Matthew 19:3-12

Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63

Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

Matthew 19:3-12

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”

He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning

the Creator made them male and female and said,

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, man must not separate.”

They said to him, “Then why did Moses command

that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?”

He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts

Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,

but from the beginning it was not so.

I say to you, whoever divorces his wife

(unless the marriage is unlawful)

and marries another commits adultery.”

His disciples said to him,

“If that is the case of a man with his wife,

it is better not to marry.”

He answered, “Not all can accept this word,

but only those to whom that is granted.

Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;

some, because they were made so by others;

some, because they have renounced marriage

for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.

Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you sent your Son to elevate the institution of marriage to a Sacrament. You offer to us the grace of sharing in the love between your Son and the Church. This is a great mystery and I ask you to enlighten my mind so that I may understand it more deeply each passing day.

Encountering the Word of God

1. First-Century Discussions About Divorce: When the Pharisees approached Jesus to test him with a question about marriage and divorce, we need to recall the division between the then-current schools of thought on divorce. One of the schools, led by Rabbi Hillel the Elder (who died around A.D. 10), was more liberal and taught that a man could divorce his wife for any reason. Specifically, he gave the example of a burnt dinner as a reason for divorce. The other school was more conservative and was led by Rabbi Shammai. He taught that adultery or a serious transgression was the only reason for divorce. The Pharisees had heard that although Moses permitted divorce in the Second Law (Deuteronomy 24:1-4), Jesus forbade divorce and remarriage in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:32). The Pharisees saw “an opportunity to discredit Jesus by pitting him against Moses. Jesus evades the trap by quoting the words of Moses from Genesis (19:4-5) and then turns the tables by showing that the Pharisees are the ones out of touch with God’s true intention for married life as revealed in the Torah” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 40). 

2. Revoking Moses’ Concession: When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, he brought the Old Law to fulfillment. He did this in various ways. Some Laws of Moses needed to be interiorized. Not committing the external sin of adultery, for example, needed to be grounded in not committing the interior sin of lust. However, some Laws of Moses need to be corrected. The laws about hating and killing enemies needed to be corrected. As well, the law of Moses permitting divorce needed to be corrected. The law in Deuteronomy (24:1-4) tolerating the practice of divorce and limiting its abuses was a concession Moses granted because of the people’s hardness of heart and not because it was God’s original intention. “Jesus described divorce and remarriage as a legal concession to the sinfulness of Israel (Mt 19:8). But instead of reaffirming these practices, he revoked the Mosaic permission and restored the original standard of lifelong marriage that God instituted at creation” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Deuteronomy, 46). 

3. God’s Unfaithful Bride: The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel contains two allegories about Israel as God’s unfaithful bride. One is found in Chapter 16, which is today’s First Reading. The other is found in Chapter 23. The language in both was so graphic that ancient rabbis restricted who was allowed to read them. Today’s passage alludes to the origin of the city of Jerusalem. It was originally a Canaanite city and was the last city to fall to the Israelites under King David. The reading speaks about how God saw the city grow and how he betrothed her by covering her with the corner of his cloak. God made a covenant with her under King David and he dressed her as a queen. Instead of being a faithful bride and queen, the city of Jerusalem chose to play the harlot and slaughter her own children. This is a reference to the infant sacrifices offered to the pagan god Molech in the valley of Hinnom under King Solomon and the other Judean kings. Pagan shrines proliferated in Jerusalem and the city made alliances with and paid tribute to the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians (Ezekiel 16:24-33). The passage ends with God acknowledging that his people have broken the covenant. This is likely a reference to the covenants of Sinai and Deuteronomy under Moses. God also promises that he will remember the covenant made when his people were young. This is likely a reference to the covenant oath made to Abraham. God promises to establish a new covenant, called here “an everlasting covenant.” This new covenant will be a renewed marriage relationship that will be established when God forgives the sins of his people (Ezekiel 16:59-63) (see Bergsma and Pitre, A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament, 845).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Bridegroom who died and rose from the dead for your Bride. You shed your blood on the Cross and poured out water from your side to cleanse her from sin and unite her to yourself in an unbreakable bond of love. Cleanse me from sin and unite me to yourself!

Living the Word of God: Do I appreciate and value Christian marriage? (For those who are married): Do I pray daily for my spouse? What specifically do I pray for? Do I pray for my friends and family members who are married? How can I be a better example of sharing in the love between Christ and his Bride, the Church?