The Gospel for today seems to touch on many things pertinent to our day and age: marriage, divorce, single life, rules against divorce, reasons not to marry, you name it. All of it, I think, boils down to just one thing, which I will get to in a bit.
First, though, we need to think about what’s going on in this scene from Matthew’s Gospel. Once again, we see some Pharisees testing Jesus, trying to trip him up. They seem to think they know it all when it comes to God’s law, and they want to see how this Jesus measures up. Is divorce lawful? Jesus does not give them a yes or a no answer, he gives them a lesson. Let’s go back to the very beginning, he basically says. God created a man and a woman. He created them for each other. Adam and Eve are the archetype for the rest of us — how it’s supposed to be: a man and a woman created for each other, so that they basically become inseparable, one flesh, one unit, two parts of a whole.
Yes, how it’s supposed to be. Then why did Moses allow divorce? They’re seemingly asking, would Moses go against God? How, then, is it “supposed to be” a world without divorce? Jesus sees their ploy, and he tells it like it is. Moses allowed divorce, not because that’s how it was supposed to be, but because the people failed. They could not live up to the ideal set forth by God, so Moses permitted that concession for a broken world full of broken people. But Jesus doesn’t offer that same concession.
The disciples seem to throw up their hands. That’s hard, they say. People might as well not marry at all. That’s where we get to the one thing it boils down to. Jesus tells them some people can get married, some aren’t capable of doing it correctly, some choose not to do it at all. But whatever path a person takes, you have to realize that it is a path consecrated by God. That is to say, no matter what, you are not supposed to be living for yourself, or even for someone else. A husband, a wife, or a single person, they are all supposed to be living for God.
Joshua lays it out for the Israelites plainly in the first reading. Everything that has happened to you throughout history is God acting for you, on your behalf, out of his love for you. Don’t go thinking you’re a great people, because you’re nothing without God and his infinite love for you. It’s the same with us. Married life or single life, they aren’t for us, they are for God. We must enter into them with God as the focus, and with God as the goal. We are God’s. Jesus is reminding us today that our actions should reflect that truth.
El Evangelio de hoy parece tocar muchas cosas pertinentes a nuestra época: matrimonio, divorcio, vida de soltero, reglas contra el divorcio, razones para no casarse, lo que sea. Creo que todo se reduce a una sola cosa, pero voy a hablar de eso más tarde.
Sin embargo, primero debemos pensar en lo que sucede en esta escena del Evangelio de Mateo. Una vez más, vemos a algunos fariseos probando a Jesús, tratando de hacerlo tropezar. Parecen pensar que lo saben todo cuando se trata de la ley de Dios, y quieren ver cómo este Jesús está a la altura. ¿Es legal el divorcio? Jesús no les da un sí ni un no, les da una lección. Volvamos al principio, dice en otras palabras. Dios creó un hombre y una mujer. Los creó el uno para el otro. Adán y Eva son el arquetipo para el resto de nosotros, cómo se supone que debe ser: un hombre y una mujer creados el uno para el otro, de modo que básicamente se vuelven inseparables, una sola carne, una unidad, dos partes de un todo.
Sí, cómo se supone que debe ser. Entonces, ¿por qué Moisés permitió el divorcio? Aparentemente están preguntando, ¿Iría Moisés en contra de Dios? Entonces, ¿cómo se supone que “debe ser” un mundo sin divorcio? Jesús ve su estratagema, y dice las cosas como son. Moisés permitió el divorcio, no porque se suponía que debía ser así, sino porque el pueblo fracasó. No podían vivir de acuerdo con el ideal establecido por Dios, por lo que Moisés permitió esa concesión para un mundo quebrantado lleno de gente quebrantada. Pero Jesús no ofrece esa misma concesión.
Los discípulos parecen darse por vencidos. Eso es difícil, dicen. Mejor sería que la gente no se casara. Ahí es donde llegamos al punto principal. Jesús les dice que algunas personas pueden casarse, algunas no son capaces de hacerlo correctamente, algunas eligen no hacerlo en absoluto. Pero cualquiera que sea el camino que tome una persona, debes darte cuenta de que es un camino consagrado por Dios. Es decir, pase lo que pase, no se supone que vivas para ti mismo, ni siquiera para otra persona. Un esposo, una esposa o una persona soltera, se supone que todos viven para Dios.
Josué se lo explica claramente a los israelitas en la primera lectura. Todo lo que te ha sucedido a lo largo de la historia es Dios actuando por ti, en tu nombre, por su amor por ti. No vayan a pensar que son un gran pueblo, porque no son nada sin Dios y su infinito amor por ustedes. Es lo mismo con nosotros. La vida de casado o la vida de soltero, no son para nosotros, son para Dios. Debemos entrar en ellos con Dios como centro y con Dios como meta. Somos de Dios. Jesús nos está recordando hoy que nuestras acciones deben ser conformes a esta verdad.
Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his two grandchildren, including the older one who is fascinated with learning about his faith. He also has served on a Catholic school board, a pastoral council and a parish stewardship committee. He currently is a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, Adult Faith Formation Committee member and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.
Feature Image Credit: Hopefootage, cathopic.com/photo/15330-happiest-girl
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