October 3, 2021, 27th Ordinary Sunday

[Phrogge]

— Read the Gospel Passage slowly and prayerfully, perhaps several times over a few days.

— Let the Story speak to you in your own life, and don’t try to force a meaning, eg, the Story has always meant only such-and-such.

— Ask “What are you trying to say to me?” in your own life here and now, with whatever is going on in your life.

— Be ready to be surprised.

— If you feel comfortable please write your thoughts as a reply using the “submit” button below.

Gospel
Mk 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.

OR:

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.”

[Phrogge]

With a number of things going on in y life this past week, I’m reminded again of the important distinction between studying the Scriptures, and praying the Scriptures. Both are important. In a sense, and with the risk of oversimplifying, studying the Scriptures is a matter of thinking, while praying the Scriptures is more a matter of wondering. Studying them points to a set of documents and rules, while praying them becomes a matter of insight to our own personal experience.

Jesus told his followers that “I will be with you always, even to the end of time”, and “I will send the Spirit to remind you of what I taught you”. In other words the Spirit, when we consent and are open to it, teaches us in the setting of our own life at any given time, what it means for us to live as a disciple of Jesus. This is not an exercise in logic or a process of thinking, but a stance of being open to infinite possibility, a realization that we don’t have all the answers, above all, it seems, a willingness to be surprised.

There is in some versions of Christianity a long tradition of what is called “lectio divina”, or divine or spiritual reading. It is a simple practice of reading a particular passage slowly and prayerfully several times. While we might be familiar with the passage, we don’t read it having already decided what it means, but being open to whatever the Spirit might put into our heads. In a sense this can be unsettling because we don’t want to give up control. From time to time we might come to realize that our need to maintain a sense of control is what is keeping us from from really being open to the Spirit and growing. This can be a real stumbling block for some folks, and I speak from my own experience.

An example from this Sunday’s reading might help. Traditionally it is seen as the basis for theRC’s position against divorce and remarriage. But, it can also be seen as Jesus defending the rights of women. In his time women had no rights. Men could divorce wives without any reason. Jesus is asserting that women are equal to men both in rights and responsibilities. The two understandings of the story are not mutually exclusive.

We also learn that there are always more than one way to understand a given Scripture in our own lives. The Spirit speaks to us in the setting of our own lives, our own stories, our own journeys. All this happens in real life as it is, not as we wish it were, or as others tell us it should be.

[Steve Karthan]

Beautiful! Absolutely Beautiful! I still have that “control” burden and logic,thinking problem. I am thankful for your continued support and for me trying to “challenge” myself. I’m to laid back in “my” ways. The beauty of the Holy Spirit has been inspiring the last few months. “Inner” Peace is good, need to “share” this Peace with others. Trying to be more child like (in Spirit) in a world which makes us “Grow uo” way to fast. Thanks Padre!

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