Friday – 19th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Matthew19:3-12

In Good Times and In Bad….

Chapel at Cana

A few years ago, not far from our Chicago neighborhood, a newborn baby was abandoned in an alley.  Stuffed inside a chest of drawers in the trash in 90-degree heat, the baby was discovered and rescued just before garbage trucks made their rounds.  The baby is now alive and well, praise the Lord!

Can you imagine?  Tossing out a new life into a trash can like it was simply garbage.  We throw away broken appliances, spoiled food and old furniture.  Have we stooped so low as to regard human life as disposable?  Has this little child become, not a sign of life and hope, but a problem to avoid and a relationship not even worth working on?  When things get tough, is it easier to walk away from the relationship than to put in the time and effort to work on it?  We can’t be bothered!

That is what Jesus is addressing in today’s Gospel when He is asked about divorce.  We are meant to be together; we are meant to commit ourselves to each other.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t times when relationships die or when they become so violent or harmful that we must step aside.  What I mean is that sometimes we give up too easily!  Relationships, marriages, require time and effort; it is not something we should take for granted.  Those “I do’s” signal the beginning of a marriage, the beginning of WE, not simply I.

In 3 days, Ginger and I will be celebrating 52 years of marriage.  Smooth sailing?  Not always!  Was it work and effort?  Yup! Were there missteps and stumbles?  Of course! But there was (is) also a lot of laughter and love and joy.  But through it all, we grew and we continue to grow together.  Just remember that God loves us always and never gives up on us.  He is committed to our growth in faith and in love.  He reminds us today to do the same – don’t give up on each other; don’t give up so easily on any of our relationships.  Put in the effort and work at being a better US!  God hasn’t given up on us; why should we give up on each other?

Creator Spirit, make me a channel of your peace, of your love. Guide me and strengthen me to see the value of others in my life, even those who test my patience and my faith. 

 

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