Relationships Matter

27th Sunday In Ordinary Time
4 October 2009



Come, let us worship Christ, whose bride is the Church.

First reading Genesis 2:18-24

The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:
‘This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.’
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 127:1-6

Second reading Hebrews 2:9-11

We see in Jesus one who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind.
As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers.

Gospel Mark 10:2-16

Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’
People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.


Reflection
By Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento

Nightly, after my dose of TFC teleseryes (those soaps keep me from missing home so much, and thanks to my husband for bearing with the predictable and twisted plots and a lot of sniffing), next off would be a choice among the information, technology, and science channels – National Geographic, Discovery, Science, and the History Channel. Both of us have been ardent viewers of these channels even before we met. And of course, now that we are married, and parents at that, learning from these shows has never been as enjoying as it is at the moment. We have also successfully influenced our son to love nature, to be curious about what he sees around him, to take pleasure in just watching whales and dolphins, and to say the tongue-twisting dinosaur names. Apart from these, thanks to Dora and Diego, Wonder Pets, Backyardigans, to say the least, our son has learned the names of land and water forms, the names of countries, and some exotic animals like the Scarlet Macaw.

* * *
So what are the main points of today’s readings?
1. That we, humans, are the stewards of the rest of the Lord’s creations. We are the highest forms of creations, but we were made with a purpose, and that is to perfectly take care of the planet that Father God lent us. Yes, we may be the most intelligent creatures, but we should be wary of what we are capable of doing. We can create and destroy; revive and kill; be content and play gods. Hopefully, we are also wise to choose what the better action is, before it is too late.

2. That no matter the differences, a husband and a wife should always find a common ground. It is true that romance wanes as you go along in your married life. It may not anymore feel like having butterflies in your tummy, but rather spiders, and roaches for some. But being married in the name of Jesus is a sacred covenant that couples unfortunately don’t understand that they should be working on. It is not anymore a feeling; but rather a decision to be a work in progress under the Lord’s supervision. My tip is to consciously find time to do the things that both of you love – like in our case, watching the shows I’ve mentioned awhile ago. Mind you, my husband and I are very different – to the very essence of the word. He is outdoorsy and athletic, while I’d rather stay home and do crafts. He is a man of few words, while I can put up a head to head talking match with Kris Aquino. I recognize God in the people I meet, while he finds God in physics and natural sciences. But each time we remember the fainting goats we’ve seen on NatGeo (search for them online), we laugh our guts out. We both feel infuriated and disturbed when we talk about the Nazi era and how Hitler can be a candidate for the antichrist. In the end, we do our best to live up to what God wants both of us to become for each other, and to perform the greater responsibility of shepherding our sons to the right path.

3. And finally, relationships matter, and I am not only talking about the relationships among humans, but how everything is connected to every single thing. That is how our very wise God the Creator designed the world we live in, and as humans, we should learn to respect it, cultivate it properly, and preserve it to the best of our abilities.

* * *

Today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. He is the champion of the poor, of the environment, and of peace. Let us remember him today and make him our inspiration as we try to live a life of simplicity and contentment. Also, October is the month of the Holy Rosary. May we continually be devoted to the Blessed Virgin, our Mahal na Ina (Beloved Mother). (Oh, and a very blessed birthday to my Dad, Dr. Francis Rivera.)


Prayer:

Dear Lord,

We have recently witnessed the effects of how we treat the very beautiful earth that You endowed us humans. We are saddened by the deaths and the hardship of all the people affected by typhoon Ondoy. Let this catastrophe be a wake-up call for all of us. We know that You have a purpose for everything, and we may not understand it now, but we hope to find serenity after this trial. May we remain faithful to You and Your Will. Amen.






Next week on God-speak
We Need Hope