Weekend of Compassion

Mark 10,2-16

When I looked at the readings for this Sunday, I quickly understand why so many of my priest-friends go on retreat, attend conferences and meetings, go on pilgrimages, and get out of town this weekend—the dreaded divorce reading! And here we all are in China!! I think our task is to preach on this teaching of Jesus and at the same time, uphold His compassion and the understanding that he always displayed.

I’ve read dozens of commentaries on this gospel which offer some really interesting information on first century Palestine marriage and divorce. These commentaries discuss marriage and its historical, cultural, religious and sociological perspectives. All very interesting stuff, but I’m not sure that any of it makes for a good homily.

What kept creeping into my thoughts is the following:

1. God declared what He had in mind for marriage in the book of Genesis—before The Fall.

2. 1,350 years before Jesus, but after The Fall, Moses had to struggle with the fact that what God envisioned, and what he, at times was observing around him, were two different things

3. 2,000 years ago, the Pharisees noted that what God had in mind for marriage, and what they sometimes observed, were two different things—and they were using this to try to catch Jesus in a trap

4. Today, I look around, and I see that what God had in mind for marriage, and what occurs so very frequently in marriage and families, is two different things.

Now, is it me, or am I seeing a pattern here?

The ideals of marriage declared by God our Creator and promoted by His Son Jesus, are surely inspiring and a source of great joy and great life. The indissolubility of marriage is an ideal the Church must hold and we all know couples who have lived this ideal with joyous rewards.

Yet sin, bad choices and bad behaviours have been causing havoc and problems with the ideals of marriage ever since Adam and Eve went picking the wrong fruit. Sinning, missing the mark, falling short, making a mess out of things, dying and rising, whatever you want to call it, has been around since the beginning.

Nevertheless, as much as these readings can bring a glow to the faces of long-time married couples, it also causes even more pain and disappointment to the divorced. Sometimes a divorced person is the victim of bad choices and behaviour, other times a divorced person is the agent of bad choices and behaviour. Regardless, the pain is still real. Jesus never shied away from addressing or facing pain. Neither should we.You do not have to be divorced to identify with the pain of falling short of an ideal. None of us are perfect in being Catholic Christians.

Do any of these quotes make you nervous?

Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you when someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.

Who ever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.

Whoever wishes to follow me, must sell everything, give the money to the poor, then, come follow me.

Who here then is ready to judge?

To pick up the first stone? We remember the woman caught in adultery in St. John, we are not sure if the woman caught in the act of adultery was married or single. Nevertheless, Jesus literally saved her life, and told her to sin no more. He exercised compassion, without loosing the ideal.

This weekend, we need to do the same. The church reaches out to those who have hurt WITH, or have been hurt BY bad choices and bad behaviours in marriage. We may not know the depth of that pain, but everyone here knows the pain, of falling short of an ideal. It is a weekend of compassion.