Proper 22B, 25 Pentecost
3 Oct 2021
Some things make us uncomfortable like a room that is uncomfortably hot or cold. Divorce is one of those things; even more perhaps Jesus is one of those things.
As a person who has been married and divorced, and now happily married, I would like to skip over part of this passage. It does not read the way I would like. It would make me a lot happier if Jesus said, “Hey, if things aren’t going well in your marriage, then end it.” I would be let off the hook. Yet when I decided to end my first marriage, I had no doubt it was the right thing for both myself and my husband and I do not regret it. He was allowed to have a second, fulfilling marriage with children and I was set free to figure out just who I was.
The problem is the Bible in general and, for Christians, Jesus in particular don’t give us easy to follow directions. Either what is said is starkly out of sync with what our lived experience tells us, or it does not fit with the context of modern society. Mark tells us Jesus said divorce is permitted for both men and women, but it is adultery. It is wrong on all counts. Yet at the time Jesus lived, many women did have their own wealth and property and both men and women could legally initiate divorce, but only on the grounds of adultery.
So what do we make of this? On the one hand, Jesus says marriage is clearly considered divinely ordained and sanctioned and therefore not to be entered into blindly or lightly; on the other hand, he never was cited as condemning an individual who was divorced; he did not condemn the woman caught in adultery.
The measuring rod seems to me to be love and compassion. It is not that teachings, or a legal code, should be on the one hand so rigid as to allow no exceptions; on the other hand it is not so weak as to let anything go. It is rather that, while we must always try to understand scripture in the context in which is was written, we must also understand the context in which we live. Jesus was calling followers to a new, radical, and, they thought, end times faith. It appears many of his followers left home and family to be with him, both men and women. It is hard to know how many were married but it seems most were single. The idea of marriage when the end of the world was near would have held a different meaning if you believed yours was the last generation.
We live in a different culture with different views on many issues. We do not practice animal sacrifice; it is normal for both men and women to serve as leaders in business, government, and religion. We believe slavery is completely unacceptable.
So divorce, as well as many other issues, must be interpreted through the lens of our faith using scripture, reason, tradition, and cultural context.
Even more, carefully consider what Jesus does NOT say:
“You shall hold correct beliefs about the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall convert your neighbors who do not hold correct beliefs, and if they will not convert, you shall defeat them in a culture war.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
(McLaren, Brian D.. Faith After Doubt (p. 124). St. Martin's Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)
Paul did NOT say that the “whole law is summed up in a single commandment: you shall have correct beliefs.”
Theologian Brian McLaren suggests that what matters is faith worked out in love.
It is my belief, if I may use the word in a different context than doctrinal belief, that unconditional love is what underpins all of the laws and the rules and most importantly in how we treat people in own day to day existence.
Jesus rebukes his disciples for trying to keep children away. Children are curious and inquisitive, often in ways that annoy. They are noisy and boisterous, they have little respect for liturgy that is, to them, boring. Yet how like them are we!! When it comes to our faith, we often are children. That does not mean simple, but rather at times innocent and just beginning to understand what the Way of Love is about.
In a way I believe Jesus preached a startingly simple message: all that matters is faith worked out in love. If that is the framework from which we start, then we can understand that divorce can be acceptable; that two people of the same gender can love and have their love honored in marriage; that children matter greatly; that everyone should be welcomed to the Kingdom.
So, yes, divorce marks the failure of a marriage and its end, but it does not mark the failure and end of the people involved. Life is messy and can seem to be very complicated. The more we make life about a correct set of beliefs that becomes a litmus test, the further we take ourselves from God.
I do not believe in litmus tests save to determine the acidity of a solution. We should never bar the door with a set of beliefs, but rather open the door with faith working itself out in love. We are all holy people, the people of God.
Jesus brings us good news; Jesus IS the Good News.
टिप्पणियां