Jesus on Matrimony and Its Fruits, Children, in Connection with His Kingdom – Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The Scripture Readings of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Genesis 2:18-24; Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; Hebrew 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16, address the sacred nature of the Sacrament of Matrimony, in reference to God’s creation of a man and a woman, and its connection to the Kingdom of God.

Jesus explains that Marriage is inviolable for it is what God enjoins a man and woman as one (i.e. Mark 10:9; Genesis 2:24). This is to bless fruits of matrimony, namely, children, for having created humans in God’s Triune image (i.e. Genesis 1:26-28). So, Jesus blesses children with regard to the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:13-16).

Because humans are so special to Him, God created us in His Triune image (Genesis 1:26-27) and wants us to multiply to be His stewards of the Creation (Genesis 1:28). However, because of the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-24), we have become incapable of fulfilling our service to God to care for the Creation, without His grace. Thus, He incarnated His Son, Christ, (John 1:1, 14), in the human flesh of Jesus in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-35), so that we may overcome sin-induced disorders of us, of our marriages, of our families, and of the Creation, and recover the original sacredness in us, namely attaining salvation, through the incarnated Christ’s Paschal Mystery (i.e. Hebrews 2:9-11). Thus, Christ can take us, as God’s children, to his glory (Hebrews 2:10-11). So, we ask God to bless us so that we can walk in His way and be fruitful with children after children (Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6).

In this Sunday’s Gospel Reading (Mark 10:2-16), we find Jesus in Judea across the Jordan River (Mark 10:1a). As crowds of people came to him, Jesus taught them (Mark 10:1b). It means that Jesus had been well-known not only in Galilee but also in Judea by that time. Then, some Pharisees came, as well, and asked Jesus if it would be lawful for a man to divorce his wife, to test him (Mark 10:2).

Were these Pharisees simply assessing Jesus’ knowledge of the Law?

No. They did not come to see Jesus for a legal trivia. Rather, they were hoping that Jesus would be arrested by Herod Antipas, who had beheaded John the Baptist, by  saying that it would be illegal for a man to divorce his wife, as it would be taken as a criticism of Herod, who had committed adultery by divorcing his wife and marrying to his brother’s wife, Herodian. And Jesus was in Herod’s territory.

As he always did to such a challenge, Jesus did not answer in a yes-or-no fashion. Instead, he asked the Pharisees what Moses said about divorce (Mark 10:3). And they said that Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife (Mark 10:4; cf. Deuteronomy 24:1-4).

Then, Jesus explained that Moses had to write such a law to make divorce permissible because of the Israelites’ hardened hearts (Mark 10:5). In fact, Jesus explained during his Sermon on the Mount that the only permissible case for divorce is marital unfaithfulness (Matthew 5:31-32). In fact, this was mentioned by Moses (Deuteronomy 24:2-4). Therefore, the Pharisees’ statement, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her"(Mark 10:4), can be misleading, as if Deuteronomy 24:1 were a blanket statement for whenever a husband find his wife “displeasing” to him, without Moses’ specification for wife’s infidelity to make divorce permissible (Deuteronomy 24:2-4).

If we made the Pharisee’s interpretation on Deuteronomy 24:1-4 as a blanket statement to allow men to divorce their wife, when they find their wives displeasing to them, it would allow Herod Antipas’ adultery with Herodias. Herod Antipas divorced his first wife, Phasa'el, and took the wife of his brother, Philip, Herodias, as his second wife, resulting in the execution of John the Baptist, who criticized Antipas’ sin (Mark 6:17-29). This would also justify the divorce of Henry VIII from his first wife, Catarina, through she was not unfaithful to this king of England. It was he who wanted a younger wife, as his marriage to Catarina had produced no heir. In the eyes of God, Henry VIII committed adultery. Thus, he was excommunicated by Pope Paul III in 1535.

Matrimonial infidelity is a phenomenon of a hardened heart. It is, therefore, unfortunate that Moses had to write such a law to make divorce conditionally permissible. Adultery is the most grievous type of marital infidelity (Exodus 20:14) and punishable by death in God’s Law (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22)

Then, Jesus spoke the truth of marriage in connection to God’s will on creating a man and a woman. Thus, he said:

Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate (Mark 10:6-9).

Because of the hardened hearts, due to sins, some marriages suffer from infidelity. It can be detrimental to wellbeing of faithful spouses. In order to protect it, Moses permitted divorce. But, Jesus reminded that divorce is, indeed, against God’s will, which is to enjoin a man and a woman to become one in their matrimonial union. And this will of God is traced back to the Creation of a man and a woman to be suitable companions to each other, as addressed in the First Reading (Genesis 2:18-24). e

Then, in the house, Jesus answered to the disciples’ question about marriage and divorce:

Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery (Mark 10:11-12).

This statement of Jesus on divorce is incorporated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), in Part III, Section 2 on the Ten Commandments, Chapter II, Article 6: The Sixth Commandment, IV. Offenses Against The Dignity Of Marriage (2380-2391). And the sacred nature, due to God’s will, of matrimony, as one of the Seven Sacrament is addressed in Part II, Section 2 on the Seven Sacraments, Chapter III, Article 7, I. Marriage in God's Plan (1602-1620). The procedure to evaluate the validity of matrimony and to annul invalid cases is described in the Code of Canon Law, Part III, Title 1 (1671-1707).

These are to protect the Catholics from grave sin of adultery and suffering from invalid unions, to assure the sacredness of the Sacrament of Matrimony, which is in God’s will to bless men and women in their matrimonial union for fruitfulness, which includes procreation.

It was not a coincidence that people were bringing their children to Jesus so that they might be touched by him (Mark 10:13a), as he was speaking of the inviolable nature of marriage and the grave sin of adultery as a violation of God’s will on enjoining men and women in matrimonial unions. But the disciples rebuked them (Mark 10:13b).

Perhaps, the disciples felt that these people with children were nuisance. On the contrary, Jesus welcomed them, placing his hands on children, embracing and blessing them (Mark 10:16), upon saying:

Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it (Mark 10:14-15).

Why did Jesus say this? Was it because he loved children?

In fact, there is more to his love of children.

For Jesus, children make a suitable metaphorical model for his Kingdom, because only those who are as humble as children are allowed to enter the Kingdom. Being humble in this context means being obedient to their leader, who suffered from them (i.e. Hebrews 2:10), as sheep are so to their Good Shepherd (John 10:14,27-28), thus walking in his way (Palm 128:1). And this is the way to the Kingdom through obedience and humility. They are dependent on his providence, just as they are so on their parents’ care to thrive.

Jesus made it clear that children are associated with the Kingdom for it is for them and for those who accept it as they do (Mark 10:14-15). And, God enjoins men and women for their matrimonial sacramental union (Genesis 2:18-24) so that the earth will be blessed with fruits of this union (Genesis 1:28). And this is how the Kingdom is established on earth as it is in heaven. He did not want the disciples to prevent children from coming to him (Mark 10:14), as it is disrupting and disturbing to the ontogeny of the Kingdom on earth. And he did not want the original sacredness of matrimony to be violated by divorce, which also make children disturbed, and adultery, which is in association with divorce (Mark 10:6-12). In this light, the Church teaches against contraceptives and abortion, as these prevent and destroy children.

The Kingdom of God is hinged upon wellbeing of children, who are humble, obedient to Christ, and dependent on his grace. Anything that is detrimental to this, such as divorce, adultery, contraceptives, and abortion, are in violation of God’s will to bless the sacramental matrimonial unions of men and women, as enjoined by Him, to be fruitful with their children. He suffered and died so that children can be brought to glory in the Kingdom.