Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 3, 2021: The two shall become one flesh...

The two shall become one flesh…

Our relationship with God and with other is grounded in union!

   From the very beginning, God has intended for all of creation to be in union, a union created not by humankind but by God. In the second creation story of the Book of Genesis, God creates man out of mud, but then states: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. God recognizes that man is not complete until woman is created and man can be other than self-focused; God creates the two to have one identity, adamah. The man recognizes that the woman is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; the woman thus has the same strength (bone) and the same vulnerability (flesh) as the man. They are equal and connected to one another, and, together, can be in union with God the Creator who has created their bond. Psalm 128 describes how that union grows with the birth of children: the man and woman are blessed by progeny, and hope to see their children’s children; in the family unit, there is also union.

   Although God has always sought union with God’s people, it is through Jesus that we gain full access to God. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus becomes one with us – a little lower than the angels – so that he might call us brothers and sisters. Unless Jesus becomes human, he cannot enter into death to conquer death, so as to bring many children to glory. God becomes one with us to reverse man’s original choice of knowledge over God; the incarnation of Jesus is a celebration of that connection, for all have one origin. In his conversations with the Pharisees in Mark's Gospel, Jesus stresses the centrality of union, reminding them that, while Moses wrote a law to deal with divorce because of the hardness of the human heart, God’s plan was always union: the two shall be one flesh, he says, citing Genesis. Jesus includes children in this union: Let the children come to me, he says, expanding the notion of kinship even to the most vulnerable.

   All relationships come from God; we are not complete without one another – men, women, and children – and we are certainly not complete without God. Ultimately, we will know perfect union with God in heaven. Until then, let us celebrate the union God invites us to here on earth, a union in God’s love and mercy.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
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