A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day Twenty-Five

Scripture Reading: Matthew 19:1-30 (NRSVUE)

We continue to refine what it means to be in relationship with others as a disciple of Jesus.  And we continue to challenge the notions of the day and turn upside down popular cultural norms.  

The prohibition of divorce was a leveling of power in a time when women were property.  For a woman to be divorced, she was left with even less power and dehumanizing options for her survival.  The disciples are shocked at this teaching and essentially declare that if they were to lose the threat of divorce over a woman, it would be better not to marry!  How would you possibly keep her in line?

Jesus would remind us of the Beatitudes such as humility, peacemaking, mercy and purity in heart.  We are to apply them in all our relationships.  We have just come off a chapter on forgiveness and Jesus expects us to apply it at home.  To be clear, we are not speaking of abusive relationships.

Children require a lot of grace.
We're all children.

We also see a nod toward chastity as a practice for life which also would have been the opposite of the norm for the day - people were to have as many children as possible!

Jesus then goes on to bless the children.  The disciples must have heard the previous lesson on children and greatness figuratively and sent people with children packing.  Jesus rebukes them and the disciples must have thought, "Now you're being literal?  We thought the lesson on the children was like the yeast of the Pharisees!"

Jesus seems to be literal when it comes to including the least among us.

Finally, Jesus dismisses the common thought that rich people were favored by God because they were rich!  He not only dismisses this but reverses it.  We return to blessed are the poor in spirit and it becomes literal too.  Jesus seems to be saying that if our relationship with our resources eclipses our relationship with our neighbors, we are already missing out on the kingdom of heaven.

How would you understand these teachings for the 21st century?  How does this represent a reversal of power dynamics in relationships that we should pay attention to for people we encounter?  It isn't easy to give away power that we've worked hard to attain.  But we can always start with our demeanor.

Prayer for the day:

Have mercy, O Lord, upon all those whom You have associated with us in the bonds of friendship and family, and grant that they, with us, may be so perfectly conformed to Your Holy Will, that being cleansed from all sin, we may be found worthy, by the inspiration of Your love, to be partakers together of the blessedness of Your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer from Old Gallican Sacramentary, France, 5th Century

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

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.