Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

A Little Lower than Angels 

Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in the gospel of Mark is a harsh commentary on divorce. He replies to the question about divorce by saying: "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." In Matthew 19, Jesus leave the possibility of divorce for a woman who is unchaste in her marriage. Luke’s gospel aligns with Mark, but St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:10 accommodates the law of the Romans to allow a woman to divorce her husband, which was not permitted under Jewish law.

              If this seems a bit unclear, consider the context of Jesus’ pronouncement in Mark. In Jesus’ time, divorce was common, and depending on the interpretive school you favored, you would get either a more or less restrictive set of exceptions. For example, in the Hillel school divorce was granted for a man whose wife served him a “spoiled dish” or if he found a woman more attractive than his wife. Clearly this was an abuse of the language of the Torah, which is a bit vague. A man may divorce if he finds “something objectionable” about her. Obviously, this invites a great spectrum of interpretation, and Jesus was taking the Pharisees to task for failing to appreciate the intent of marriage: to join two into one flesh. Such a high water-mark for marriage is sustainable only within the Kingdom Jesus is ushering into existence. Where love and self-sacrifice are the norms, divorce is an anomaly for those only whose hearts have “hardened”. Jesus uses this image of the “hardened heart” to suggest that the standard he is setting is the fulfillment of the Law.

              Pastorally, though, as in countless examples, Jesus encounters sin with compassion and access to himself. Unfortunately, not all Christian churches are so welcoming. Because we set a high standard for marriage should not mean that we exclude those who fail to meet the ideal by refusing communion, according them second-class stature if they remarry. Indeed, the accommodation made by Jesus in Matthew, and by Paul suggests that divorce, while not ideal, is in some circumstances a concession because we are not yet perfect.

              Jesus’ entire ministry, focused on healing, mercy and sacrificial love itself is an accommodation to our fallen world, which offers glimpses of who we can become in our journey with Christ. Rather than focus on the punishment of those whose marriages fail and who remarry when they find someone who better exemplifies the perfection of one flesh, the Church should strive to exemplify the perfection of Christ who did not deny himself to anyone. Welcoming divorced and remarried Catholics to communion is one way we, as Old Catholics, exemplify the healing touch of Christ.