October 03, 2009
Saturday
Anticipated Sunday Mass
Twenty-Seventh Sunday
in Ordinary Time
by Rev. Fr. Nicandro
Lim Jr.
A
homily delivered in St. Mary’s Church, Bunbury, Australia
Reading
1, Gen. 2:7ab, 8b, 18-24
The
Creation of Adam
--------------------------------
[7ab]
then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; [8b] and (in the Garden of Eden) he put the man whom
he had formed.
The
Creation of Eve
-----------------------------
[18]
Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him a helper fit for him." [19] So out of the ground the Lord
God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them
to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every
living creature, that was its name. [20] The man gave names to all, cattle, and
to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there
was not found a hel-per fit for him. [21] So the Lord God caused a deep sleep
to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its
place with flesh; [22] and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he
made into a woman and brought her to the man. [23] Then the man said,
"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be
called Woman, because she was ta-ken out of Man." [24] Therefore a man
leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one
flesh.
Reading
2, Heb. 2:9-11
9 But we see Jesus, who
was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every
man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation
perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are
sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of
the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in
him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 14 Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise
took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of
death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily he took not on
him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 17 Wherefore
in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath
suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Gospel
Reading, Mr. 10:2-16
2 Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is
it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They said, “Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be written, and to
divorce her.” 5 But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart, he
wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, ‘God
made them male and female. 7 For this cause a man will leave his father
and mother, and will join to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh,’
so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has
joined together, let no man separate.” 10 In
the house, his disciples asked him again about the same matter. 11 He said
to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery
against her. 12 If a woman herself divorces her husband, and marries
another, she commits adultery.” 13 They were bringing to him little
children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were
bringing them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation,
and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them,
for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Most assuredly I tell
you, whoever will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child, he will
in no way enter into it.” 16 He took them in his arms, and blessed them,
laying his hands on them.
HOMILY
“...But
from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and
mother, and the two become one body.
They are no longer two, therefore, but one body...” –
Mark 10: 6 – 8
Could two people be more different? I wonder... A man was observing the golden
jubilee of his wedding. He was asked his
secret, he responded: “On my wedding day,
Joan’s father gave me a watch. Across
the face of it, he had printed, ‘Say something nice to Joan.’” A beautiful
gift it is.
Few days ago, there was on ABC
National Radio a talk show about Successful or Happy Marriages. They invited couples living together for 30
years onwards to ring them and to share how they made it, what they do and how
they keep the marriage going. I was told
by a friend that so many participated and they mentioned important aspects in
their marriage relationship that helped them.
Examples would be ‘openness,’ the reality of ‘give and take,’
‘dialogue,’ ‘endurance’ and others.
However, in my own understanding, these people who participated were
telling the listeners indirectly that along the earlier years of their life
they underwent a kind of transformation as persons in relationship and not just
as individuals living together. Clearly,
they were telling those hosting the talk show that the reality of married life
is not seen on individuals living together but in a couple journeying together
towards happiness and fulfillment.
On the other hand, a Greek philosopher---Plato
his name, beautifully said that man and woman are but half of their original
size. Genuine happiness only arrives
when the two halves in question find each other and marry. Thus they help each other reach full
growth. Following this thought, we can
say that marriage should not shrink one’s personality. On the contrary, it should double one’s own
person and spirit in its fullest sense.
It becomes clear then that courtship is dreaming happy dreams together and
a good marriage is bringing them down to earth and watching them come true---watching them come true. I guess it is only in good marriage that what
was dreamt about comes to reality as the couple grows in love for each other.
There’s a bad news though,
everyone’s aware of the alarming statistics on divorce. One third of all marriages are ending before
the divorce judge. Some feel that
percentage is too conservative, but in any case, these are no longer academic
numbers since most of us have family members who are divorced. Indeed, the dreadful plague has hit our own
homes. The good news however, is that
there were studies that say one out of fifty seven marriages ended in divorce
among husbands and wives that worshipped at church consistently---one out of
fifty seven marriages. Even more amazing
was the finding that only one marriage in five hundred concluded in divorce in
couples where there is organized scripture reading and prayer. To paraphrase Patrick Peyton, the husband and
wife who pray together have an above-average chance of staying together.
Now, could two people be more different? I wonder...
Reflecting on our readings today, we can say that when God created
humanity, he created not individuals but persons geared towards building a family,
a community. In the book of Genesis, God
clearly said, ‘it is not good that the man should be alone.’ And so, God created someone, not something,
to be his fellow---a lifetime companion who came from his very own bone and
flesh. Moreover, in the gospel, Jesus
explained this truth through His prohibition on divorce. You see, divorce disturbed Jesus since
marriage for Him means undivided loyalty, service and love. It is not just compatibility, comfort nor
convenience. It is love, a decision made
by the couple for better or for worst.
But then, our culture teaches husband and wife to ask, ‘what’s in it for
me?’ But Jesus wants them to ask each
other, ‘What’s in it for us?’
Also, some married people tend to ask, ‘How
can I complete myself in this union?’
But Jesus in the gospel wishes them to ask, ‘How can we complete
ourselves?’ Indeed, it is true that it
is not what a person does that makes or breaks the relationship but rather what
the couple is doing/deciding that really make or break their bond. If couples only learn to treat the other the
way they treat their own selves, their marriage will become more attractive.
Remember, in this kind of vocation each must
say,
‘I will do more than belong---I will
participate. I will do more than care---I
will help. I will do more than
believe---I will practice. I will do
more than be fair---I will be kind. I
will do more than be friendly---I will be a friend. I will do more than forgive---I will
love. Yes! I will love---I will love...’
In the name of the Father...
