Preacher Jailed for Speaking Out on Marriage

Scripture: Mark 6:17-18


17 zFor it was Herod who had sent and seized John and abound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 zFor John had been saying to Herod, b“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

Comment: “Preacher Jailed for Speaking Out on Marriage”

We celebrated the birth of John the Baptist on 24 June 2012, a great saint and biblical character who led a very difficult life and ministry.

In hindsight, the conflict that led to his demise and death has a strangely modern ring to it: he was jailed by Herod Antipas for speaking out on marriage (Mark 6:17-18). Specifically, John the Baptist held to the principle of one man, one woman, for life—a theology of marriage founded in Scripture (Mal. 2:13-16) and reflected in the Essene movement at Qumran and in the teachings of Our Lord (Matt 19:3-12).

This got him into trouble with the nation’s chief executive, Herod Antipas, whose own views on marriage had evolved: he had wed Herodias, his divorced ex-sister-in-law, who was also his niece. John the Baptist said the marriage was unlawful. Herod invoked executive privilege to have John arrested and detained for expressing his intolerant and partisan views on marriage in public. Eventually, Herod had him beheaded at the request of his wife Herodias’ daughter Salome, who gave a “hot” hip-hop performance for the king and his cabinet that earned her a political favor (Mark 6:14-29).

There is really nothing new under the sun. John the Baptist was a political failure but a great spiritual success, a champion of faith and fortitude who still lives and is praying for us from heaven. The readings for his feast day also provide us hope and encouragement:

Be that as it may, the “desert” also has a spiritual sense. Despite all the glorious things said about John and the remarkable events surrounding his birth, his life was not easy. It was one of self-denial and mortification. It’s true, his preaching was popular and he received public acclaim—for a while. But from a certain perspective, he was a glorious failure, a big flop. His run-in with the government ended badly and his “movement” fell apart, even if there were still a few “fans” left years later (Acts 19:1-3).

But that’s only from one perspective, an external and material one. A certain prophet from Nazareth had a much different evaluation of the success of his ministry: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Mt 11:11).

Like John, if we speak about God’s truth boldly and continue to point toward Jesus, we are going to provoke opposition in this world from those who don’t want to hear it because it doesn’t suit their agenda. It may mean the loss of income, employment, possession and life. We’ve got to maintain an eternal perspective: God has a plan for each of us that began before our birth and extends beyond our death. The goal is not visible success in this life. It’s covenant fidelity (hesed) toward the one who is greater than us, whose sandals we are not worthy to tie, but nonetheless promises to “raise us up on the last day” (John 6:40).

Source: John Bergsma - http://www.thesacredpage.com/2012/06/preacher-jailed-for-speaking-out-on.html

Genesis and John Marriage and the Eucharist – The Two shall become One

Genesis and John Marriage and the Eucharist – The Two shall become One

When we receive the body of Christ at Communion it is like the marriage act when two separate persons coming together.

Parallels use to explain why sex outside of marriage is wrong – non catholics unable to receive communion in our church.

Gods plan for marriage is that man and woman come together, they cleave together and the two become one.

The two becoming one happens in the marital act between husband and wife. They physically join and the union is real.

We, in the Eucharist, we become one when we receive Christ into our body. 2 Peter says we become partakers in the divine nature. Nowhere on this earth is this more true than when we receive the Eucharist.

The physical union is the sign that man and woman are indeed husband and wife. When people engage in physical union outside of marriage they are lying with their body. Partaking of the Eucharist is the same in that you are performing the act of union but you are lying if you don’t believe what the Catholic Church believes.

In the beginning.
Gen 2:24
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.
This text is talking about marriage in general.

There is a three step process going on here.
1. A man (and woman) leaves father and mother
2. Cleaves to wife – In other words they have a public commitment before man and God that they are committing their selves to one another for their entire lives
3. And then the two become one flesh.
The two becoming one flesh is after the man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife and not before.

There are no test runs here – like lets live together for a while and see how this works. No, there is no becoming one flesh and joining in the marital embrace physically until there is a commitment in place and when there is a commitment and the two become one flesh the marriage is said to be consummated.

John 19:30 reads
When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
However in the Douay-Rheims Bible – which is the old English version, it says
Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated

So the same language that is used where the two become one flesh, that is the consummation of marriage, is here with Jesus’ death

So keeping that in mind, when we go to Ephesians 5:31-32
V31 - "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
This is the same language used in Genesis 2:24 but it goes on in
v32 This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church;

So we have the same three step process here where Jesus becoming one with the Church as we have for husband and wife

What do we have:
Step One
Jesus leaving His Father and His mother.
Jesus left His Father to become human. He humbled himself to take on the mantle of humanity.
He left His earthly mother, Mary, because it was time for Him to establish His own household, which the bible tells us is the Church.

Step Two
He cleaved to His wife, His spouse. Jesus gave himself fully and without reservation. And basically we see this in Jesus passion where he cleaved Himself to us when He underwent the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, gave His body up for scourging, when He carried His cross through the streets of Jerusalem and when He allowed Himself to be nailed to the Cross, for us.

Step Three
John 19:30 says: It is consummated.
.

And you have this three step process:
1. Jesus leaves His Father and mother
2. He cleaved to His wife/spouse – the Church
3. And the two become one: It is consummated

In Colossians 1:21-22, it says:
“And you, who once were estranged ..… he (Jesus) has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, …”


Back in Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

Jesus gave himself up for us totally and completely on the Cross. The two were made one.



Source: John Martignoni www.biblechristiansociety.com
From his MP3 talk titled Marriage and the Eucharist
However, the above text was transcribed from an interview he did on a recent Catholic Answers Live radio show.