This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
If we are prostitutes, stepping out every day on the husband who loves us tenderly for a little money, we may become habituated to this lifestyle over time, and–if our husband does not violently reproach us–even convince ourselves that he has gotten over it. But this indifference and numbness does not make our actions any less heinous, or his heart any less broken.
In the first reading, we see a heartbreaking allegory of how tenderly God has cared for us after we sinned and were cast out, and the horrifying indifference represented by the sins to which we tend to attribute so little importance.
In the Gospel, Jesus underscores the beauty and preciousness of God’s original plan for marriage, which so often is cast aside in divorce. In the face of this plan, divorce, no matter the understandable reasons in each case, is a horrid aberration of something sacred.
So it is with all our sins: Because they feel natural, understandable, we do not take them seriously. But the first reading helps us understand how offensive they are to God. The key to understanding it is the tenderness of His love.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Read and reread the first reading. Ask Jesus boldly to show you what elements in your life are similar in horrid indifference to the those of the rescued woman in the reading. And ask Him for the courage to expose them to His tender forgiveness in confession.
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