helani
posted on May 28, 2008 - 09:28 PM
[quote="Truth.Seeker"]Matthew 19:
6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality,[d] and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus Teaches on Celibacy
11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
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Obviously, it is better to not marry than to marry. Christ says that all cannot accept the saying to not marry, but "only those to whome it has been given." Of course anything from Christ is positive. So, the ability to not marry is a positive grace bestowed on those who do it for Christ."
TruthSeeker,
Marriage and Monasticism, in the eyes of our church and of Christ Himself, are different paths to the same calling: Christ. To say that one is a "greater" calling than the other is wrong.
There are many writings on the aseticism of marriage, the sanctity and beauty of matrimony, and the opinions of select fathers (especially St. John Chrysostom) on the sacrament of love. Some are called to a life in Christ through solitude, some through the sacrament of marriage. But both should lead to Christ. There are also many married saints all over the Christian church.
It's a common misconception and misreading of the passage from the gospel of Matthew that you quoted to believe that Christ is saying marriage is less honorable, or less blessed than monasticism; in fact, He would not have blessed the wedding of Cana in Galilee if this were the case by giving them the gift of wine at their wedding (as it was in fact a sanctifying and beautiful gift), nor would God have created man and woman together in the beginning, intending for them to be as one, just as the Trinity is one.
In the passage in Matthew, the Lord is revealing that in His infinite love for His children, He allows for different paths, different ways for His children (as we are not all the same and have unique gifts) to live in His love and be filled with Him entirely. Marriage has its ascetic requirements in the world, and is considered as martyrdom. Not only that, but how can a sacrament that is the icon of the love between Christ and His bride the church, be any less than the life in Christ of the hermits, monks, nuns, and other celibates? Granted, the gifts that each acquire and the life each leads may be different, but so are our God-given talents. Gifts and talents do not earn salvation, nor do they deem one life more significant than another, but they are given to us in order to further God's kingdom, not to place rankings.
If you talk to a monastic who is filled with the Holy Spirit, they will tell you that yes, their way of life is beautiful and spiritual if you are called, but that Christ-centered marriage (not the way the world presents it to us, but truly Christ centered marriage) is also a beautiful calling and an expression of a life infused with the Holy Spirit.
As young people, we need to understand this and cultivate within our community a mentality that supports all the different members of Christ's Body, just as He did and does, remembering that each member is unique and just as necessary as the other.
your sister and servant in Christ,
h
Joined: Dec 21, 2005 | Posts: 6
