From the Gospel according to Luke 4:24-30
Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
Jesus was fully man and fully God. The people of Nazareth had seen Him as a man throughout His hidden life; He had grown up among them, giving glory to God through the simplicity of everyday life, without apparently revealing anything extraordinary. The image they had so firmly fixed in their minds prevented them from accepting that Jesus wanted to reveal to them that He was the Messiah and that salvation had come into their lives.
Spouses, when we look at our marriage only in its earthly dimension for a long time, with goals such as “getting along well” or simply respecting one another, we find it difficult to go deeper and discover the sacredness of our union.
The Holy Spirit has been present between the spouses since the moment we received the Sacrament of Marriage. He invites us to a deeper union — a living sacrament that is renewed in every act of self-giving and welcome, making our union both profoundly spiritual and continually incarnate.
Take off your shoes before your wife, for you are standing on holy ground. Take off your shoes before your husband, because the Holy Spirit dwells in him and in your union.
Richard: Rebecca, we’ve spent so long just “surviving” in our marriage that it feels very strange to think of it as a Sacrament, that the Holy Spirit makes us one… I’d be satisfied simply with getting along.
Rebecca: I feel the same, and it even sounds a bit sentimental to me. But at the same time, I think we might be missing what is most important. We’ve spent far too long thinking that our marriage was just about managing things and trying to enjoy ourselves as much as possible in whatever spare moments we had left.
Richard: That has certainly hardened my heart when it comes to seeing the supernatural dimension of our union. But how can I change that?
Rebecca: Well, let’s pray and ask the Holy Spirit for it. He can do everything — even change our hearts.
Mother,
May I see beyond the earthly in our marriage. Praised be God!