What God has together, man must not separate

 

The scripture reading for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our gospel for today we see once again how the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus to prove that he's preaching and teaching against the law of Moses. They feel threatened by him because people are being drawn to him due to his teachings on the love and forgiveness of God. The Pharisees are more interested in protecting their way of life and their control the people that come to the temple.

In today's Gospel Jesus teaches very clearly that marriage is between a man and a woman and that the two, once married, become as one. The Pharisees were looking at it in a very selfish way. They twisted the law so that the man has all the rights, and the woman is left in the cold with nothing. 

They ask Jesus, if marriage is forever, "why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?"(Matthew 19:7) Jesus responds, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives." (Matthew 19:8) Jesus would go on to teach that "whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." (Matthew 19:9)

The teachings on marriage that we hear in today's Gospel helps us to understand the importance of the sacrament of Marriage. Marriage is meant to be until death do you part, in good times and in bad times in sickness and in health. That's why the Church is careful in helping couples prepare for the sacrament of marriage. The Church encourages couples to go through pre-Cana. It is during pre-Cana that the church teaches that there needs to be love between the man and woman, and God needs to be in the center of the relationship, both during the courtship and during the marriage. Evey marriage needs to be God-centered. A couple should never rush into the marriage, but rather be patient in their time together before the marriage happens. 

One thing the Lord points out is "unless the marriage is unlawful." What does that mean? Well, there are times when people rush into a marriage for all the wrong reasons. Whatever those reason may be, the couple may not have made a clear and good decision to be married. They may have felt pressured into getting married, when in reality they may have felt it was the wrong thing to do. These are the examples of an "unlawful" marriage and may be a reasonable cause for an annulment. 

Let us pray for all married couples to better understand that their marriage is to be centered on their love for one another and on God. With God in the center of their relationship, things will always work out.