Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A February 16, 2017
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
“Father, why are you so focused on the rules? Why can’t you just love people like Jesus did?” Because the rules are part of how Jesus loves us. Try telling your wife “I’m married to you, but I won’t be faithful.” “Father, why not make things easier?” Is that what Jesus did? See here that Jesus makes them harder. Murder? Now you can’t even be angry. Adultery? Now you can’t even think about another woman. Who can live like that? Where is the compassionate, gentle Jesus?
He is right there in the heart of the law. He tells us, “I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill.” Jesus didn’t come to get rid of the “rules,” but to show us why we have the law, what it really means, and how we can actually follow it. The key, of course, is love. For those who are genuine, the law is not a burden, but a gift. Look at the psalm again. It is a poem, a song that joyfully exclaims, “Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law!” The “wonders” of his law!
For those who love God, the law is a gift because it is proof of God’s love. The law and prophets are an insight into the mind of God himself! God revealed his own mind in stages. The ancient Israelites were given some temporary rules like a child with a curfew. And like a child, God was patient with some behaviors that no one would tolerate in an adult. But Jesus raises us up to adulthood. So, it’s not about getting around the law of the Pharisees but going even deeper to the very heart of the law, to the very heart of God. Jesus is that heart.
Yet, to this very day, some men and women, even leaders in the Church that Christ himself established, think that they can elude what Christ is saying. They think it’s impossible to keep the law on divorce and remarriage or to keep the law on priestly celibacy. It is no accident that Jesus talks about chastity, divorce and remarriage in the same place he talks about fulfillment of the law.
And what does he say about divorce, exactly? “Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” What God has joined, no one can put asunder. The sin comes from attempting a second marriage. Does that mean divorce itself, divorce without remarriage is okay? Not exactly. Part of the problem is the word “divorce.” For the government, “divorce” means the marriage ends. But Jesus here is talking about separation. In the ancient world, this often left a woman to make desperate choices to survive.
That’s what he’s thinking of when he says: “whoever divorces his wife, unless the marriage is unlawful, causes her to commit adultery.” That exception, that “unless the marriage is unlawful” tells us that there are circumstances when separation, but not remarriage, is allowed. What does “unlawful” mean? Jesus is probably talking about infidelity, but we can include abuse and other serious dangers. Jesus does not force you to live with someone dangerous to you or your children or someone who refuses to stay with you. In those circumstances, divorced people can still receive communion.
They still can’t remarry, though. Whoever marries a divorced man or woman commits adultery. The marriage still exists in the eyes of God, even when one partner is unfaithful. Marriage is a sign of God’s covenant with humanity – God is faithful to us even when we are unfaithful. Sometimes married Christians live out that same reality.
“But, Father, what about annulments?” An annulment does not dissolve a marriage, it says it was never there in the first place. Think of a disputed touchdown in football. Did the ball cross the line? If not, there never was a touchdown, even if the points were mistakenly put on the board while we waited for the review. An annulment is like that review. It looks at the wedding day to see if the “ball crossed the line” to see if both partners were honest, capable, and serious when they made their vows. It takes two to make a marriage. If either one was incapable, forced, or lying – the marriage didn’t happen. Don’t worry though, children born in that situation do not become illegitimate. Also, you can’t guarantee an annulment. It sometimes comes back and says, “no, you’re still married to your ex.” Don’t presume a yes. Don’t run off and get remarried thinking it will work out. It might, but it might not.
If you are in such a situation, if you need an annulment or guidance, come see me. I’m not too busy for that. That’s the kind of thing I want to be busy with.
Annulments and separations are a response to the messy brokenness of the world without violating the law of God. In God, the law is love and love is the law. And yet, some people still insist that being faithful to Jesus Christ’s own words isn’t loving enough, isn’t merciful enough. They say that some people are just too weak or that their situation is too complicated and difficult. They actually try to say that, for them, God makes an exception.
But look no further than the first reading: “No one does [God] command to act unjustly, to none does he give license to sin.” How can such rigidity be love? Rigidity? No, fidelity. Honestly, how could real love be anything other than rigidly committed to what it loves? Is the cross not rigid? Is the command “love one another as I have loved you” not rigid? It is rigid in the same way that our bones are rigid. Without that, life and love are not possible.
How is this part of the good news of the Gospel? God does not command what he does not provide the grace to do. God “is mighty in power, and all-seeing.” It is his power we see in Jesus’ fidelity to the cross. His wisdom that can guide us through our brokenness, even when we can’t see the way. And yes, when we do fall short, when we fail to keep the law of love as we all do sometimes, he will forgive. We have but to embrace the truth of his law, to admit our sin, and to resolve, with His strength, not ours, not to sin again.
“Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.” Even when we’re weak, even when it takes a million and one tries, we can follow that law if only we see it for what it is, the love of the God who died to prove how faithful he is. Can we not try to do the same?