By Father Paul Nord
Sunday Scripture
First Reading: Genesis 2:18-24; Response: Psalm 128:1-6; Second Reading: Hebrews 2:9-11; Gospel: Mark 10:2-16
Our Genesis reading is taken from the second “creation” account, which begins in Genesis 2:4. After the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, God made man from the dust of the ground, and he established a garden in Eden — watered by four rivers. This is followed by today’s reading, in which God seeks a “suitable partner” for the man. The King James Bible famously translated this as a “help meet” for the man. The Hebrew (‘ezer) for partner/help is elsewhere used to describe God in His relation to man. For example, God is described as “our help (‘ezer) and our shield” in Psalms 33:20 and 115:9-11.
Seeking a “suitable partner” for the man, God says: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” This is an essential truth of human nature. Loneliness is very often an important factor in depression, and in various kinds of self-destructive behavior. Genesis 1:1-31 describes God creating the light, the earth, the sea, plants, trees and all living creatures. In each case, God recognizes each of these as “good.” But being alone is “not good” for the man.
The Lord God formed the various wild animals and birds “out of the ground.” He does the same with the man (Genesis 2:7). God allows the man to name each of the animals and birds. This indicates man’s dominion over the animals and birds. This is similar to the first creation account, where God gives man and woman dominion over all other creatures (Genesis 1:26). But none of the wild animals or birds proves “to be the suitable partner for the man.” This emphasizes the radical difference between human nature and the nature of the animals and birds. God made humanity unique.
When the Lord God creates woman note that she is not formed “out of the ground” — as the man, animals and birds had been. Instead, God forms woman directly out of one of the man’s ribs. God casts “a deep sleep on the man” while he removes the rib.
The man’s response is remarkable when God brings the woman to him. The man is moved to words of poetry. He begins: “this one, at last!” Then: “bone — from my bone! Flesh — from my flesh!” The man is overwhelmed by what God has done in creating woman. Man recognizes a “suitable partner” who shares his own nature — bone and flesh. This inspires his beautiful, poetic words.
The shared nature of the man and the woman is further emphasized by the narrator who describes the man and woman becoming “one flesh.” These final verses alternate the Hebrew words for “man” (ish) and “woman” (issha). The woman has been “taken out of” the man. In response, the man (ish) “leaves” his father and his mother to join himself to his wife (issha: woman).
Next, the letter to the Hebrews reflects on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. By choosing to become man, the Son of God was temporarily made “lower than the angels.” In this way, Jesus “tasted death for everyone.” Jesus is then described as “the leader of their salvation” (Greek genitive), who was made “perfect through suffering.” It may seem strange for the letter to the Hebrews to describe Jesus as “made perfect” since he is God’s Son. This phrase does not contradict that Jesus is morally perfect — without sin. Instead, it suggests that Jesus suffered in order to “bring to completion” his human nature. In this way, Jesus consecrated to God all human suffering — and he united himself to every suffering person who accepts Jesus as God’s Son. Thus we have become Christ’s “brothers.” We share in his glory as God’s “children.”
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees challenge Jesus by asking him: “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” The narrator emphasizes: “They were testing him.” The Pharisees were jealous that large crowds were coming to hear Jesus’ teaching. The verse preceding this gospel says: “(Jesus) went into the district of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and ... he again taught them” (Mark 10:1). The Pharisees wanted to damage Jesus’ moral authority so that the people would follow them instead.
Jesus turns the “divorce” question back on the Pharisees by asking them: “What did Moses command you?” The Pharisees respond with a reference to Deuteronomy 24:1, which permitted the husband to write a “bill of divorce.” They considered Moses to be the author of the first five Old Testament works (“Pentateuch”), including Deuteronomy.
Jesus uses this opportunity to call them to a higher moral standard. Jesus acknowledges that Moses allowed divorce, but then he points to God’s original intention when he created man and woman (he quotes Genesis 2:24). Jesus emphasizes that the union between man and woman is the work of God — “what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” When the disciples question Jesus about this, he clarifies that divorce followed by remarriage results in committing adultery.
The remainder of today’s Gospel recalls people bringing their children to Jesus so “that he might touch them.” Earlier in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly healed the sick — often by the power of his touch (Mark 1:31; 5:21-43; 7:31-37; 9:14-29). Thus these parents were asking Jesus to touch their children — whether their children needed healing or not.
But the disciples rebuke the parents for doing this. Seeing this, Jesus “became indignant” — a strong rebuke of the disciples’ actions. Jesus says: “Let the children come to me ... for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Most important is Jesus’ “Amen” saying: “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Recall Jesus’ main message near the beginning of Mark’s Gospel: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (1:15). To demonstrate his point, Jesus then embraces the children and blesses them by laying his hands on them, as their parents had wished.