October 6
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
“May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.”
Readings
Reflection
This week, our readings focus on the idea of discipleship through marriage in our lives. One of the major indicators of being a disciple of Jesus is how we treat our families, especially our spouse and our children. Thinking about marriage, we recognize that God’s ideal is that the husband and wife are created for each other and for no one else. Even more, the underlying theme of marriage is that of discipleship; husbands and wives are made to be disciples in the most important way, taking care of God’s creation and loving each other as God loves them.
The readings speak of the importance of the unity of the family of God. In our first reading from the Book of Genesis we have the creation of woman from the account of Creation. Woman is created from the rib of man as his equal. In the gospel we have Christ’s teaching on divorce which went against the norms of his time because Moses had allowed divorce to become a part Jewish life. Christ overturned that practice and gave a greater sanctity and status to this great act of union between a man and a woman. Though this is not easy for everyone to live it is something towards which the world must strive if is to remain faithful to the teaching of Christ.
When we look at the readings in their totality, the discipleship focus is clear. The invitation to the disciples is to move from a legalistic mindset to one that accepts the kingdom of God like a child. Further, true discipleship entails being detached from the idea of self-importance. In God’s reality, others become more important than we are. We owe others our respect, our love and our efforts to create an equitable life for ourselves and for our families. We seek this humility in order to allow God’s grace to flow through us. The disciple who has embraced a life of humility for the sake of the gospel will receive a hundred fold in this life and eternal life in the age to come. Let us seek to put others first and learn to be truly humble as Jesus wants us to be.
Peace,
Deacon Dare
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