The Incarnation and the Exultation: An Advent Devotional - The Second Sunday of Advent
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And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.” But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘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. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Mark 10:2–9
For most husbands, if we are honest, many of us have seriously contemplated divorce at some point in our marriages. And those in consecrated single life may have wondered what life would be like in marriage. Struggles and trials can get the better of us, temptations tug at our restless minds during periods of boredom, or we simply forget what it means to love our wives or our vocations as Christ loves the Church. Whatever the circumstance, coming close to the conclusion that leaving is better than staying the course is a frightening thought. We wondered if our marriage or ministry could survive, or if it would be better just to make a fresh start. Christ, however, has a better way.
Jesus took us back to the beginning to reaffirm the dignity and permanence of marriage. It is a bond so powerful and so beautiful that it causes a man to leave his father and mother and cling to his wife. In this unique bond of love, a man and woman become one flesh and mirror the marriage of Christ to his Church. God wants husbands to consider this union so sacred that we hold onto it and strive with all that we are to bring it to perfection in him.
Divorce violates God’s law of love for the sacredness of marriage. Yet, for those men who have undergone the pain of divorce, there is hope in the forgiveness and comfort of a merciful God. Men can rediscover the beauty God intended for marriage in how they move forward in faith after a divorce, how they treat their former spouse, and how they care for the children of the separated union. And all men, married or single, can minister to the separated and divorced and bring the love of the Church to bear upon those who have suffered. Our witness should always be for the love of God that is so beautifully reflected in the sacrament of marriage.
Questions for reflection
Have there been times of struggle within your marriage? What have those struggles looked like?
How can your life today give witness to God’s command to honor the beauty and permanence of marriage?
How can you help and support a brother who is struggling in his marriage and perhaps considering divorce?
Praying with Scripture
Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house; and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him. (Ps 45:10–11)
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Mark C. McCann is an author and Ministry Consultant with more than 30 years of writing and ministry experience. He has published articles for a number of Catholic magazines and websites including St. Anthony Messenger, Emmanuel Magazine, Liguorian Magazine, Catholic Stand, the Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He recently published the 4-volume Catholic men's devotional, To the Ends of the Earth, as well as the 2021 Advent Daybreaks devotional and 2022 Lenten Daybreaks devotional with Liguori Publishing. He has also released his End Times novel series, Jacob's Dream: The Vision and Jacob's Dream: The Final Battle. He was a radio host and producer for 8 years at a Connecticut Christian radio station and has worked as a Catholic religion teacher/campus minister and a parish youth minister. He has also served the Norwich, CT Diocese as a Youth Ministry Director and Family Life Director. He currently lives in Connecticut with his Proverbs 31 wife, where together they have brought up three incredible children. He strives each day to live out his call to be a man of words. You can learn more about Mark and his writing at www.wordsnvisions.com.
