Gospel for the day: Mark 10:1-12
10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” 5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’[a] 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.’[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Nowadays it is very common to hear news about break-up, separation, adultery and even third party. What we see on television greatly affects the mind setting of the people watching it and tolerating it more makes it seem “normal”. We tend to forget the importance of the sacrament of matrimony that once we enter it, we can no longer get out easily because it is a sacred gift from God. There are a lot of temptations in this world, a lot of problems and trials, a lot of easy way out and we are not spared from going through these things. Above all the trends of this world, it is still our choice that is important.
Last 2008 we watched a movie entitled Fireproof, wherein a married couple (Caleb & Catherine) was experiencing marital difficulties. They were having several misunderstanding and constant arguing wherein both of them wanted a divorce.Caleb’s co-workers convince him to hold off their divorce and he asks help from his father. His father encouraged him to try the Love Dare, which is a 40-day challenge for improving marriages by changing the way a spouse is treated. At first he disagrees but later on he tried it with his wife and kept it a secret. He started the love dare half-heartedly while his wife was busy about her work at the hospital and ignoring his efforts. Catherine was starting to fall for the doctor which led her to decide in leaving their marriage. The husband works as a firefighter and during his duty while putting off the fire, he got burned and was treated to the hospital where his wife was working. There he was taken care off by the doctor who also found out that Caleb was Catherine’s husband. After that incident, Caleb continued the dare with faith that Catherine might change her mind about their divorce.
One day, Catherine discovers that her mother's medical costs have been paid anonymously and assumes it was from the doctor but it was paid by her husband. Caleb discovers their affair and confronts the doctor which he found out that he was also married and was planning to end their affair. With the grace from God, Caleb completed the love dare but never stopped in following the guidelines and his wife found out about it. Moved by the efforts and sudden change from her husband, they reconciled and renewed their vows.
What I learned from this movie was to “never leave your partner behind especially during a fire” which is also similar to not finding an easy way out when there’s an argument. Yes sometimes we find it easier to leave but it is better that we stay and face it so it gets fixed. The Lord is telling us to value our relationships more than our feelings and that we should protect it from whatever or whoever wants to destroy it. Let us learn to fireproof our relationships and try our best to please and glorify God through it.
May God be praised!
