Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
Reflecting on Genesis 2:18-24
It’s chilly in my office this morning. What a blessing. The heat of the summer is finally fading. Time to check the closet for a sweater or jacket. Ah, here’s Ben’s coat, my favorite coat, the one he wore on our first date 27 years ago. I wrap myself in its cozy corduroy warmth and re-member (experience again, “member again”) that young, sweet, smart guy who asked me out on a date for one night, and then asked to love me for a lifetime. In my astonishment I recall the psalmist who, reflecting on his immense good fortune, asked, “Who am I, oh God, that you should be mindful of me?”
The ancients whom the Holy Spirit inspired to tell the story of the creation of women and men had this beautiful insight: we are formed of the same flesh, carved of the same bone. And in a great marriage the spouses may even say, You get me. My heart calls to your heart. It is in your arms I want to die.
And of course the raising of children causes spouses to cling to each other, to delight and agonize together, for the rest of their lives, over the children entrusted to them. That’s a bond like no other, yes? The suffering that comes from this great love is immense. There is no holier undertaking.
My heart breaks in half for those who have lost their loves, or weren’t faithful to love, or never found love. Life isn’t fair. Thank God the BRIDEGROOM has espoused himself to us forever, to heal those wounds and make all things new. See how our God has come to meet us.
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I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).