Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

“Wedding Feast at Cana”
by Rufilio Manetti, 1620

 
Readings for Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: James 5:9-12
 
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered.
You have heard of the perseverance of Job,
and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,
because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
 
But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath,
but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,”
that you may not incur condemnation.
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Commentary on Jas 5:9-12
 
Just prior to this excerpt from the Letter of St. James, there is an exhortation to patience. There is also a clear expectation that the Parousia is at hand. The author then points to the example of the prophets, especially Job, to keep God foremost in their minds, especially during trying times, reemphasizing Christian patience. He concludes with a prohibition against “oath taking,” a means by which the Jewish community circumvented the binding force of the law and avoided using God’s name in vain.
 
CCC: Jas 5:12 2153
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12
 
R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
 
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
 
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
 
Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
 
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
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Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12
 
Psalm 103 is a song of praise to God for his mercy. It recognizes both God’s mercy and our need, as sinners, for it. The psalm describes the qualities of God's mercy, its enduring expression of love for his people through the forgiveness of their sins.
 
CCC: Ps 103 304
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Gospel: Mark 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.”
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Commentary on Mk 10:1-12
 
This passage gives us the scriptural support for the Church’s view of the durability of the sacrament of matrimony. The Pharisees' question to Jesus, and their response to his question: “Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her," shows that the Mosaic Law they were referring to (Deuteronomy 24:1) dealt with a contractual relationship. Jesus, in quoting Genesis (see Genesis 1:27 and 2:24), speaks instead of the spiritual bond which joins husband and wife. This bond cannot be broken (“what God has joined together, no human being must separate").
 
This unbreakable bond is at the heart of the Church's understanding of the sacrament of marriage and is distinct from the civil marriage contract (referred to by the Pharisees above).  This passage is also central to the Church's teaching that the sacrament of marriage is valid only between a man and a woman.
 
CCC: Mk 10:8 1627; Mk 10:9 1639, 2364, 2382; Mk 10:11-12 1650; Mk 10:11 2380
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Reflection:
 
Understanding the reading from the Gospel of St. Mark is critical for us if we are to understand the Church’s view of the sacrament of marriage.  In the past, the view was popularly held that the Church forbade divorce entirely because of the statement: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
 
The historical difficulty here is the clear reference earlier in the passage stating: “Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  The key idea in this verse is that God has joined the couple, not man. Marriage is not a civil contract that can be ratified by a justice of the peace or a civil judge.  Those whom God has joined in marriage share an unbreakable bond.  It is a covenant that includes God the Father and is seen as a living symbol of Christ and his bride, the Church.  If this bond is truly present, it cannot be broken.
 
Does this mean that all marriages witnessed by the Church include this sacramental bond?  We do our very best to insure they do, but the sacrament of marriage is a lived sacrament.  The Church does not “administer” the sacrament of marriage as it does baptism or the Eucharist. 
 
The Church, through its marriage preparation programs, tries to ensure the sacramental bond is present.  But it is like a scientist using a very powerful microscope to look at the molecular structure of some material.  Is he able to see the chemical bonds that hold the material together and make it the compound it appears to be?  No, he cannot see the bonds but, depending upon how the material reacts under different circumstances (especially when he tries to take it apart) the bonds demonstrate their existence, even though they are invisible to the human eye.
 
The civil contract of marriage can be broken.  It is just like any business contract.  There are terms and conditions and there are remedies in civil law.  The only cost is legal fees.  If the civil contract is nullified in what was presumed to have been a sacramental marriage, does that mean the sacramental bond that was presumed to have existed at the time it was validly witnessed in the Church was also nullified?  No!  That is why there is a marriage tribunal in each diocese.  It is the tribunal’s job to make sure that the sacramental bond was never present.  If present, it cannot be broken, if not present, the civil bond was all that bound the couple in the first place.  And just to be very clear, like all other dogmatic and magisterial teaching about the sacrament of matrimony, Amoris Laetitia, the Holy Father’s apostolic exhortation on the family, did not change this understanding.
 
This whole view is widely misunderstood, even within the ranks of the faithful, and whenever we encounter these misunderstandings, we need to correct them.  Jesus said, “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  Thank God for his unfailing love for us.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture today is “Wedding Feast at Cana” by Rufilio Manetti, 1620.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.