Deacon Tom Anthony

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 140

Reading 1 Gn 2:18-24

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him."
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep,
he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib
that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said:
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman, '
for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one flesh.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (cf. 5) May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!
R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Reading 2 Heb 2:9-11

Brothers and sisters:
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "
that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated
all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers.”

Alleluia 1 Jn 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another, God remains in us
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 10:2-16

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."
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

To become closer to God we need to get further away from the allures and temptations of the physical world which act as obstacles to us understanding Him who created us. When we focus on our relationship with Him, what we think and feel can be influenced by our perceptions of Him which are oftentimes molded by our personal experiences and by what other people say. Consciously and subconsciously we are at danger of constructing our own opinion of who God is by what other people think about Him without seeking the truth ourselves. Those who might not have our best interests in their own thoughts and action can actually have more control over our faith-life than we know.

Simplification of oneself is a way to become closer to God without dangerous outside influences. As human beings, we have an inclination to analyze, seek knowledge, and gather information. Our mind processes what we find and we then ultimately come to our own conclusions based on all the information we gather. This desire for wisdom is encouraged by God, yet He also gives us a reminder in the Gospel Reading today: Sometimes less is actually better. Taking an example of a little child, Jesus makes the point that the Kingdom of God belongs to those who love just to love, trust just to trust, and be accepting just so as to accept. In other words, there are no pre-conditions to doing good things and being good. A child naturally loves, trusts, and accepts people because it was created that way. We, as children, were also created that way by God. As we lived our lives, gathered knowledge and understanding regarding human thoughts and actions, these good things started to be covered by feelings of prejudice, judgment, and personal desires. What was first unconditional became conditional.

Jesus tells us that we need to approach our Father like children. There is no need to seek justifying our relationship with Him by making our love for Him conditional. It is good and healthy to explore it through knowledge and understanding but it is not by demanding some sort of proof tainted by the counterarguments of another. Our love must come first then from it will flow wisdom. Other people’s opinions should not matter when it comes to our relationship with God. He is beyond all other people which means that the relationships He has with all of us are unique and beyond the understanding of others who are judging or rendering their own opinions. Society is already against God to begin with. Wouldn’t it be fair to say that what comes forth from people who choose the physical world above God is already tainted defective?

A relationship with God develops over a lifetime. The foundation is built when we react to His love and approach Him like a little child: loving, trusting, and accepting. From there, we go forward on a journey of discovery which includes getting to know ourselves by getting closer to the one who made us in His image. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone in this relationship. Entering into this world and making himself lower than the angels made it all the easier to approach Him and relate to Him. Suffering for all of our sins forever united us to Him in our own suffering. We all have our crosses and are walking our own Passion to Calvary. The difference is that Jesus’ suffering was voluntary for our sake because of His love for us. He did not have to do any of it.

When we suffer, for whatever reason, it usually isn’t completely voluntary even in cases when we suffer for another. In these circumstances we make a choice, weighing the options. Jesus did not weigh any options when it came to His sacrifice for our salvation. We are encouraged to reflect on this as we develop our relationship with Him. He has already given everything before we even knew Him or loved Him. This is where our relationship with Him starts. He is willing to give everything to us even if we ultimately reject Him. This is all the more reason to pursue Him. Can the one who created us, died for us, and loves us regardless of what horrible condition we are in do any wrong to us?

We are God’s Children. To enter into a proper relationship with Him we must start acting like children. When was the last time we heard that acting like children was a good thing? Yet, as with every else, God’s ways are not our ways. Let’s embrace our childhood anew.

Deacon Tom