Gospel Reflection

August 16, 2013

Friday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

Feast of St. Roch (San Roque), Patron Saint of the Sick and the Plague-stricken

by Rev. Fr. Leo Nilo C. Mangussad, Rector, Shrine of Mary Queen of Peace, Our Lady of EDSA (EDSA Shrine)
6:30AM Mass at EDSA Shrine

Reading 1 Jos 24:1-13

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people:  “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:  In times past your fathers, down to Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, dwelt beyond the River and served other gods. But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous, and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

“Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt with the prodigies which I wrought in her midst. Afterward I led you out of Egypt, and when you reached the sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea with chariots and horsemen. Because they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between your people and the Egyptians, upon whom he brought the sea so that it engulfed them. After you witnessed what I did to Egypt, and dwelt a long time in the desert, I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them,  the two kings of the Amorites, before you. Then Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared to war against Israel. He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you; but I would not listen to Balaam. On the contrary, he had to bless you, and I saved you from him. Once you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you, but I delivered them also into your power. And I sent the hornets ahead of you that drove them (the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites,  Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites) out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow.

“I gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22 and 24

R. His mercy endures forever.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the LORD of lords,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who smote great kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
And slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
And made their land a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
The heritage of Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.

Gospel Mt 19:3-12

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, 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, man must not separate.”  They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” His disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

HOMILY

There is this story of a very foxy lady who was married to a billionaire. One time, her billionaire husband asked her, "Hon, would you still love me if you found out that I really do not own this Mustang and this BMW?" The woman said, "Of course, sweetheart, I will still love you." And then the billionaire asked a second question. "Hon, would you still love me if you found out that I do not really own this multi-billion dollar business?" The woman replied, "But of course, my sweetheart, I will still love you." And then finally, the husband asked, "Hon, would you still love me if you found out that I was not really a billionaire, but a poor man?" To which the woman said, "But of course, sweetheart, I will still love you, but I am going to miss you." In short, the woman was going to leave him.

The story that I related to you is a relationship, based, not on true love, but on a need. This is what Jesus is trying to remind us in the Gospel. When love is true, sincere, honest, divorce is not an issue. When love is real, it is based on a love that is given to us by God the Father - eternal, standing the test of time, forever. Just like in the First Reading, God loved His people, showed it, and took care of His people. Even if they sinned against Him, God never stopped loving His people. This is the basis of true love, which, unfortunately, is beginning to be lost in our world today. Many of us get married for practical matters, and not for love, thus divorce becomes an issue.

It is good to be reflective of this. If we can have earthly love, what about love in the true sense, a love of God? If we do not like God, are we going to divorce Him in our faith?