Daily Bread

He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them.

Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. 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, let no one separate.’

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;

Again, we have some tough teaching from Jesus and if, like me, you are a divorcee, it stings. It probably also stings if this verse has been used by Christians (and governments) as a proof text to enforce binary biological sex and gender types. (Note to self — Gav, why didn't you pick today's Psalm to reflect on, it would be so much easier and a lot less controversial?) So where to begin?

Yes, God created us male and female (note: not male or female), and there is something precious, beautiful and God-ordained about two coming together, but Jesus, as always, is concerned about those who are oppressed and marginalised — whoever they may be. In this context, women were often divorced for no good reason and left destitute. People matter. They really matter. A guiding principle here is, "Sure, you can do stuff but not at the expense of others." The real sting in the tail of this passage, however, comes at the end — "...and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." What? At the time and in that context, women were not permitted to do this, so this was an incredibly strange thing for Jesus to say and would have caught everyone short! But then, isn't that what Jesus is about — where all genders are treated equally?

The faith lesson for us today (as individuals, communities, organisations, businesses, or even governments) is simply a reminder not to do things — even if they are legally permissible — at the expense of others or the world around us. Our pursuit of wealth, success, freedom, individuality, or happiness — any time we seek to put ourselves first — must never come at a detrimental cost to someone else or the environment, and this has implications for all of us and how we live and have our being.

Further reading...

Context is everything, and for a more in-depth article on this topic, I have written about this in one of my Insights called How does mercy trump judgment?. Please, do read or listen to it if you have the time.

Holy God
Forgive me when I have put myself first
— my own needs and wants —
before you, others, and the world around me.
Help me live a life that
is in harmony with the environment,
and to be someone that
brings light and positivity to all.
This day and forever.