There is quite a contrast in the readings for mass today. In the first reading, God speaks through Joshua to the people and tells them all about their history. Starting from the very beginning when Abraham lived in the midst of a people who did not worship Him, God recounted the stories about all of their ancestors and how He loved each one of them. God cared for each successive generation during their trials and often intervened to assist them. The main focus of the first reading for mass today is how God sees the big picture. Our lives are like threads in a tapestry that are unbroken, but often get tangled into knots. God is the One who helped them untangle the knots in every generation and preserved the Israelite people and their lineage until the present time. God knew the big picture in a way that no individual person could have possibly known because His vision is timeless. He sees the whole thing.
As we move on into the gospel reading from the book of Matthew today, we should keep that thought. God sees the big picture, He alone knows the whole thing.
Christ’s teaching on divorce is a very hard thing for many Catholics today, to accept and live out in their lives. It doesn’t seem fair and many Catholics rebel against “the church’s teaching on divorce”. However, the Catholic church did not develop the concept that divorce and remarriage (without an annulment) is the sin of adultery. Jesus did.
A lot of Catholics use the scripture verse in our marriage vows “what God has joined together, let no one separate”, but when that becomes easier said than done, it is tempting to disregard this verse in scripture. The next word that comes to mind is probably “but”… and therein lies the problem. Christ’s exact words are “whoever divorces his wife, (except for unchastity), and marries another commits adultery” in the New Revised Standard Version of the Catholic Bible and the Revised Standard Version as well. The New American Bible says (unless the marriage is unlawful). The Douay-Rheims translation says (unless it be for fornication). The Contemporary English Bible says (some terrible sexual sin), and the English Standard Bible says (except for sexual immorality). The current translation we use for mass, the New American Bible, is the only bible in the list of USCCB approved translations, that says (unless the marriage is unlawful). All the other translations say (except for “a sexual sin”). The current translation that is used for mass is the only translation that changed the wording to read “unless the marriage is unlawful”. However, let’s not get lost in technicalities. This is just an interesting discovery, that the other approved translations of the Catholic bible do not read the same as the current translation that we use for mass. Also, the gospel of Matthew is the only gospel in the bible that mentions an exception for divorce at all. The gospel of Mark does not mention this exception.
This is what the Catechism teaches about divorce:
Consequences of divorce between Catholic spouses, 1650, 1664, 2384-85, 2400
Definition of, 2384
Indissolubility of marriage, 2382
Innocence of an unjustly abandoned spouse, 2386
Legitimacy of civil, 2383
Works of charity for those who have undergone, 1651
Love isn’t about technicalities though. We should keep in mind the big picture. God sees the big picture, and in the end our lives will be judged by this criteria as well. Jesus defended the woman who was caught in the act of adultery in the bible. He also told the woman at the well that she had been married five times and the man she was currently living with was not her husband, but he still offered her living water. Many of the Samaritans of her town came to believe in Jesus because of the testimony of this woman and Jesus stayed with them two days. This would not have happened if Jesus had been judgmental with the woman at the well, who was living in a state of sin. Saint Joseph was also considering quietly divorcing Mary when he found out she was pregnant and he was a devout, holy man.
The big picture in the life of a Christian should be to love God and love other people just as much as we love ourselves. Something that might help those who are thinking about getting a divorce though, is to ask themselves if they are considering it for selfish reasons or unselfish reasons? And how would their actions affect other people? Genuine love always desires the ultimate good of another.
