Daily Devotion for Lent 2019 - Day 25

Scripture Reading: Matthew 19:1-15 (NRSV)

Women and children first!

This was a chivalric notion that was considered the informal rule of the day starting in the mid-19th century.  It usually referred to prioritizing them in case of a shipwreck and lifeboats were being filled.

It has not always been the way human beings thought about people.

Today's reading forbidding divorce would have been equalizing for women.  In this day, divorce was the privilege of the man but not the woman.  Her options for survival following the divorce would be very limited.  By outlawing divorce, Jesus evens the playing field with regards to those who had less power in that time.

The passage on eunuchs seems to be recommending abstinence from sexual activity.  This is very similar to the teaching of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:1-11.  Celibacy was seen as a spiritual practice by contemporary sects such as the Essenes who are commonly thought to have written the Dead Sea Scrolls.  We see celibacy continue among clergy to this day within the Roman Catholic Church.  These verses may also continue with the theme of powerlessness since eunuchs in that day would not have been considered as having an upper hand at anything socially.  By designating them as the preferred category, Jesus flips the common thinking once again.

Sometimes we are not always welcome.

It is interesting that we see the disciples sternly objecting to the children coming to Jesus.  It seems that they had already forgotten the lesson from the beginning of the previous chapter.   His blessing of them may have been considered unusual.

These lessons would have reminded us to prioritize our compassion around those who were not usually first in line for anything.

Which categories of people today are more invisible?

Who do we not see?

Who is it that we are more likely to scorn without consequence?

People are social animals and we categorize one another into strata for our convenience.  It seems to be the Christian way to do away with these and to take a more egalitarian approach.  It is easier said than done as these may be so ingrained that we don't even recognize them in ourselves.

Prayer for the day:

God, we can imagine powerlessness and believe we have lived in this category during times in our lives.  Because many of us live in a country that protects all its citizens, we do not truly understand what Jesus is talking about.  But we realize that we do categorize people.  We see people being ostracized.  We have experienced being shunned.  Help us to not only walk in the shoes of others but to grant respect to all members of society.  In this we seek to follow the teachings of Jesus.  Amen.


Photo by derektor via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.