Friday of the
Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Ezekiel16:59-63; Matthew 19:3-12)
If we ask a Jew what is the first commandment, we are
likely to receive a surprising answer. She
probably will not say, “I am the Lord, your God; you shall not have strange
gods before me.” Nor will she say, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all
you heart and soul.” No, Jews regularly
look to Genesis One for the answer to this question: “Be fruitful and multiply.” For Jews God’s primary command is to marry and
to have a family. For this reason Jesus
comments that his statement about celibacy in today’s gospel will be difficult
to accept.
Jesus also goes back to Genesis in defending the
indissolubility of marriage. He
extrapolates from Genesis Two which says that in marriage a man and a woman
become one flesh. His point is that this
union is not to be fractured. The
Pharisees have inquired of Jesus exceptions to the rule about the
indissolubility of marriage. So far
Jesus has indicated that there are none.
But now he makes an allowance.
One can be exempted from the obligation to marry and have children for
the sake of the Kingdom of God.
Does this mean that people who do not marry or become a religious
are somehow defying God’s will? We ask
this question from concern of those who have never met “Mr. or Ms. Right.” Jesus would not condemn them. He would only urge them to live for the Kingdom
of God by praying and assisting the needy.
