Deacon Dr. Bob McDonald in 2018, in his sermon on marriage, explained the beauty of marriage commitment and its sacredness by narrating a true story from the life of his friend Ed, who is a priest now.
When this incident took place Fr. Ed was 12 years old. He was standing at the foot of the stairs in his house. His father was busy about something upstairs and mom was in the kitchen. Mom shouted out, “Ed, come and take out the garbage.” Ed thought he could flex the muscles of his make-believe manhood and he shouted back, “No! Take it out yourself.” Ed’s father heard it and with in no time he was standing right in front of Ed. He grabbed Ed by the shirt and said, “Never talk to your mother like that again.” Then he thought for a second and said, “Never mind that, no one talks to my wife like that.” Ed quickly learned that there was a special bond between mom and dad and that while he might be the product of that love, he could never disrupt that life-long commitment of husband and wife. (LifeSiteNews)
To emphasize this sacred commitment between the man and the woman, Jesus said, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mk 10: 8). This thought is largely influenced by the second creation story in Genesis chapter two. Jesus brushes aside all the popular cultures and traditions and directly goes back to the original intention of God. Jesus always wanted to fulfill God’s plans in their purity and taught us how to do it.
When God presents Eve to Adam, Adam exclaims with excitement, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). This Jewish expression has a lot of connotations. It means that they are of the same nature and therefore, man and woman are equal in all respect and dignity. Any form of disrespect and abuse to any one of them is a disrespect and abuse to its creator, God.
“One Flesh” is a lifelong process in marriage. It means that they have become one person and gradually, as the days pass, they will have to become one mind and one heart. Canon law, while defining marriage as a covenant, tells us that it is a “partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses…” (1055 #1). Without the mutual wellbeing of the spouses, a marriage covenant is empty and will not become “One Flesh”.
To become “One Flesh” is an invitation to share in the sacredness of our Triune God. In Marriage, the man and the woman help each other to always walk in communion with God and to reach Heaven.
–Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD