Word of the Week

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Joined: Syzeugnumi (Gk.): meaning “to fasten to one yoke, yoke together”, or “to join together by uniting the marriage tie”

As God is the author of the sacrament of marriage, “the vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator” (CCC, 1603).  "God did not create man a solitary being” (CCC, 383), rather "male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27), a communion between persons, which is a reflection of the communion of persons in the Trinity (CCC, 383). Thus, despite its historical variations brought about by various cultures and attitudes, we need to understand marriage as a domestic unit forged by God (CCC, 1603). Arising from the marital bond that comes from the effect of the sacrament, “a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity” (CCC, 1640). Consequently, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mk10:9; Mt.19:6).

The Greek Syzeugnumi, can be found twice in the New Testament, both in the synoptic texts (synoptic meaning, gospel written from the same general viewpoint, this excludes John) noted above. In each synoptic account, we find Christ teaching about divorce, echoing the covenant that God established between man and woman in Genesis (cf. Gn.1-27, 2:24). Christ puts his own voice to the “irrevocable” bond moved by the hand of God to show that Marriage is not merely a human invention, but joined together by God (Mk.10:9; Mt.19:6) (Hahn and Minch, 50). Christ has come to ratify the indissoluble union of the new covenant marriage in his own marital embrace to the Church (in the blood of the Eucharist) (cf. Eph.5:21-33).

This 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time affords us the opportunity to consider marriage in light of what God teaches us on the cross, that through suffering, we draw closer to our bride (The church is the bride of Christ. Cf. Rev.19:7).  The author to the Hebrews offers for us the key to yes, avoid divorce, but moreover, how to faithfully live out our marriage vows. The message: be willing to sacrifice unconditionally for the sake of your spouse and family. This is the message that Jesus “pioneered” for the sake of the Church, the family of God. Furthermore, what God “pioneered” in his time here on earth is the path we are called to follow. Most of Christ’s lessons to his faithful followers were revealed through his existential acts; that is, his behavior and how he treated others. Let the manner in which he bore his daily cross be the first path we follow. Just as all things were made “perfect through the suffering” of Jesus Christ (Heb.2:10), our sacramental vocation is made more whole through our suffering.

“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

--John Paul II

Primary Texts Consulted

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