Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 16, 2024
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”
He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said,
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, man must not separate.”
They said to him, “Then why did Moses command
that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?”
He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife
(unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits adultery.”
His disciples said to him,
“If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry.”
He answered, “Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others;
some, because they have renounced marriage
for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”
Reflection
The most striking, even convicting, word in this gospel passage is “tested”: the Pharisees tested Jesus. I confess I have spent too much of my own life testing Jesus. Perhaps we all do. But why? We may not fully trust or believe Jesus. Or maybe our regard for our own intellect is so high that we hesitate to accept someone telling us something different. Maybe both.
When we hear Jesus saying something we find challenging, is our first reaction to think he must be wrong? Do we presume the correctness of our beliefs and behaviors and look for ways to criticize or denigrate what we hear? In other words, do we test him?
We also often test one another. We can become so sure of ourselves that we will not give good-faith consideration to differing perspectives. Our first instinct can often be to criticize, not to reflect, to search for reasons others must be wrong, not for reasons they might be right. How often do others fail our tests, and we then simply dismiss them?
Jesus did not come to flatter us, however, to reaffirm what we already believe, or to make the path to God seem smooth and easy. In his love for us, he came to tell us the truth. That truth is sometimes hard and sometimes challenges, even convicts, us. But rather than testing Jesus, perhaps we should turn the test on ourselves. When Jesus says, “Not all can accept this word,” are we open to accepting or even genuinely considering his word? When he says, “Whoever can accept this ought to accept it,” perhaps that is itself the test for us.
Prayer
Lord, you teach us to hold the covenant of marriage in the highest dignity. Bless all husbands and wives in their promises of love and fidelity to one another. Help all couples experiencing difficulties. Assist all members of your Church to support and encourage one another in our vocations. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Stephen was crowned the first king of Hungary in 1001 and united that nation under Christianity.
He literally established the Church there—erecting churches and recommending bishops to lead in different regions. He commanded tithes to be paid to support new monasteries and parishes, and suppressed pagan beliefs.
He stayed close to the poor. Anyone could tell him their story and find a ready ear, but he made himself especially available to poor people. In one story, he disguised himself to distribute money and goods to the poor himself. A crowd gathered around him, and a small number roughed him up and took for themselves what he had intended to give to many. He laughed it off, happy to suffer for Christ, and resolved to never refuse support to any poor person who asked him.
His son, Blessed Emeric of Hungary (pictured here as a boy), was to be heir to the throne, but died in a hunting accident. Stephen was grief-stricken, and spent the rest of his life amidst bitter disputes about his succession.
He died from a painful illness in 1038. On his deathbed, he raised his right hand and asked the Virgin Mary to be Queen of Hungarians. His right hand remained incorrupt after his death and is kept intact as a relic. Known simply as the Holy Right, it is kept in Budapest to this day as a sign that Mary accepted his offer.
Shortly after his death, healings took place at the tomb of St. Stephen. He was canonized as the first confessor king—a new category of saint—and his relics are on display in the Basilica. The image of St. Stephen was created by Matthew Alderman '06.
St. Stephen of Hungary, you cared most for those in need—pray for us!
Image credit:
Matthew Alderman '06, used with permission
