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Reflection for Sunday 10/7/12

Readings for This Week:
Genesis 2:18 – 24
Hebrews 2:9 –11
Mark 10:2 –16 or 10:2 –12

Readings for Next Week:
Wisdom 7:7–11
Hebrews 4:12 –13
Mark 10:17– 30 or 10:17– 27

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Loneliness is, perhaps, the greatest of modern afflictions. Despite e-mails and cell phones, it’s difficult to feel like, in the words of the poet John Donne, “a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” Millions surround us, but we can still feel like “islands” in the vast ocean of life. In the beginning, we were meant for oneness. Man and woman, scripture says, were made for each other. No other partner was fitting for the man. Woman alone, made not from the clay of the ground as was Adam but from the man’s own rib, was suitable. Once, this was a simple and readily accepted concept. But today, the waters are murkier. Some say anything that reduces the loneliness of modern life should be praised as good and godly, so and view marriage between a man and a woman as just one option among other options. Maybe that’s why Mark follows Jesus’ citation of the Genesis text and his hard teaching on divorce with the episode in which Jesus calls us to be childlike. Children are not necessarily nice or sweet. In fact, they can be downright cruel. But children readily trust and depend on others. Those are the child-like qualities Jesus wants us to emulate. Maturity and wisdom can help us avoid cruelty, but when our brains and hearts head out in opposite directions, only childlike trust can enable us to embrace the hard teachings of the Gospel.

“. . . a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

SHARING FAITH
Do you see evidence of loneliness in modern culture? How about in your own life? What are viable antidotes to loneliness?

LIVING THE LITURGY
Observe a child for an extended period. Try to discern the childlike qualities Jesus was (and was not!) asking us to emulate if we would possess the kingdom.

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