Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12

Genesis 2:18-24

Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

Hebrews 2:9-11

Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,

“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”

They were testing him.

He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” 

They replied,

“Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce

and dismiss her.”

But Jesus told them,

“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.”

In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. 

He said to them,

“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another

commits adultery against her;

and if she divorces her husband and marries another,

she commits adultery.”

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,

but the disciples rebuked them.

When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,

“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.”

Then he embraced them and blessed them,

placing his hands on them.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, bless me today as I contemplate the mystery of human love, the mystery of the marriage covenant, and the mystery of your Son’s priesthood. I pray that my love be purified and strengthened by your grace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. God’s Original Design for Human Love: In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has begun his way or journey to Jerusalem (Mark 8:27-10:52). As his disciples follow Jesus on the way, they learn about the “way” of Christian discipleship (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 159). Along the way, Jesus invites his disciples to be humble servants who give their lives for others (Mark 9:33-37). In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus uses the question of the Pharisees about the law of Moses concerning divorce to teach his disciples about God’s original design for human love in marriage. “With this pronouncement on marriage, Jesus brings his teachings on suffering, self-denial, humility, and service into the most intimate sphere of human life. It is in the daily challenges of family relationships, in the struggle to live out God’s design for human love – especially in lifelong fidelity to another fallen and imperfect person – that ‘taking up the cross’ (Mark 8:34) has its most concrete application” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 198).

2. Jesus and the Law of Moses: The Pharisees were not truly interested in what Jesus had to say about marriage. They wanted to test Jesus and ensnare him. It seems that the Pharisees were aware that Jesus taught in a way that conflicted with Moses’ concession that permitted divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). Their plan was simply to condemn Jesus for going against the Law of Moses. Little did they know that Jesus had the authority to revoke the concession given by Moses. On the one hand, Moses’ intention in Deuteronomy was not to permit divorce but to regulate the existing practice and, above all, to limit its abuses and its devastating consequences for the woman. Jesus points out that Moses gave the law in Deuteronomy, not because it was God’s original intention but because of the hardness of the people’s hearts. Sclerosis, or hardness, of the heart is a stubborn refusal to yield to God and his ways. By referring to the original commandment about marriage in Genesis (Genesis 1:27; 2:24), Jesus teaches that the concession given later by Moses in Deuteronomy no longer applies. This is because humanity, through Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, is no longer captive to sin (see Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 197).

3. Bringing God’s Children to Glory: The Second Reading, during the next seven weeks, will be taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The letter is about the priesthood of Jesus. It tells us how Jesus was a priest, what sacrifice Jesus offered, how he saved us from sin and death, and how he established a New Covenant. The passage in the Second Reading is taken from the first part of the Letter to the Hebrews (1:5-2:18), shows that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and brother of humankind, and opens up to Jesus being the perfect priest and mediator between God and humanity. God the Father wanted us, his children, to share in his glory and, therefore, sent his only Son to bring us into glorious communion of life with him. Jesus is proclaimed as the leader or pioneer of our salvation. He was made perfect – ordained as our trustworthy and merciful high priest – through his obedient suffering. In heaven, he continues to exercise his priesthood and intercedes for us enthroned at the right hand of the Father.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the faithful, merciful, and eternal high priest. You understand my condition, my struggles, my faults, my temptations, my trials, and my victories. Intercede for me before the Father, ask him for what I most need today.

Living the Word of God: How can I be a better spouse? Do I know my spouse’s love languages? How can I love my spouse more deeply and perfectly? Would they enjoy a love letter from me?