Readings Genesis 2, 18-24 / Mark 10, 2-16
Today’s liturgy of the Word
speaks to us about God’s project for us human beings.
The book of Genesis tells us the
story of the creation of humankind whom God made in his image. He created them
male and female and he wanted them collaborators with Him in caring for the
rest of his creation. The original state, in which humans were created, was that
of the companionship of equals, not ownership by one or the other. It was love,
not domination and subjection that God wanted, for He, the Creator, is love.
The gospel tells us how the
Pharisees, in order to test Jesus, asked him if it was lawful for a man to
divorce his wife, “for any cause?” Matthew adds. In God’s plan there was no
hint of any separation between a man and his wife. So when Jesus quoted the
creation story in his response to the Pharisees, he added the command: “What
therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
In his response, Jesus asked the
Pharisees: “What did Moses command you?” They answered: “Moses allowed a man to
write a certificate of divorce, and to send her away." This was not
totally true. Moses did not allow divorce; in fact he made it more difficult
for them to divorce. Before Moses’ command a man would simply tell his wife for
three times “I divorce you”, and that was that! He could send his wife away. A
woman for them was no longer a partner, equal in rights and dignity. She became
a property, an object to be used, and simply thrown away. Moses was concerned
about protection to the vulnerable, and to avoid that a woman be left without
any means of support, a victim of divorce. Moses knew that divorce is a bad
thing and that it should be regulated.
In his answer Jesus told the
Pharisees: “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment”. Is this
only about divorce? Absolutely, No! For humanity turned away from God and made
for itself its own laws, not based on love but on egotism, selfishness and the
yearning to be a god, which people imagined could bring them freedom and power.
This type of yearning only brings about a fracture in the relationship between
God and humanity and damages the relationship between man and woman. When God
challenged Adam about his disobedience, Adam’s first reaction was to accuse his
companion. He refused to accept responsibility. He denied the rapport which
existed between them in sin. Even today, this mentality causes much suffering
and death.
Today’s gospel suggests an
alternative to this way of living. Instead of the hardness of heart, Jesus
recommends a heart that is “childlike”. He told his disciples: “Let the
children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of
God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a
child shall not enter it".
It is very important to
distinguish between being “childlike” and being “childish”.
People are childish when they
behave in a silly or immature way. The word “childish” refers to
characteristics that are undesirable and unpleasant in an adult: selfishness,
immaturity, foolishness, etc. It carries a strong idea of disapproval or scorn.
People are childlike when they behave
as an adult but maintain those characteristics that are desirable that one
finds in a child: simplicity, trust, a sense of wonder, etc. A child is eager
to learn, is authentic, accepts the fact that he depends on others, he accepts
his limits and tries to overcome them on his way to maturity.
Jesus asks us to be childlike and
not childish. When writing to the people of Corinth, St. Paul said: “When I was
a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child;
when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. … And now faith, hope,
and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1Cor 13, 11-13).
Today’s gospel is not solely
about divorce. Jesus, who is not a reformer but a redeemer, offers us a way
forward out of our hard-heartedness towards a childlike devotion to his and our
Father. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God promised: “I will give them a new heart,
and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their
flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and
keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be
their God.” (Ez 11, 19-20).
Let us joyfully accept this gift
and make a daily effort to live as children of God with our new heart and new
spirit.
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