The Gospel reading today touches on an issue that has become one of the most painful areas in the contemporary church and in society at large - the meaning of faithfulness in marriage relationships. Interestingly, it was an issue that was of concern at the time of the early Church as well.

In this passage, the Gospel writer, Mark, passes on the earliest tradition of Jesus' attitude concerning marriage and divorce. While other teachers at that time allowed men to divorce their wives in certain circumstances, Jesus taught that it was not permissible to 'divide' what "God has united", using Genesis 2:24 as authority for his interpretation. In other words, Jesus made it clear that it was not permissible for a man to divorce his wife. Husband and wife are "two in one flesh" implying a covenant bond between persons far transcending physical union.

In this way, Mark hands on what had become the earliest adaptation of Jesus' words for the Christian community, namely, that not only is divorce forbidden but also that marriage following divorce constitutes adultery because the first marriage bond has never been broken. As such, if a man or a woman should have to divorce his or her spouse, he or she could not remarry without being considered an adulterer. At the core of Mark's Gospel message is Jesus' challenge to spouses to live in faithful and perpetual union until death.