Marriage and divorce
Mark 10:2-16 [or 10:2-12]
THE Pharisees approached [Jesus] and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing Him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of 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 they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned Him about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
And people were bringing children to Him that He might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this He became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to Me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then He embraced them and blessed them, placing His hands on them.
God is a practical God
When I think of God, I tend to think big. I guess this must be true for us all. We believe that God is everything – all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), everywhere (omnipresent), and above all (transcendent). We think of God as One whose concern is universal.
The Gospel reminds us that God, aside from being all these things, is also a "domestic" God, a practical God. Heaven is His home, and yet God wants us to let Him into our own little homes! He wants to be with us not as a guest or as an observer but as an active participant in the daily grind that we call life. Whatever we are – husband, wife, daughter, son – God has something to tell us through the words and works of Jesus His Son.
First, God’s will and law must be considered as we ponder on life’s intricacies. In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees "began to ask" Jesus about divorce. Clearly, they mean to provoke Jesus into saying something incriminating. There were two schools of thought on divorce at the time. Rabbi Hillel held that divorce was permissible for any reason. In contrast, falling back on Scripture, Rabbi Shammai taught that divorce was only permissible on grounds of "uncleanness" or sexual sins and infidelity (Dt 24:1-4). Ignoring the legal debate, Jesus focuses on the word and will of God as reflected in the story of creation (Gn 1:27; 2:21-25). Jesus explains that Moses compromised as regards the law because of the "stubbornness" of the human heart.
Second, God is the Author of Life, and his is the absolute and basic interpretation of reality! Jesus’ teaching is simple: God has something to say, God sets the rules. It is God who "created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them" (Gn 1:27). Marriage was instituted as a sacred union of man and woman, not of two men or two women. Divorce may be legal in the eyes of men and women but in the eyes of God it is not.
Third, men and women both have rights. Jesus points out that Moses asked husbands to give their wives a "decree of divorce," as a way of protecting women and assuring prospective husbands that they are free to remarry. Without the decree, divorced women could easily become social outcasts in such a patriarchal society.
Fourth, we have to balance both the spiritual and the physical aspects of our lives and relationships. Jesus tells us that the husband and the wife become not only of one mind and aspirations but of ONE FLESH. The commitment made by the heart has physical and tangible expressions. Sad to say, a physical cause can also lead to breakup: death (Rom 7:1-3) or infidelity (Mt 5:32; 19:9).
Fifth, we should never lose the heart and the virtues of a child. Jesus tells his disciples that children are the paradigm of a good and godly life. Innocent, little, full of trust, humble, a child is easily the most powerless member of the human society. For the sake of the marriage and the good of the partnership, however, husband and wife must learn from a child. Each must know when to exercise humility and be as full of trust as a child.
2006-10-07
18:12:09
·
7 answers
·
asked by
downclipse
2
in
Religion & Spirituality