We continue to hear the prophet Ezekiel condemn the people of Israel for their infidelities. Through the protection and action of God, Israel grew from a being an abandoned, discarded, and enslaved into having the dignity and shining beauty of a queen. But the people became enamored of themselves. They were in love with being in love, feeling good, and being important. They were full of themselves and far from God. They forgot their covenant relationship with God who was the origin of all their blessings. Yet in spite of all this God says he will renew the covenant, be faithful, and continue to love Israel. This is a truly amazing proclamation of love that should stir all to renew their relationship with God.
The pharisees we see in today’s Gospel should have been steeped in God’s love and pardon as a form of life. Yet they had built up a way of relating to others and to God based on rules, regulations, obligations and their own importance. This leads them to see Jesus as a threat or obstacle rather than as a sign of God’s love for all. So they plot a trap for him based on rules, regulations, and doctrine. From their point of view, Jesus would end up looking bad if he was for or against divorce. For them marriage was not a sign of God’s love but just a contract according to rules and doctrine.
When Jesus responds, he does not answer based on rules regarding divorce. When Jesus looks at us, he sees with the eye of God. His reply goes back to the intention of the Creator. He goes back to that initial relationship of love in the moment of creation. His response is not so much pro-divorce or anti-divorce as it is a return to the initial intention of the Creator.
Marriage is intended to be a sign of the love of God. It is a sign of God’s constant renewal of the covenant. It is a sign of and participation in God’s unending action and enduring presence.
The cold-blooded calculating pharisees were a perfect example of what Jesus says was Moises’ reason for setting up rules and regulations that allowed divorce. Jesus calls it hardness of heart. After his comments to the pharisees, even Jesus’ own disciples comment that his teaching seems hard to understand and live.
We live in a culture similar to the one in the time of Ezekiel and those pharisees. We are enamored of our own greatness, our personal freedoms, our personal sense of independence, and of our fleeting whims or feelings to the extreme that our modern-day culture increasingly rejects marriage. Being so self-centered, we separate ourselves from God. Yet the Word of God and the presence of Jesus are a constant reminder that God continues to love us beyond our hard-heartedness and selfishness.
But you were captivated by your own beauty,
Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl,
and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you.
Image: ChatGPT CJ Dunn 07 August 2026 “Create a landscape horizontal image of Jesus speaking with a group of pharisees”.