RESPECT
LIFE AND FAMILY
On this "Respect Life" Sunday, how do we put our
damaged social relationships back together? If only we lived in a world without
power struggles and moral dilemmas about how to care for our aging members, or
the value of the unborn. There are decisions that need to be made regarding the
rightful place for those who are mentally and physically different or the
rights of the undocumented, and our responsibility toward the economically
disadvantaged. And to add to all this here is the big question: What do you
think God intended for the Christian family? These are tough questions, but
when we think about it, we are all members of a family - even if we have
rejected our own family and others, or if we have been rejected by them. To
solve the problem, we have to go back to the beginning, to the issue of the
complementary lives that God first created.
Our first reading tells us the story of the creation of Eve.
Adam was alone and God knew it was "not good for the man to be alone"
(Gen 2:18). So God took one of Adam's ribs and built it into a woman - a
creation that was at last right for the man. This new creation was bone of his
bone and flesh of his flesh. Notice that God did not make the woman from a part
of Adam's head or feet, but from a rib, which comes from near his heart. She
stands out as both equal and complementary, and the two become one flesh.
In today's Gospel the Pharisees come to ask Jesus another
question, but with a hidden agenda of course. "Is it lawful for a husband
to divorce his wife" (Mk 10:2)? Once again Jesus aligns Himself with Moses
and replies, "What did Moses command you?" They responded,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss
her." Jesus agrees but with a straight forward comment, "Because of
the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment" (Mk 10:2 - 5).
The key here is the hardness of heart. What does that mean? If a heart is hard,
it cannot expand, it cannot grow, nor can it love. It is paralyzed. What
relationships do we have that need our hearts to grow and expand with love and
forgiveness? We need hearts that can be renewed and converted.
Jesus Christ goes on to demonstrate what He means when the
people bring their children to Him. He said, "Let the children come to Me;
do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (Mk
10:14). Then Jesus embraced the children and placing His hands on them, He
blessed them. Jesus turns no one away. His love for everyone, especially for
the children, is an example of what it means to be a family. It is within the
family that we learn to love and where we teach our children to love. Families
are the primary learning source for children and it is our responsibility to
bring God's love into our families. Saint Catherine of Siena wrote, "Your
Son went down from the heights of His divinity to the depths of our
humanity." Can anyone's heart remain closed and hardened after this?
Respect Life and Family!