The 18th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 22B), Oct. 8, 2006
BCP: Gen. 2:18-24; Psalm 8 or 128; Heb. 2:(1-8)9-18; Mark 10:2-9
RCL: Job 1:1, 2:1-10 and Psalm 26 or Gen. 2:18-24 and Psalm 8; Heb. 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16
In all of the thousands of chapters found in the books of the Bible, only the first two chapters of Genesis present an image of the human race before we fell into sin and became subject to evil and death. The introductory chapters of the Bible’s first book are among the most theologically profound and sophisticated of any in scripture. Their subject matter is well known even in the secular world, though easily misunderstood and underestimated.
The rest of scripture presents the relationships between human beings and their God as tragically marked by violence, exploitation, severe disappointment, and anguish, but there is also a deep and insistent memory of a pristine time that the human race has lost, and longs to experience again.
There are few occasions in life that are virtually guaranteed to be marked by exultant happiness, but weddings surely must be among them. One may well ask, as one sees the tragically high divorce rate, why does the promise of love that is so strong and hopeful at the wedding fail so often to fulfill its potential? Even the Pharisees, so proud of their moral rectitude, begin at the wrong end. Instead of asking Jesus, “How can a husband and wife realize the fullness of God’s promise in their marriage?” they ask, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” The question means, “Is there a way we can permit divorce without going against the law?” i.e., “Is there a loophole?” Jesus knows how difficult it is to maintain a marriage in a fallen and sinful world that is “subject to evil,” but he provides no escape hatch: “What God has joined together, let no one separate.” In a manner of speaking, every marriage is made in heaven.
Jesus elucidates that Moses permitted divorce for only one reason: the people’s “hardness of heart.” “Hardness of heart” is an attribute of human nature in its fallen state, and divorce was permitted only as a restriction of that miserable condition, i.e., when the people of God lived according to the principles of the broken world rather than the high state that was their first calling. Nevertheless, Jesus teaches that that first calling is still the calling of the people of God even though they live in brokenness. But certainly he does not insist on this standard in order to pile up guilt or add to misery, but rather to affirm that, hard as it often is to follow, God has no other standard for his people than that of true love.
Look It Up
Reflect on how Psalm 128, one of the options for today’s readings, puts the teaching about the permanence of marriage into a context of blessedness and joy.
Think About It
Where are the escape hatches in the marriage vows? See the Book of Common Prayer, page 427.
Next Sunday
The 19th Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 23B), Oct. 15, 2006
BCP: Amos 5:6-7,10-15; Psalm 90 or 90:1-8,12; Heb. 3:1-6; Mark 10:17-27(28-31)
RCL: Job 23:1-9,16-17 and Psalm 22:1-15 or Amos 5:6-7,10-15 and Psalm 90:12-17; Heb. 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31
