27B21.     Genesis 2:18-24.    Human beings are meant to live in a world of complementarity: Male/female; man/woman; masculinity/femininity.  It is the nature of all living creatures (animals) of this world.   Genesis 5:2a says, “God created them male and female.”  So to speak, marriage is the union of the two parts so that they may become one whole.  Even more importantly, when God says in Genesis 2:24c, “And the two of them become one flesh,” God establishes the sacredness of the conjugal union, far above the rest of this animal world because we alone are called to be a part of the spirituality of the divinity.

Mark 10:2-16.  Jesus explained to his disciples, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  In the Catholic Church the annulment process is based on showing that something was lacking to having a truly valid marriage but not on dissolving a marriage commitment that was validly made.  For Jesus, there are commitments that are rooted in a God-centered life which are made for a life time.  As God is faithful, so must we be.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:48: “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Also, Jesus condemns divorce and marriage to another but not a divorce that does not lead to a second marriage.  In other words, the bonds of the first marriage, as long as it was a valid marriage, remain though they no longer live together.  God calls upon us to be members of his heavenly world even though we are creatures of this earthly world.  Secondly, Jesus said, “Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”  To accept the kingdom of God is to accept God’s Will wholeheartedly, completely, with no strings attached, with childlike simplicity.  We can easily think and feel as members of this world, trying to get what we want for ourselves, which, in turn, means we reject the authority of God’s will over us.

Hebrews 2:9-11.  Jesus suffers and dies so to make salvation available to us all.  In the humanity of Jesus his obedience to his Father’s will makes him perfect.  He, who in his humanity is one of us, our brother, consecrates or makes us holy, bringing us, the Father’s children, to the glory of salvation.