let’s not stop short at what we can get away with. Instead, let’s aim for the fullness of what God wants for us. If you are married, work every day to live in the union God intended for you and your spouse. Allow the grace of your vocation to cement your relationship and take it to even deeper levels. And rejoice in those moments when you get a glimpse into that union that Jesus describes! And if your marriage seems wounded or even broken, don’t give up. God still loves you dearly, and he still wants to give you good things. None of us is perfect, but Jesus is—and he wants to pour his perfect love on all of us.
“Lord, I want to experience the depth of your intention for my life! Help me not to stop short of giving my all to you and receiving everything you have to offer.”
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