Imagine being torn in half.
If we believe scripture, that is precisely what happens during divorce. Because a man and woman are brought together in the sacrament of marriage and become one flesh, the act of divorce tears that one flesh in half. Divorce is not a separation. It is a mortal wound to what God has united together. And it’s why we grieve a divorce like we do a death – because it is a death.
Listen to Jesus in October 7th’s gospel from Mark, with special attention to the one flesh of marriage.
“The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."
Let’s pray - Father of Grace and Mercy – please give us a new reverence for marriage. Help us to honor that it is you that unites a man and a woman together, and respect the one flesh the sacrament creates. Amen.
#godislove #prayfor2 #marriage #divorce