YEAR B: HOMILY/REFLECTION FOR THE 27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
HOMILY THEME: AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING…
BY: Fr. Christian Eze
First reading – Gen 2:18-24
Second reading – Heb. 2:9-11
Gospel – Mk 10:216
I still remember the first term paper I wrote as a first year student of Philosophy. It was on one of the ancient Philosophers, Heraclitus, who upheld the theory of change as the major factor of which our world is made. Yes, we are living in a changing world where nothing is preferred if it refuses to change.
Our world of change has sought to affect virtually every aspect of life including marriage. We note in today’s first reading that in the beginning, God created Adam and gave him just one woman, Eve, to be his wife and a helpmate. This is the foundation of marriage as ordained by God. In other words, God’s mind for marriage is monogamy and never polygamy or polyandry. If God had willed otherwise, He could have created about five different women of various shapes and colour to give to Adam so he could enjoy the variety. See what changes humans have affected on their own to alter the mind of God. Today, what we see is one man two or five women, or one woman four men. Nowadays, people opt for single parenthood whereby it does not matter who is the father or mother of the child/children. To worsen the whole matter, today, same sex marriage has also been introduced. Do we think God aimless to have made them male and female at the beginning? It is a big shame!
What we must not forget is that while every other thing changes, God is the Unchanging Changer. While every other thing moves, He is the Unmoved Mover. He does not equivocate. Yes, His Words are true and remain the same. The prophet Malachi has it “I the Lord I do not change” (Mal. 3:6). We read in today's Gospel that, no matter how hard the Jews pressed on, Jesus did not change what God has set as such right from the beginning. Moses was pressed hard and He relaxed it for them to save his head from worry. But Jesus must remain firm on this. Indeed, “as it was in the beginning it is now and ever shall be world without end”. If you don’t believe this please don’t say Amen!
The two properties of marriage as ordained by God and given to us by the Church are Unity and Indissolubility. By the property of Unity, we uphold the mind of God that a married man and his wife become no longer two but one. Note that we did not read the three or four become one, rather, the two become one. A third man or woman has come for division. Let no one divide what God has thus joined together. By the property of Indissolubility, we uphold that God did not fix a time limit when this bond should be broken. Anyone who wills otherwise is swimming against Divine current. Thanks to the Catholic Church because in her, we see the teaching of Christ, the mind of God concerning marriage upheld without mincing words.
I now see why many would not like to wed in the Catholic Church. Yes, we will never wed a man and His fellow man. We will never wed a woman and her fellow woman. We will never wed a man and three or four women. We will never wed a man and his wife and ask them to come back for dissolution after five or ten years. As God made it, so we must proudly uphold it. If you want a change, please kindly check at the other church where anything goes. But at the end, we shall see who is on the right. I wish you well.
