Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees in the Gospel reading, and it’s important to understand that he was not giving them marriage counseling, because that’s not what they asked for. They seemed to be asking a question about divorce and whether or not it should be allowed, but what they were really trying to do was to get him to say something against Moses and thus prove himself to be a charlatan. But he doesn’t play their game, and instead reminded them of Moses’ own words regarding the permanence of the marriage bond. They wanted to use a loophole in Moses’ teaching to get him tripped up, but instead he trips them up by reminding them of what Moses really taught. The Christian disciple doesn’t need loopholes: she or he lives the Gospel with integrity.
The wisdom writer of the Book of Sirach says something similar today about the faithful friend. The faithful friend is indeed a rich treasure who can be trusted in good times and bad. I remember my experience as a chaplain in the emergency room of a big hospital when I was in seminary. The staff were justifiably aloof from me at first. But when I helped them console a family in a very difficult situation, they realized I could be counted on and then we became friends. Sometimes friends prove themselves in adversity, and by living the Gospel with integrity.
All of this leads us into Lent next week quite nicely, I think. We are called to turn up the fire on our discipleship, to live with integrity, and to be there for others in good times and in bad.
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