27TH SUNDAY B
CALLED TO GOD’S
FAITHFULNESS
27th Sunday
I received an unusual text
message from a lady: “Dear
friends, I inform you that today my husband has left me and my children for
another woman. Please pray for our
family.” I felt sad for her and
her uncertain situation. But days
later, she sent another message:
Dear friends, my husband returned home today. He missed his family and he realized that by abandoning us,
he sinned against the Lord.” This
woman must really have prayed a lot and, all her friends with her.
We know it is not easy to
maintain a marriage in these very trying times. How many husbands and wives,
and even children, go through a lot each day just to keep the family together.
Today the Lord is gracious in
reminding us about his plan for relationships, all kinds of relationships, but
specially marital, between husband and wife. In all, God demands faithfulness. If you truly love another, you must be willing to risk
everything, to lose many things, so as to prove your love. That is why Jesus reminds us in the
gospel (Mk 10): “A man shall leave
his own father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh.”
It is not easy to be
faithful. It is easier to act
sweet, inseparable, happy and starry-eyed. As reality sets in, the trials begin. A third party attracts man or woman to
an extra affair. Finances cause
clashes. Domestic irritants get in
the way of sound communication. You
don’t have to be married to know that.
Its on television, in the internet and in stories people swap. It’s
noticeable in the sad eyes of couples that breeze through the pressures of
living with someone each day.
But this is the very reason why
God demands faithfulness. In the midst of problems, if you are not faithful,
you will forget to cherish and honor each other. You will easily fall into temptation. And it is not easy to be faithful! God knows that, that’s why he made himself
the standard of fidelity. “What
God has joined together, no human being must separate.” That’s Jesus declaring
marriage a sacrament. Thus it is no merely natural or human institution or invention.
In God’s eyes, marriage is based on his love and so becomes a source of grace
for couples.
Today many people are indifferent
to the sacraments, particularly, marriage. They want unity of body, of emotions, of life, but not under
God. To refuse to invite God into
your union is to refuse to be faithful like him. It is God who will help couples achieve their goal, if they
remain close to him. Many people have learned to trust God in their marriage
and so reap the harvest of a happy relationship and a fruitful home. But still
many must start believing again in the words of Jesus for every man and woman
in love.
Let us pray for all married
couples in difficult situations today.
Let us pray for children who are affected by these conflicts. Let us
pray for all Christians, specially the youth to have a healthy vision of
committed life in marriage, one that depends on God for its success and
fruitfulness.
