Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 14

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."

                                                                    Matthew 5:31-32 (NRSVue)

It was not an easy time to be a woman, that's for sure.

According to Jewish Law, if a man found something he didn't like about his wife and lied about her, saying, "She wasn't a virgin when we married", the woman's father could spread the bed sheet from their wedding night in public to prove her innocence.  If they have this proof on record, the man is not allowed to divorce her but has to remain married to her.  

This doesn't sound like much of a prize for the woman!

Except that divorced women in that culture and time didn't have a lot of options for making a living or being accepted in community.  Remember the Samaritan woman at the well who went all alone in the heat of the day to fetch water?  She had had many husbands but it seemed few friends, likely because of her status.

So the sense that the man who slandered his wife had to remain married to her was better than the alternative.

This is a lot more than they used to get.

This passage on the prohibition of divorce was a lifting up of women.  Notice which gender does the divorcing in this context.   It was a compassionate ethic that lifted up a gender without many protections.

As we consider our own context, we have more options for women today.  But we also realize that single mothers are more likely to be living in poverty than two-parent families.  Single mothers often work jobs that make it more difficult to help their children with their schoolwork. They may be less likely to have the time to attend teacher's meetings if problems arise.  

I mention women here to the exclusion of men because of the statistical disadvantage they have over men.  Jesus lifted them up with this provision against divorce.

As we move through Lent, how do we follow the example of Jesus and lift up women today?  How do we encourage and offer compassionate stances?  Where can we make a difference in the life of someone we know?

Prayer for the day: Gracious God, we give thanks for the people in our lives who have nurtured and cared for us.  For most of us, much of our love, care and support came early on through the love of our mothers.  Help us to instill confidence in all your children so that they may be able to fully respond to your call on their lives - to be the person they can become.  We pray this in Jesus' name.  Amen.

 

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

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 13

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell."

                                                                        Matthew 5:27-30 (NRSVue)

At this point in the sermon, Jesus takes on adultery, the avoidance of which, of course, is one of the Ten Commandments.  But he highlights it for men here rather than women.  It is important to understand the culture of that time featured a patriarchy where women were passed as responsibilities from the father's household to the husband's household.  There was a lot of emphasis on lines of succession. Inheritance was kept in the family, even to the extent of the law making sure that property could eventually revert back to original families.

In this world, men had greater rights than women.  There is even a large section on jealousy that was designed to keep women in line.  There's no corresponding section for men to prove themselves faithful.

And so Jesus goes over the top in his example.  No one is actually going to pluck out their eye or cut off their hands.  I've never seen even the staunchest literalist try to say that this passage should be taken as is.  Jesus uses hyperbole in order to emphasize how one-sided gender roles were around adultery.

Since we have a modern sensibility concerning gender equality, we can utilize this passage to emphasize that we should not objectify people as sexual objects.  And while this would have been revolutionary in Jesus' day, it may be even more important in the 21st century when the internet may be pushing objectification to new heights.  

As we move through Lent, how do we have respect for one another?  Do we have respect for who we are rather than for what kind of value we may hold for another?  What-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitudes do seem prevalent today.  Commerce is so ingrained in our culture that sometimes it comes up in relationships too.  Jesus seems to be calling us to a higher morality in how we see others.  When we see others like Jesus, we can keep our eyes intact!

Prayer for the day: Gracious God, we give thanks that you see us as more than commodities to be utilized.  While you do call us to service, you love us regardless of whether we answer or not, simply for who we are.  Help us to embrace this higher ethic for how we see one another.  We pray these things in Jesus' name.  Amen.

 

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

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.