“What, therefore, God has joined together, let no man (or woman) separate.” Mark 10:9

Let me start out by acknowledging with deep gratitude how fortunate and blessed I am in my marriage .  Shawn is easy to love.  He is optimistic, giving, generous, thoughtful and kind.  When we met, I wasn’t looking to get married.  But, after only a couple of weeks together, a thought took me by surprise: ‘This is someone who I could actually marry.’ No one else I ever dated prompted that thought.

We both were immediately physically attracted to each other, and the conversations came naturally.  I trusted him right away.  He always called or showed up when he said he would, and we wanted to spend all of our free time together. We felt comfortable in the silence, and we knew pretty quickly that we would get married.  I don’t even remember him officially proposing.

When I met him, I had a boyfriend.  That relationship was not easy, and once I knew I wanted to be with Shawn, I broke up with the boyfriend.  I never cheated on my boyfriend.  I told him that I wanted to see other people.  Well, actually, one other person, Shawn. Shawn and I did not get romantic until after my break-up.  I feel good about keeping it honest. Having been married to Shawn, now, for 27 years, I feel even more blessed.  It has been a great ride, and I hope and pray for many more years together.

Having said all of that, marriage isn’t easy.  Even when you have a strong relationship, and I believe Shawn and I do, marriage can be difficult.  All married people must deal with issues such as communication, housework, finances, boredom, different interests, in-laws, just to name a few.  If you have kids, the challenges multiply exponentially.  Being human, we might find ourselves wandering down the wrong path–a path that could be destructive to our marriage.  No one is immune to this, including me. Fortunately, I have been able to make corrections before I got totally lost. I feel sorrow and compassion for those who couldn’t.

While we all know that married people must keep the focus on each other to keep the marriage sacred, and that the ultimate responsibility belongs to the spouse who has made the vows, it is also the responsibility of those surrounding the couple to respect and support the marriage. Unfortunately, too often, this doesn’t occur.

You see it all the time.  A woman attracted to a married man, a man attracted to a married woman.  Somehow, the person outside the marriage convinces themselves that they are better for the married person than that person’s spouse.  It is a blind spot. These pursuers find ways to justify or rationalize their behavior and budding relationship. But they have a responsibility, too.  They have the responsibility to not separate what God has brought together. After all, we are told that we must “… love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves.” (Matthew 22: 37-39).  Our neighbor includes both members of a married couple.  We must love them both and not engage in any behavior threatening to their marriage. A truly spiritual person will support other people’s marriages and only wish for and contribute to their success.

Here we go again.  Another terrorist attack, this time in Paris.  Unbelievable!  What causes people to be so cruel?

I do believe in evil.  It is a choice.  People can choose to do good, and people can choose to do evil.  I’m not talking about the people who cause harm out of weakness or by mistake. I’m talking about people who deliberately cause the suffering of other human beings.  Jesus, God’s only begotten son, experienced suffering and death from evil performed by human hands.  He also overcame it. Of course, this is little comfort in the midst of the present moment.  The pain is too intense.  We ask why?  I don’t know why evil must exist, but I know that Jesus was not exempt from the experience.

When I think of the injustice and horror of this tragedy, what helps me to cope is that I believe in an ultimate justice.  You see, our lives in our earthly bodies are very short, even if we live to be one hundred years old.  Contrast that with eternity, a concept that we cannot even grasp.  I studied near death experiences and many people say that when you die, you experience what you create.  Not only what you create, but the ripple effect of what you create. For example, let’s say you are the type of person who lights up the room when you walk in.  When you die, you will get to experience that perception of you. You will experience the love you create.  If you are kind to someone, and they in turn spread that kindness, you will get to see and experience the good you have done.

Likewise, if you choose evil, you will experience what you create, including that same ripple effect.  If you decide to torture and murder someone, not only will you experience the hateful acts that you committed, you will also experience the pain and suffering caused to the friends, relatives, and even the general public that your action caused.  Imagine the amount of suffering you will experience if you are a mass killer!  It is possible to be forgiven, but a sincere change of heart is necessary, and it would be a very painful cleansing. Another description for this process is purgation. In other words, purgatory.  Facing the evil that one has committed in the light of God’s absolute goodness could be so painful that one might decide to remain in hell.

That’s the way I look at it, anyway.  I don’t know if it’s accurate, but it makes me feel better.

Jesus is so bad ass!  What courage, what confidence!  He is no wimp.  I am in love with him again.  Try to picture this scene.  Can you imagine Jesus speaking in anger to the Pharisees with one hand on hip, the other pointing in Herod’s direction, “[You], go and tell that  #@&*?…”  Well, Jesus wouldn’t use an expletive, like I implied.  Instead, he used the word ‘fox’ to accurately describe King Herod because a fox is cunning and sly, a predator, a killer.

In the passage of Luke’s Gospel 13:31-35, the Pharisees warn Jesus to leave Jerusalem because Herod wants to kill him.  This warning is insincere because they, along with Herod, would like to see Jesus’ mission fail.  Jesus knows this, he is no fool.  He has a message of his own for Herod and goes on to say, “Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.”  Jesus will not be thwarted in his mission, even though he knows it will lead to his suffering and death

Jesus further goes on with his insult and says, “…it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem,” referring to the prophets before him who were killed in Jerusalem.  After all this, Jesus then becomes tender and laments over Jerusalem.  He cries out in anguish, “…how many times have I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!  Behold, your house will be abandoned.  But, I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he comes in the name of the Lord.'”

I am totally in love!