AS AT THE BEGINNING (MK 10:2-12)
Prayer:
O Jesus, restore me. Make me pure as was the beginning creation.
Imagination:
Picture Jesus teaching the holiness of marriage.
Context:
Even though the Jewish people received God’s revelation, they wandered from the truth. Because of their hardness of heart, Moses even allowed a man to divorce his wife and marry another. Now, the Pharisees test Jesus, claiming that Moses allowed divorce. Jesus, however, points to the Jewish bible and says that “in the beginning” God had a different plan that must be followed.
Gospel Text: (Read slowly, possibly aloud.)
To test Jesus, the Pharisees asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? Jesus responded, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.”
Jesus said, “He wrote this commandment because of the hardness of your hearts. However, from the beginning, God made them male and female. Therefore, a man shall leave his mother and father, and shall cleave to his wife. They shall be two in one flesh. They are no longer two. They are one flesh. What God has joined together, let no man separate.”
Later, in the house, the disciples questioned this teaching. Jesus said, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another commits adultery.”
Thoughts: (Read all. Ponder those that attract you.)
- Sin obscured God’s revelation to Israel. Even Moses, their inspired leader, permitted a bill of divorce.
- Jesus restores God’s Kingdom, “as it was from the beginning.”
- “In the beginning” man and woman were “two in one flesh”, and totally inseparable.
- Their union was so important that they even left their father and mother.
- God sealed this union and made marriage inviolable.
- At this point, the disciples are confused. After they receive the Holy Spirit, they will see permanent marriage as a sign of God’s Final Age.
Affections: (When one touches your heart, use your own words.)
- O Jesus, sin obscures my vision. Purify me.
- I will follow your words, O Lord.
- O Jesus, you want to restore me “as in the beginning.”
- Make me a faithful spouse.
- Send me a marriage partner who shares in the ideals of your Kingdom.
- Jesus, send your Holy Spirit and begin your new creation.
- O Jesus, help me to live according to God’s plan.
Resolutions: (Possibly you might want to make your own.)
+ I will seek God’s guidance in choosing a spouse.
+ I will use the sacraments to remain faithful to my marriage vows.
Thought for the Day: (To recall your meditation.)
In the beginning, God made them male and female.