It was not quite long ago that a friend was narrating to me,
the difficulties her sister was passing through in her matrimonial home. After
revealing a lot of horrible experiences the sister had undergone, I asked her
what she would do if she had been in her sister’s shoes. She said she will know
what to do but never gave me a specific answer. I further asked her what advice
she gave to the sister and she said “to divorce him”. It was an interesting
chat but I was eager to know her sister’s disposition in the marriage. From what
I learnt, the said sister accepted her condition in good faith and prefers to
die in her matrimonial home to a divorce.
In
our society today, it seems to me that most of the divorce cases are not championed
by the spouses themselves but by relatives and friends of the spouses. A closer
look at the present society will also reveal an increasing rate of divorce. As
a matter of fact, the dignity and sacredness of marriage is fast washing away.
This is because marriage is regarded as a social or business contract that could
begin or end whenever and anyhow one pleases.
This
was perhaps the concept of marriage in the minds of the Pharisees who came to
question Jesus in the gospel reading (Mark 10:2-16). It was a test because they
wanted to know Jesus’ concept of marriage and know if it was in opposition to
popular tradition or the Mosaic tradition. The popular tradition held that a
Jewish husband could divorce his wife by pronouncing a divorce formula three
times in the presence of two male witnesses (called the triple express system).
But the Mosaic tradition held that the husband could only divorce his wife with
a letter of divorce (writ of dismissal).
However,
the Mosaic tradition was not in favour of divorce. The popular tradition permitted
oral divorce which could be done hastily out of anger but the Mosaic tradition will
require some time for the written letter to undergo some processes which will
give the couple time to moderate their anger and reconsider their decision. It
indeed saved a lot of marriages from divorce.
Likewise in marriage,
the husband has to suffer for the good of the wife and vice versa. For this
reason, the second reading (Hebrews 2:9-11) presents us with the image of
Christ who was made perfect through suffering. Perfection here does not mean
the Greek philosophical understanding of being the ideal or excellent but the
Hebrew understanding of being suitable for a purpose – redemption. As Christ
became suitable to redeem sufferers under the law by enduring suffering under
the law, so should husband and wife become suitable for each other under the
laws of marriage by enduring their differences.
Therefore beloved
friends, today’s message is relevant for couples and non-couples. Couples
should be convinced of the dignity, sacredness and indissolubility of marriage
by living in love and tolerance garnished with prayer while non-couples
(relatives and friends) should learn to assist couples get over their
differences amicably instead of championing a divorce for Christ says “What God has joined together let no man put asunder”. God loves
you.
***
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