Sermon Notes for Homilists and Religion Teachers. Embargo: Catholics are welcome to
read after Noon, Sunday
One day a young man came
to the rectory. He said: “Father, I have been married for two years. I am
thinking of getting a divorce. I don’t
think my wife and I are compatible. He explained: “
My wife is the most
stupid woman in the whole world!” Before I tell you how this ended, I would
like to introduce today’s gospel.
I smiled
with relief and announced: “Mr. Choy, I can assure you that you are
your wife are perfectly compatible.” I explained: “Mr. Choy any man who marries the most
stupid woman in the world must be extraordinarily stupid. You are obviously meant for this woman.” I
was afraid that I may have said something to hurt his feelings. But I looked out the window. I saw him meet his wife outside the church
where she was waiting. He gave her a
big hug and he had tears running
down his cheeks. In
April, they celebrated their marriage anniversary and their forty years of
absolute faithfulness. [1]
MARK’S
PERSPECTIVE: After announcing for the second time his death
and resurrection, Jesus addresses some very practical catechetical
problems. I suspect that there has been some marriage problems
in Mark’s little Roman community.
Mark’s gospel is a handbook for martyrs. Perhaps
some married couples in the little Roman community were suffering a daily and
living martyrdom because of marriage problems.
Maybe a husband and wife have stopped talking to each other and
making the children sad. Or perhaps some non-Christian young people in Rome were saying: “Well, I will get married. But if it doesn’t work out I can always get
a divorce.” Or perhaps some young people started living together: “We don’t need a courtship. Why don’tInstead we will just live together for awhile to see if we get
along well?.” So
Mark recalls Jesus teaching on marriage.
Now
back to my interview with the distraught husband. I smiled with relief and announced: “Mr. Choy, I
can assure you that you and your wife are perfectly compatible.” I
explained: “Mr. Choy any man who
marries the most stupid woman in the world must be extraordinarily stupid. You are obviously meant for this woman.” I
was afraid that I
may have said something to hurt his feelings.
But later I looked out the window.
I saw him meet his wife outside the church where she was waiting. He gave her a big hug. They both had tears
running down their cheeks. In April, they celebrated
their marriage
anniversary and their forty years of absolute faithfulness.
GOD’S POINT OF VIEW: This morning’s passage is certainly an abbreviated version of
a much longer sermon. Jesus’ sermon on marriage must
gone something like thisJesus uses an outlandish illustration. “So Mr. Wong goes to the doctor and says: “The left
side of my body is having a disagreement with the right side of my body. Doctor, please cut my body in half!”
So the doctor cuts Mr.
Wong in two parts. Try to imagine! Each
side would only be
half a man—hoppping around on one leg. And, of course there would be tremendous pain. Jesus listeners would
have had belly aches from laughing.
Now that Jesus has their
attention, he delivers the message:Today, Jesus then says: “In
marriage, a man and
woman become one body.
no longer two
but one body.”
You can’t cut in half
this one body created in marriage. Nor
can you temporarily paste two halves together without them becoming one
body. (Fornication) Of course, many
people in Rome did so and it was a disaster. The disaster not only caused the man and woman personal pain but
also affected their children, their children’s children and indeed all of Roman
society.
CHURCH’S POINT OF VIEW #1648 “It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life
to another human being. This makes it
all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves us with a
definite and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it
supports and sustains them, and that by
their own faithfulness they can be witnesses to God’s faithful love.”
It can also happen that
married people can remain together but without any love for each other. This, too, is a “divorce of hearts.” We know
that Jesus is compassionate to married couples
in difficulties. Jesus continues to
love deeply those who have entered civil divorces. But he reminds all the married folks and those preparing for
marriage that they are entering an
UNBREAKABLE COMMITMENT
TO
ABSOLUTE FAITHFULNESS.
OUR RESPONSE:
1.
What kind of support can we at St. Patrick’sOur
Lady of Fatima give to our married couples and our young people
preparing for marriage? When was the
last time this was discussed at a parish council meeting?
1.
2.
Do we, at our Lady of Fatima St. Patrick’s,
spend so much time with programs for the children that we have no time to
minister to their parents?
3.
Children
when is the last time that you said to your parents?
“Dear Mom and Dad: Thank-you for loving each
other and putting up with each other’s faults all these years. Thank-you for giving me an idea of God’s absolute
faithfulness. When I get married I,
too, will be absolutely faithful to my beloved wife or husband like you, mom
and dad, —even if we have a lot of misunderstandings
or I discover that I am married to the most stupid person on earth.”.
Would
you like to tell them right now your parents right now? I’ll give you a couple of minutes.
We are grateful to all youour
married couples. Because of their
your presence in Our Lady of FatimaSt. Patrick’s community
community. You give us , you
living
examplesreflect
to us of God’s
absolute faithfulness. Keep up the
good work!
Why don’t
we ask them to stand up! Let us give praise for these examples of God’s
absolute faithfulness here on Cheung.!
27 Sunday (B) Oct. 5, 2003
TWO
WORDS: MARRIAGE
FAITHFULNESS
THEME: In marriage, a man and
woman promise each other absolute faithfulness.
TEXT: “’Moses allowed us’, they
said, ‘to draw up a
write of dismissal and so to divorce.”
DESIRED
RESULT: Last week,
INTRO TO MASS:
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:
#1648 “It can seem difficult, even impossible, to
bind oneself for life to another human being.
This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God
loves us with a definite and irrevocable love, that married couples share in
this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own
faithfulness they can be witnesses to God’s faithful love. Spouse who with God’s grace give this
witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support
of the ecclesial community. (Familiaris
consortio #20,) Catechism of the Catholic
Church, (Mission Hills: Benziger Publishing Co, 1994), #1648, p. 411.
TIDBITS: Sometimes when Catholics
have divorced, they may feel that they are no longer welcome to prayer with the
Catholic community. But in one U.S.A archdiocese the Cardinal yearly invites all divorced Catholics to a
special prayer service and tea. In that way, he shows the continued compassion and concern of the Church for them
and the desire to make them feel a part of our Christian family.
Chewing, Digesting and
Practicing God’s Word
When
the word of God is not chewed and digested, we place it in 1. M_______ people are a s_____ of
God’s a____________ f___________.
2.
In his teachings on
marriage, Jesus uses the ridiculous example of the man who
wanted to c___ his b____
in two because the l_____ side
said it was incompatible with the r_____ side.
3. In
preparation for marriage, a suitable period of c__________ is essential.
4.
Think of someone you
know who
had a divorce? What was the worst thing
about this divorce?
______________________________________________.
5.
Name a practical
thing that you and your friends could do to help young people to
appreciate
the sacrament of matrimony? _______________________________.
6.
(Optional-Extra
points) Explain
to a friend
who has absolutely no religious beliefs why she should not start
living with her boyfriend.
(Hint: martyrs, family, catholic, baby, live, courtship, signs, serious, lovely,
religious.)
[1] (ThisNot all illustrations does not fulfill requirements for strict journalistic
accuracy and is not my personal
experience. It was told me by another
priest whose humor I appreciate but whose veracity I doubt. But this story illustrates beautifully the doctrine of “absolute faithfulness” in the stormy living out of connubial bliss.). )