Posts
Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."
His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."
- Matthew 19:1-12
In Friday's reading, Jesus gave the disciples a system for correction in the Church, when one member sins against another. Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." The Pharisees come to test Jesus on the basis of interpretation of the Law. The basis for the test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4. My study bible says that Jesus' emphasis here is on the fact that God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, doesn't override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2. For the sources of Jesus' quotations, see Genesis 1:27 and 5:2, and Genesis 2:24. His words enshrine marriage as a sacrament and institution of God. It's important that we understand the emphasis on love and community. This is particularly so within the context of all of Jesus' teachings on community as created and upheld by God and faith. Our recent readings have been all about what kind of community He institutes, emphasizes, and upholds.
They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." My study bible tells us that the permissible reasons for divorce were expanded in the ancient Church to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion, in all cases acknowledging that such a situation was a spiritual tragedy. It is clear in all cases that what is given and upheld in spiritual truth and with divine help can be rejected, spurned, and bonds harmed and abused by human choice. That all reflects, as well, our relationship with God and our care of all bonds that extend from it.
His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it." Jesus is speaking of those who, in their dedication to the Church, sacrifice marriage. We know that among the disciples, there were those who had families. Clearly one is Peter, in whose home Jesus spends time and whose mother-in-law was healed by Christ.
Jesus speaks of marriage in the context of teachings about community. That is, what kind of community He wants us to have. Although the text tells us that Pharisees have come to question and test Him, and that He's traveled to "Judea beyond the Jordan" since His previously-reported talk to the disciples, there's still continuity in the text. The Gospel takes us directly to this report of Jesus' response to the Pharisees, and both His talk on marriage and on Church discipline and forgiveness are related to the essential understanding of what creates community for us. The bottom line: He creates community, God creates community. How? In marriage we see this central understanding that God merges people together. In the sacrament of marriage, "the two shall become one flesh." Jesus makes it clear that it is God's power at work in this when He says, "What God has joined together, let not man separate." Just as He is in the center of community in the Church ("where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them"), so God is in the center of marriage, helping this process of two becoming one flesh. Jesus clearly let it be known that we're capable of breaking the bonds of community by failing to acknowledge how we abuse those bonds. The same is true of marriage and, indeed, of our own relationship to God. This isn't God's failure: we have the freedom to choose to respond to God's love, or not. It isn't a failure of God's love, either. Jesus has come into the world as God in the flesh in order to teach us what love is and does; in other words, what truly makes for community, and these teachings figure squarely in the middle of that. So when we approach marriage let us consider what makes for these fast bonds of community and also of the bonds of marriage which merge two people together. What are the ways in which we may abuse -- and lose -- either? What does it mean to sin in the context of community and marriage bond? This is the clear emphasis of Jesus, His repeated teaching no matter what the form. Whether He is speaking of the "least of these" or repentant tax collectors, or a woman who is cast off because of the hardness of heart of a husband in His own time, everything is about the bonds of love -- the love He seeks to teach as the true cement of community, and the sin that breaks community apart and abuses relationship. So we should put all consideration of sin in this context. Many times I hear people talk about "victimless crimes." But if we consider what we do that hurts community, even if we think we are only abusing ourselves, we might see how the effects of sin expand to harm others with whom we are also in relationship. Let us consider His teachings, and take whatever we do in this context as seriously as He asks us to. If you think about it, "what God has joined together, let not man separate" can apply to so many places we haven't considered, even outside the immediate context in which Jesus is teaching today.
