06 October 2024 - Proper 22, Year B

 

Theme

This week’s lectionary readings speak about marriage and divorce and God’s care for the vulnerable. In Mark, Jesus teaches about marriage and gives women and children valuable agency. In Genesis, a story is told of how a woman was created as a helpmate for Adam. In Job, we read about the start of Job’s tremendous suffering and continued faith in God. In Hebrews, we are reminded that God has been revealed in Jesus’ words and life.

Scripture Readings

  • Mark 10:2-16 - The Pharisees confront Jesus with a question about divorce to test him. Jesus teaches about marriage and divorce. Little children then come to Jesus but the disciples try to stop them. Jesus tells them to leave them alone and that they must become like little children to enter the Kingdom of God.
  • Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 - While in the past God spoke through prophets and ancestors, now God has spoken through his Son. The Son is the exact representation of the Father’s being and after purifying sins, he now sits at the right hand of the Father.
  • Genesis 2:18-24 - This is the passage that Jesus referenced in the Mark reading for this week. God said it was not good for the man to be alone and thus wanted to make a helper for him. Adam named all the animals, but no suitable helper was found. God formed a woman from Adam’s rib and Adam rejoiced. This story is the explanation for why two people become one flesh in marriage.
  • Job 1:1, 2:1-10 - The tragic tale of Job begins here. We are introduced to Job as blameless and upright. God and Satan have a conversation and Job is identified by God as a faithful servant. Satan claims that Job will turn from God if he is allowed to suffer. God gives Satan permission to hurt Job, as long as he does not kill him. Job was inflicted with painful sores all over his body. His wife tells him to curse God and die, but Job claims: “Don’t be foolish, shall we accept good from God but not trouble?”

Context

In first century Palestine, marriage and divorce were profoundly patriarchal institutions in which women and children were considered the property of men. Jewish Law traditionally gave the power of divorce to husbands, often for trivial reasons. For example, in Deuteronomy 24, husbands were instructed that they could divorce their wives because of anything that displeases him about her.

To understand Jesus’ teaching on divorce, we must bear this first-century Near-Eastern context in mind. Who is most vulnerable in this context? Women and children.

Personal Application

In Jesus’ teaching on divorce, he objects this patriarchal ethos of divorce-on-male-demand and thus gives women equal agency and value in the marriage relationship. As he does on so many occasions, Jesus once again flips a question on its head and shows that God’s original vision for marriage is two people who are joined as “one flesh,” who care for each other to such an intimate, life-giving degree, that they become one, and they cannot be torn apart.”

Rather than getting caught up in the tricky question of the Pharisees and debating what is right what is wrong, Jesus instead chooses to focus on what he knew to be true - God’s desire and intention for healthy marriage. It is as if Jesus is saying: “let us strive for God’s ideal and let us try to avoid or remove anything that prevents anyone from experiencing this ideal.”

This understanding should be a comfort for those who have left unhealthy marriages because they could not experience God’s desire for a healthy marriage and it is also an encouragement for those who are serving God and their spouse in striving to reach such an ideal.

What have you been told to believe about marriage and divorce based on the words found in the bible? How do Jesus’ words about marriage and divorce encourage you to be more loving to your own partner/spouse while also being more understanding and compassionate to those who have been through a divorce?

Communal Application

Jesus’ teaching on divorce and interactions with children remind us of God’s heart for the vulnerable.

The good news of the Gospel in this passage is that God cares especially for the most vulnerable, and calls us to do the same.

Jesus evaluates social institutions (like marriage and divorce and family) through this lens, and he sees social groups (like women and men and children and “outsiders”) through it, too.

Vulnerable groups deserve respect and protection, of course, but it’s also true that their wisdom and perspective deserve attention — not least because of what they can teach the wider community about faith, love, and “receiving the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:15).

Does the understanding of Jesus confronting a patriarchal practice in this passage change your understanding of Jesus’ teaching on divorce? How can we ensure that we are not only caring for the vulnerable, but also elevating their voices so that their perspectives can be heard and respected?

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