Matthew 19 3-12 marriage/celibacy

The rule on marriage for a Deacon is simple, if you are married when ordained you continue in the marriage. During our ordination we are reminded that our marriage is our first sacramental obligation and the Diaconate our second. We commit to being “married but once” and, as our wives tell us on occasion,  “they are as good as we’re going to do”.

For us that are married, the second to the last verse of today’s gospel can catch our attention, it reads, “some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven”. This line can make us feel we are not quit as important contributors to the Kingdom, as we could be. Well, we know that’s not right. But, what is Jesus telling us about the married and celebrity calling, which are both gifts, to be used to build up the Kingdom of Heaven and our relationship with Him.

We need, as Christians, some shared and some different, sets of tools that we can use to construct our relationship with the Lord. Some of the tools we share are; a belief system, communal prayer and community worship. Through our different jobs and lifestyles we as individuals contribute to the whole of society. We have (or should have) a private prayer life, and our individual as well as communal relationships add to our over all well-being. The key question, for us to bring to the Lord is, “is our choice of tools the best that we can have, for building our relationship with Him”? 

Marriage and celibacy are (or should be) life style responses and part of the apparatus we use in building the experience of God’s Kingdom, they are beyond the surface, of simply being married or not, a rapport with the Lord.

 For some, actually most, marriage and family is the response and tool they need to use in expressing lives of faith and the building of God’s Kingdom. For a celibate, both male and female, the family is also very important and a focus of concern, but not just as the single unit we normally think of. But the view is expanded to include a primary concern for the whole family of Christ. This requires a special commitment and life style to properly tend to.

We need to keep in mind that neither marriage nor celibacy is a treatment for any type of physical, mental or spiritual aliment. We are blessed with medical doctors, psychiatrists and spiritual directors to provide us with the necessary remedy. We can also be helped in making wise choices, in those we trust our healing to, by first seeking a relationship with Jesus who will aid us in coming to life giving conclusions.

Both marriage and celibacy are calls to a way of life that enable each of us to live the fullness of God’s plan for the coming of the Kingdom. They are part of our “spiritual tool box” which we need to continue to keep in order and add to as necessary.  Our presence here today is of great value for us; since the most vital way of keeping our toolbox organized, is the direction and nourishment we receive by our sharing at the table of the Word and Body of Christ.