First reading Genesis 2:18-24
A man and his wife become one body
The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:
‘This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.’
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.
Responsorial Psalm 127(128)
May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the Lord,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
May you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Second reading Hebrews 2:9-11
The one who sanctifies is the brother of those who are sanctified
We see in Jesus one who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind.
As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers.
Gospel Mark 10:2-16
What God has united, man must not divide
Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’
People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.
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One in love
Some Pharisees approached Jesus to test Him with questions, hoping He would break the Law of Moses. Jesus told them that He did not come to abolish the Law of the Old Testament; instead, He came to fulfil it. As preached by Jesus in the New Testament, the Law of God is love. Love is the fundamental principle of marriage. Without love, there can be no sacrament of marriage. While there can be a contract between a man and a woman, it cannot be considered a sacrament without love, because marriage is a union of life and love.
Our human love may not be strong and constant. Thus, we must rely on God’s never-ending love. In His love, we are firmly grounded. We should rely on God not only in marriage but in any relationship. Nourished by His love, we are empowered to forgive, ask for forgiveness, and be motivated to sacrifice for the good of others. God’s love is the foundation of all relationships, whether in our family, marriage, or friendships.
Reflective question:
Is God’s love in me the source of my love towards others?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
