27 th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B

When I was first ordained a priest, I was filled with the joy of experiencing the fulfillment of a life-long hope and dream. My first days and weeks were certainly what one could call a honeymoon, and all was right in the world.

Today, more than twelve years later, I am happier than ever to be a priest, but my own understanding of the priesthood has certainly changed, my own experiences of life have included both good times and bad times, and despite the fact that we have been taught that you are a priest forever, I have also experienced the sorrow of seeing some very good friends leave the priesthood.

I share very briefly my own experience of the priesthood today as a way of saying that in some way, if not directly at least by comparison, I can share the experience of married people who begin their marriage filled with the joy of experiencing the fulfillment of life-long hopes and dreams, with a time we call a honeymoon, and with the sense that all is right in the world.

But married people, as we all know, grow in their understanding of what marriage is, and experience both good times and bad in their relationships, and despite the fact that we are taught that what God has joined men must not divide, married people themselves or in the lives of relatives and friends experience the sorrow of sometimes seeing marriage end in divorce.

And so it can be challenging and difficult for us to hear Jesus' words in the gospel today, especially when we call to mind situations we have experienced ourselves or have witnessed in others' lives where divorce seems to be not a violation of God's plan for marriage but perhaps the only alternative for a person's survival.

Jesus puts before us today a teaching that is a clear statement of God's plan for our human family – marriage is meant to be partnership of the whole of life that is established between a man and a woman that has among its characteristics the values of permanence, fidelity and openness to children.

This teaching has its origin in the book of Genesis, as we heard in our first reading today, and so it is not a specifically Catholic or Christian teaching – it is a statement of God's plan for all of humanity.

This teaching sets a standard that is undeniably high, and that many fail to meet. It is a teaching that may give us as much insight into how we confront our weakness, our sinfulness, our frailty in every aspect of life as it does teach us about the nature of marriage.

Divorce and remarriage outside of the Church are realities in the lives of many people we know, and perhaps in the lives of many here today.

There are also people who are convinced that their attraction to others of the same sex is a part of their nature, and who seek public recognition of relationships that in their minds are similar or even equivalent to marriage.

To many, the words of Jesus in today's gospel are exclusionary, and perhaps a reason to abandon a Church that takes these words literally.

What I would say to any who feel the words of Jesus as a source of pain, sorrow, or even anger today is that these are words we must understand as being spoken by the same Lord who teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

And this Lord who asks us to try our best to be perfect is also the same Lord who by taking own our humanity knows our weaknesses and temptations as well as we know them all ourselves.

Jesus, who asks us to be perfect, is one who does not condemn, nor does he tolerate those who would be quick to judge others.

And so, before we rush to judgment and to our own interpretation of Jesus' teaching on the sixth commandment, let us remember that there are many among us here today who have made money, status, or some other mark of respect an idol that we place before our one true God as the object of our time and attention. There are also many here today who regularly and quite cavalierly take God's name in vain or minimize the responsibility we have to attend church on Sundays.

Few of us can claim perfection in our efforts to honor father and mother, or others who hold positions of authority in our lives, and while hopefully there are no murderers among us, we all know how common character assassination can be. Cheating and lying and stealing, by omission as well as commission, are among the sins of many of us here, and coveting what others possess is also a fairly common character defect.

My point is not to encourage anyone to ignore the teaching of Jesus as it pertains to marriage and the sixth commandment. My point is to say that none of us is without sin, and therefore none is worthy to throw the first stone at another.

For those who struggle to make progress in the way Jesus teaches us today, I invite you to consider what hope there might be in the Church's annulment process and even more in the sacrament of Reconciliation.

For all of us today, I would like to recall a bit of wisdom of heard just recently.

Last week I was back at Mount St. Mary's Seminary for our annual priests' reunion, and one of the speakers who was honoring a former Rector of the Seminary who died this past year was quoting that priest as having said often, “God loves me, God loves you, God loves us all no matter what we do.”

To some this may sound like a childish ditty, but to others, including those who are divorced and remarried outside the Church, or those who are attracted to people of the same sex, it may be a word of encouragement and hope when even the gospel itself speaks a word that is difficult to hear.

Jesus makes it clear that God wants us all to live our lives in accord with the Gospel, and he never changed even the smallest part of a letter of the Law.

But the same Jesus who spoke so clearly and so forcefully in today's gospel is the same Jesus who says to all of us, “Come to me when you are weary and find life burdensome, and I will give you rest,” and he is the same Jesus who also says as often and as clearly, “Do not be afraid, … know that I am with you always.”

No matter who we are or no matter where we may find ourselves falling short of the mark when it comes to our efforts to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, may we also always remember that we too are like the little children in today's gospel whom Jesus puts his arms around and blesses with his love.

Thomas P. Ferguson
October 8, 2006