And the two shall become one flesh

 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  '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."

In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

- Mark 10:1-16

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught,  "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where  'Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to  enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where 'Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'  For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  '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."   In recent readings in Mark's Gospel, Jesus has avoided contact with the Pharisees.  Here He deliberately travels to Judea (by the other side of the Jordan, says the text, meaning the other side from Jerusalem).   Immediately the Pharisees come to Him from Jerusalem, testing Him, when they have heard He is in the region, and teaching to the crowds who come to hear and see Him.  The question of divorce was not an entirely settled one in Christ's day, as various schools within the ruling council held differing opinions on sufficient cause and also questions of financial settlement, even among the Pharisees themselves.  One school held that Moses' Law allowed divorce for any reason at all (that is, divorce of a wife by her husband -- women could not divorce).  That would include reasons such as he simply no longer found her attractive, or her housekeeping or cooking weren't what he wanted.  Questions of offenses such as sexual immorality could be complicated because of divorce settlements.  In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorce (such as in Matthew 5:31-32 and 19:8-9), because of its misuse in that day.  But what He emphasizes is the eternal nature of marriage.  That is, the depth of communion conferred and sanctified by God:  "the two shall become one flesh."  Jesus quotes here from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24.   Jesus attributes easy divorce to the hardness of their hearts. 

 In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."    Jesus emphasizes again the nature of marriage to His disciples when they are away from the crowds.  One should consider what a serious sin adultery was under Mosaic Law, punishable by death (Leviticus 20:10).  In this case, Jesus is speaking specifically of remarriage.  One must consider various possible reasons for remarriage under the Mosaic Law, including financial and others.  For reasons involving monetary settlement that are too detailed to consider in this blog, remarriage was forbidden between two people who had already been divorced from one another and in the meantime married to others.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus makes an exception to this pronouncement of remarriage as adulterous:  divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality (Matthew 19:9).  We should keep in mind that Jesus here is speaking to men (the Pharisees who question Him), and that under Jewish Law only men could institute divorce, not women.    In the ancient Church, permissible reasons for divorce were expanded to include threat to a spouse's life and desertion.

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.  In the readings of yesterday and the day before, Jesus places a little child in the center of the disciples and teaches about the care of the "little ones."  That is, He used the child as an example of the humble in the Church.  It seems slightly odd somehow that in today's reading the disciples rebuke those who bring children to Christ, but it may be supposed they assumed the children were bothersome or diminishing to Jesus' dignity.  But Jesus conveys quite the opposite, taking the children up in His arms, blessing them, and setting them as an example of those who receive the kingdom of God. 

I always find it poetic that after speaking about the union of marriage, Jesus displays the little children as beloved to Him, and as examples to all of us of how we must receive the kingdom of God.  There is a tie between the blessing of marriage and the blessing of children.  Particularly when we consider the Mosaic laws on divorce and questions of remarriage, the status of children as belonging to a marriage were of supreme importance and viewed with a solemnity we may not quite understand in modern life.  That would especially apply to a child born out of adultery between a married Jewish woman and a Jewish man, which could confer exclusion from religious community to that child and even its descendants.  In such a context, we may get a different sense of Jesus' teachings than we would perceive otherwise.  His love of the children and the conferring of a blessing from Christ Himself is significant.  Moreover in the context of His teaching on divorce we must note that the great emphasis here is not on legality.  Rather it is on the depth of communion of the marriage itself, that "the two shall become one flesh."  Jesus emphasizes the behavior that would separate that which God enjoins, and thereby we come to understand the nature of sin as that which breaks what God gives through grace.  Jesus clarifies the nature of sin as destructive to community, to relationship, to the depth of communion that the bonds of love create.  Sin in any form of abuse which diminishes the depth of marriage is thereby a spiritual tragedy.  We must view children also as the product of this kind of love and communion that Jesus emphasizes about the true spiritual nature of marriage.  Thereby, in yet another dimension we don't often consider, "of such is the kingdom of God."  Jesus' emphasis here becomes one which gives us a taste of what true communion is, and as such marriage in the traditional view of the Church has been seen as the layperson's way to holiness.  That is, the type of giving, receiving, sharing, and spiritual "work" involved in marriage is akin to the discipline for which monastics seek life in the monastery.  As such, in marriage one counts on God's grace for help and strength, to face the problems one meets in the potential depth of such relationship.  Now more than ever, although we do not live in the times of Christ, we all may encounter the difficulties that test each of us in terms of our deepest connections to one another -- between spouses and also in the raising of children.  Let us remember Jesus' emphasis on our own commitment and discipline in protecting and building up that which with which we are blessed and graced by God.  To diminish and cheapen such a gift is only a concesion to hardened hearts.