First Reading — Genesis 2:18-24
18 Then the Lord God said,
“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a
helper fit for him.” 19 So out of the ground the Lord
God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and
brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever
the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The
man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to
every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a
helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep
to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and
closed up its place with flesh; 22 and the rib which the
Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her
to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone
of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because
she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man leaves his
father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one
flesh..
- How does the Genesis passage help to define loneliness?
- What does “leaving” one’s parents and “cleaving” to one’s wife mean to you?
3 . In The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupèry has the fox say that “ … you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” God let Adam, one of us, give each creature its name, which is, in a way, like a taming process. Do we feel responsible for the planet and all the life on it? Do you see any areas in our environment where we are not acting responsibly? Discuss what you can do in your home or place of work to make changes for the better.
4. Do you think the culture from which this story comes values women the same as men? Why or why not? What would you say to a person who thinks the superiority of men over women is divinely revealed in this text? What will you do if the women and men in your work place are not treated as equals?
Second Reading — Hebrews 2:9-11
9 But we see Jesus, who for
a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and
honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God
he might taste death for every one. 10 For it was fitting
that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons
to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through
suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are
sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to
call them brethren, …
- What can we learn about dealing with our mate’s imperfections from Jesus’ example?
2. What ideas do you get when you tie the first line of the First Reading, “The Lord God said: ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’” with the first line from the Second Reading, “He ‘for a little while’ was made ‘lower than the angels.’” (For the little while he was with us.)
3. Jesus consecrated himself to his Father and us along with him. He called us sisters and brothers. How does this influence our reverence toward our brothers and sisters? Do you treat the bag lady with the same respect that you treat the CEO?
Gospel Reading — Mark 10:2-16
2 And Pharisees came up and
in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his
wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command
you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a
certificate of divorce, and to put her away.” 5 But
Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this
commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God
made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man
shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8
and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer
two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined
together, let not man put asunder.”
10 And
in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11
And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries
another, commits adultery against her; 12 and if she
divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
13 And
they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the
disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it he was
indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not
hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly,
I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a
child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his
arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.
- What did Jesus mean when saying that divorce was allowed by Moses because of their hardness of heart?
- What are the positive reasons why people should avoid divorce?
- Describe what you feel should be the Christian’s attitude toward divorce. Toward marriage.
- How does the quality of our marriage either open the door for our children to come to Jesus, or hinder their coming to Him?
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