As is most always the case, there is a golden thread that runs through the readings in the Liturgy. Today’s clear theme: marriage.
Marriage is under attack these days. People want to redefine marriage to fit what they want it to be. Men should be able to marry other men, and women to marry other women, they shout. But the Church steadfastly stands against this heresy. Why? Because that is not the way that God designed marriage. We see it from the beginning. From today’s first reading from Genesis 2: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.” In our Gospel reading from Mark 10:2-16, Jesus quotes this very passage.
Many people, including many Christian traditions now, try to defend redefining marriage by saying that Jesus never condemned same-sex marriage. In today’s Gospel reading, we see Jesus’ only and very clear teaching on marriage. Saying that He never condemned gay marriage is like trying to prove a negative. It would be like saying, “Well, Jesus may have said that two plus two equals four, but He never said it doesn’t equal five!” Those who want to redefine marriage are usurping God. To accomplish their ends, they must take God out of the equation of what marriage was designed to be. Personally, I don’t see how God could make things any more clear. Man and wife. One man and one woman. The two become one flesh. And through their love they become “fruitful and multiply.” This is God’s definition of marriage.
Father, from the beginning you have ordained that marriage is between a man and a woman. May we all recognize your will for marriage, and may all marriages be strengthened by husbands and wives putting you at the center of their marriage. Amen.
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