When God Is Homeless

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

October 3, 2021

Today, God speaks to us about the origin of the sacrament we call marriage or matrimony, about the sacredness of marriage, about the need to preserve marriage, about the unlawfulness of divorce and the need to welcome the fruits of marriage— children. The first reading (Gen. 2:18-24), presents us the theological view of why there are men and women and why they marry:  “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” Adam is lonely. Unfortunately, he does not know what to do to deal with his loneliness. So, God steps in. But is Adam truly alone in the Garden of Eden? Not really! All the animals that God created are all around him. He is  the one that gives each its name. Sadly, none is able to offer a suitable companionship to him. Even with their presence, Adam is still lonely and sad. So, God puts him to sleep. As he sleeps, God takes one of his ribs and builds something beautiful. Then God brings his newest work of art to Adam. The moment Adam sees God’s latest design, he smiles and says, “…At last, this one is the bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman’” (Gen. 2:23). If you are still wondering why it takes a woman to bring out the best in a man, I hope you’ve found your answer. The right woman brings out the best in the right man. It’s the reason why a man will leave his father and mother and clings to his wife. Together with his wife, they become not two bodies but one flesh and one body (Gen. 2:24). They become soulmates. 

Our Gospel (Mark 10:2-16) has two related parts. The first part (10:1-12) is about the prohibition of divorce by Jesus: “From the beginning God made them male and female….Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” What’s the Lord indicating here? He is announcing that marriage is not a mere legal contract, a human phenomenon, rather a divine event. God is interested in marriage. God is involved in marriage. God is the creator of marriage. Marriage was not invented by humans but by God.  As such, no human being can rightly assume God’s authority to destroy a union that God has joined together. Although there are times when the Church, the Bride of Jesus Christ, will dissolve and annul some marriages on Christ’s behalf, but those are marriages that shouldn’t have taken place in the first place. When the Church tribunal annuls a marriage, it declares that a marriage thought to be valid according to Church law actually fell short of at least one of the essential elements required for a binding union. The second part of the Gospel (10:13-16) is about the fruits of marriage— children. People are bringing children to Jesus so that he might touch them, but his overzealous disciples try to prevent the children from coming to Jesus. When Jesus realizes it, he chastises his disciples and says to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). What’s another way to echo the words of the Lord? Allow children to be born. Do not abort them. Do not stop them. Give them the chance to live and experience me. 

Now, with the coming together of a man and a woman in holy matrimony, what do we have? A family! Check this out! God came to us through a family. God dwells among us through a family. The family is an institution, a school where the mother, father and their children are the students. They are majoring in the field of Living Together. So, they take courses like theology of love, theology of understanding, spirituality of forgiveness, theology of prayer, theology of service, theology of family, spirituality of listening and communication, theology of obedience and respect.  In this school, no one is less important and no one is more important. Everyone is important. In this school, there is no perfect person. Occasionally, this imperfection will cause one person to injure another. When that becomes the case, only the medicine of forgiveness can bring healing. Forgiveness must be asked and be given. Forgiveness is the ointment of healing. It soothes the mind and heart and brings healing to both the injurer and the injured. Pope Francis says that, “Without forgiveness, the family becomes a theater of conflict and a bastion of grievances. Without forgiveness, the family becomes sick.” If the sickness persists, the family will die. And when a family dies, God groans. God is made homeless. 

Sisters and brothers, if there is one place in the world that God is certainly present, it is in your marriage. Yes, God is present everywhere. He can be encountered anywhere. But he is uniquely present in your marriage. Do you know why? Because marriage reflects the intimate love of God. A godly and functional family reflects the Trinity. Whenever a new family is formed through the sacrament of matrimony, God takes his rightful place. When a man leaves his father and mother and clings unto his wife, God clings unto them. Marriage is the foremost and the oldest sacrament. What you are into was ordained by God from the beginning of creation. So, do not let the pressure of work, the occasional disagreement and misunderstanding, destroy your marriage and render God homeless. In the midst of all the struggles, God is present with you. Like the Holy Family, build your family on God. Make Jesus the cornerstone, the foundation and the center of your family. God lives in the family. God wants to live in the family. The family is the domestic church. When any family crumbles and dies, God becomes homeless. And in his homelessness, God also groans.