Today the gospel presents to us Christ’s teaching on the importance of marriage, family, and the need to follow God’s will. Jesus states that, from the very beginning, God established marriage as a life-long relationship between one man and one woman. The result of the mutual love between husband and wife is seen in the birth and upbringing of the children. When Pharisees question Jesus about the lawfulness of divorce, Jesus goes back to God’s original plan, found in the Book of Genesis. God plans that men and women would become one flesh in marriage. Jesus describes that the concession of divorce made in the teaching of Moses was because of human stubbornness.
Men and women are equal partners and have great roles to play in the building up of society. It is in the family that we learn to practice the values of life. Our Christian faith is transmitted to the next generation through our families. The church also teaches that marriage is a Sacrament instituted by God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament” (#1601). Through the reception of the Sacrament, husband and wife take the leadership to create a ‘domestic church’ through the family.
In the Book of Genesis (2:18), God says, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper suited to him.” God gives him a helper suited to him. According to the creation story of Genesis, God created woman from the rib of man. That means she must be close to the heart of man. He must love and cherish her as his own body. In the same way, the woman also should love her husband. The Scripture says: “For this reason, a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
In his letter to the Ephesians (5:21f.), St. Paul compares the relationship between husband and wife with the relationship between Christ and the Church. He says to husbands: “Love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her.” Jesus’ love for the Church is unconditional and complete. Thus, what is demanded of a husband and wife is to live a life of continuous self-giving for the welfare of the family. Then they should extend this love to the rest of humanity. In this context, the social significance of the Holy Eucharist finds concrete expression in and through the sacrificial life of the families. The spirit of self-giving helps the family members fight against the menace of consumerism, materialism, and hedonism that endangers family life.
The last part of the reading has a very useful lesson for all Christians. It describes Christ’s love for children. Jesus presents the children as models and invites his true followers to be childlike. If we want to be true disciples of Christ, we must trust God like a little child. When we have such a relationship with God, he will take care of our life. Therefore, our Christian faith must be childlike, trusting, humble, and obedient faith. Let us remember all our families today so that they may receive abundant blessings from God. May the Holy Family of Nazareth inspire us to create our families modeled after it.
Rev. Dr. Mathew Charthakuzhiyil