Daily Reading

First Reading

2 Corinthians 4:7-15

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Psalm

Psalm 116:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

I kept my faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
I said in my consternation,
    “Everyone is a liar.”
Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful ones.
O Lord, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
    You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
    and call on the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,

Gospel Reading

Matthew 5:27-32

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Reflection

Friends, in today’s Gospel from the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord prohibits divorce.

Is there any better description of sex anywhere in the literature of the world than that provocative line, “The two of them become one flesh”? In a Jewish context, flesh carries the sense of the whole person. Hence sexual union is meant to be a union at all levels.

A husband says to his wife, “My life is no longer about me; it’s about you and the children we will have.” And the wife says the same thing to her husband: “My life is not mine anymore; it belongs to you and our children.” 

Some might expect Jesus to have a soft or relativized teaching on divorce, but later in Matthew’s Gospel he firmly declares, “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.” The husband and wife, who become one flesh, are brought together not just by their mutual attraction but by God. Their union is ingredient in God’s purposes. And this is why it cannot be undone. God doesn’t go back on his word.