{"id":2913,"date":"2015-10-02T22:10:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-02T22:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=2913"},"modified":"2015-10-02T22:10:22","modified_gmt":"2015-10-02T22:10:22","slug":"commentary-on-the-27th-sunday-of-the-year-b-4th-october-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary-on-the-27th-sunday-of-the-year-b-4th-october-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on the 27th Sunday of the year (B) 4th October 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEXT \u2014 Mark 10: 1\u201316 \u2014 <\/em><\/strong>\u201cIs it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?\u201d<\/em><\/h4>\n

Setting<\/strong><\/p>\n

1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them. <\/em><\/p>\n

Question of Divorce<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, \u201cIs it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Moses\u2019 Exception<\/strong><\/p>\n

3 He answered them, \u201cWhat did Moses command you?\u201d 4 They said, \u201cMoses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

5 But Jesus said to them, \u201cFor your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.<\/em><\/p>\n

God\u2019s Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

6 But from the beginning of creation, \u2018God made them male and female\u2019 7 \u2018For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh\u2019. So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, \u201cWhoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Children<\/strong><\/p>\n

13 And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, \u201cLet the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.\u201d 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

EXPLANATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three scenes in this Gospel passage. Having moved closer to Jerusalem, his destination, Jesus stops to instruct some crowds. He is approached by some Pharisees who wish to trap him with a very loaded question.<\/p>\n

Then he takes the Twelve aside by themselves to give them a fuller understanding of his teaching.<\/p>\n

Finally he meets some children and uses this encounter to give a brief instruction on the kingdom or reign of God.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Verse 1 is not part of the Gospel Reading for Sunday. We include it for information.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he left there<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Mark uses this expression to indicate that Jesus is commencing a new phase of ministry (Mk. 1: 35; 7: 24). He has left Galilee and is now in Judea.<\/p>\n

\u201cand went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The territory \u201cbeyond the Jordan<\/em>\u201d was Perea, the domain of Herod Antipas, who was living publicly with Herodias, his brother\u2019s wife (Mk. 6: 17\u201320). This area was where John the Baptist ministered, was eventually arrested and executed.<\/p>\n

\u201cand crowds gathered to him again<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus had travelled in Galilee away from crowds to instruct the Twelve (Mk. 30\u201331). Now he travels openly and the crowds gather around him once more.<\/p>\n

\u201cand again, as his custom was, he taught them<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Mark uses the word \u201cagain<\/em>\u201d twice, once to say that the crowds are following Jesus \u201cagain<\/em>\u201d, and secondly that he is teaching crowds \u201cagain<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The use of the verb \u201ctaught<\/em>\u201d with a further explanation for the Twelve only (vv. 10\u201312) is a clue that Jesus sees this teaching as an exercise of his Messianic authority (Mk. 5: 37; 9: 2; 10: 10; 13: 3; 14: 33).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, \u201cIs it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Pharisees came up<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This is the first of many disputes in which Jesus will be involved with various Jewish groups (Mk. 11: 27\u201312: 44).<\/p>\n

\u201cand in order to test him asked, \u201cIs it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The \u201ctest<\/em>\u201d had a double purpose. The first: Jesus was within the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas where John the Baptist had been beheaded because he had reprimanded Herod and Herodias for living in adultery (Mk. 6: 17\u201328). Herod\u2019s family was much divorced and so his answer could bring Jesus into public opposition to Herod and Herodias and perhaps be executed also.<\/p>\n

The second purpose: There were two strongly held views among the Jews concerning this question, one strict, the other lax. The Pharisees wanted to compromise Jesus by having him side with one against the other.<\/p>\n

The foundation of the question was Deuteronomy 24: 1\u20134. At the time of Jesus these verses were interpreted in two strongly disputed ways, either with great strictness, which allowed divorce only for adultery, or with laxity, which allowed divorce for any even frivolous reason. The question was put to Jesus \u201cin order to test him<\/em>\u201d, not to seek the correct interpretation. The Pharisees obviously knew what he accepted as the answer and they wished to show that he was unorthodox in his teaching.<\/p>\n

Dt. 24: 1\u20134 reads, \u201cWhen a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favour in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a bill of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another man\u2019s wife, and the latter husband dislikes her and writes her a bill of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring guilt upon the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are four points offered as a clarification of this passage from Deuteronomy:<\/p>\n

First, it is clear from this passage that divorce was accepted and it was lawful for a husband to divorce his wife on condition that he gave her a \u201ccertificate\u201d that safeguarded her and allowed her to remarry. Joseph, \u201cthe just man<\/em>\u201d was prepared to divorce Mary when he heard that she was pregnant.<\/p>\n

Second, Deuteronomy dealt with a specific case where a man had divorced his wife and then considered marrying her a second time after her second spouse put her away or may have died. The problem presented considered legal purity or defilement: could he marry her a second time? The answer given is that he could not.<\/p>\n

Third, the grounds for divorce were that the wife was found to have \u201csome indecency in her<\/em>\u201d, \u201cshe had been defiled<\/em>\u201d in a way that was \u201can abomination before the Lord<\/em>\u201d. She was obviously ritually unclean. At the time of Jesus, what caused this uncleanliness was disputed.<\/p>\n

Fourth, a copy of a certificate of divorce was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. It reads: \u201cI divorce and repudiate of my own free will [name of husband\u2026 name of wife] so that you are free on your part to go and become a wife of any Jewish man that you please\u201d This legal document was proof that the woman was free to marry again and she was protected from her former husband should he change his mind.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

3 He answered them, \u201cWhat did Moses command you?\u201d 4 They said, \u201cMoses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.\u201d 5 But Jesus said to them, \u201cFor your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He answered them, \u201cWhat did Moses command you?\u201d They said, \u201cMoses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.\u201d \u2014 <\/em>Moses did not \u201ccommand<\/em>\u201d divorce so the Pharisees, on the defensive, correct Jesus and say that Moses \u201callowed<\/em>\u201d divorce (Dt. 24: 1\u20134). Later, in verse 7, Jesus will declare what was commanded in Scripture.<\/p>\n

\u201ccertificate of divorce<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The purpose of the \u201ccertificate of divorce<\/em>\u201d was to protect the woman from her husband should he seek demands after she had left. She had no further obligations to him and she was allowed to re\u2013marry (Is. 50: 1; Jr. 3: 8).<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Jesus said to them, \u201cFor your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus then told them that Moses did this because of their \u201chardness of heart<\/em>\u201d. In other words, divorce was not the original will of God. It was a relaxation of the law because they were ignoring the law and women were suffering injustice. The \u201ccertificate of divorce\u201d protected them. (Dt. 10: 16; Ez. 3: 17). What Moses \u201ccommanded<\/em>\u201d was the \u201ccertificate<\/em>\u201d to protect the expelled wife. If Moses had not \u201ccommanded<\/em>\u201d the \u201ccertificate<\/em>\u201d the wife would have been made to suffer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHardness of heart<\/em>\u201d means deliberately closing one\u2019s mind and emotions to the truth (Mk. 3: 5; 4: 10\u201312; 6: 52).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

6 But from the beginning of creation, \u2018God made them male and female.\u2019 7 \u2018For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh\u2019. So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBut from the beginning of creation, \u2018God made them male and female<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 Jesus quotes from Genesis 1: 27. He declares that divorce was forbidden from the very beginning of creation not because God created man and woman but because of how he created woman from man.<\/p>\n

Genesis 2: 21\u201324 elaborates. God made man fall into a deep sleep and while asleep he took a rib from man and enclosed it in flesh. God built this rib into woman. She was bone of man\u2019s bones and flesh of his flesh, equal to him in every way as a human being. Jesus then quotes Gn. 2: 24.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh\u2019. So they are no longer two but one flesh<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This now is the \u201ccommand\u201d Jesus spoke about in his question to the Pharisees (v. 3).<\/p>\n

Most people would regard the unity between parents and their son as the strongest and most binding unity. Nevertheless, the son \u201cshall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife<\/em>\u201d. This new union is stronger because \u201cthe two shall become one flesh\u2019. So they are no longer two but one flesh<\/em>\u201d. The explanation is this \u2014 woman was formed from man. Now they are joined together again. They form one flesh<\/em>, one body. It is a re\u2013unification. Just as flesh cannot be divided so husband and wife cannot be divided. The re\u2013union is indissoluble.<\/p>\n

It is quite clear that marriage is between what God created, \u201cmale and female<\/em>\u201d, one man and one woman, who are bound in the indissoluble union of \u201cone flesh<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus declares that marriage is indissoluble. He states that he is authoritatively proclaiming God\u2019s will. God is the author of marriage as an institution and of each marriage. Jesus now revokes what Moses allowed.<\/p>\n

\u201clet not man put asunder<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The \u201cman<\/em>\u201d, as is clear from Dt. 24: 1\u20134, is the husband who was \u201callowed\u201d put his wife aside. Much less can any other person dissolve marriage.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, \u201cWhoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter<\/em>\u201d \u2014 It was normal for Jesus to give special instruction to the Twelve \u201cin the house<\/em>\u201d, that is by themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her<\/em>\u201d \u2014 In the culture of Jesus\u2019 time wives were regarded as the property of their husbands. If a wife committed adultery the husband was personally offended. However if a husband committed adultery that was not regarded as an offence against his wife. But it was regarded as an act of adultery or offence against the man with whose wife someone committed adultery. The reason for this was that adultery was regarded as a sin of injustice only against the husband. An adulterer could not offend or be unjust to his own \u201cproperty\u201d but he could offend another man with whose \u201cproperty\u201d the act was committed. Jesus introduced a new concept \u2014 if the husband committed adultery it was an offence against his wife. If he married again after divorce, he was living in a state of adultery; the first marriage was never dissolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cand if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jewish law did not allow a woman to divorce her husband. Mark wrote to Gentiles who were accustomed to women divorcing their husbands in civil court. Mark states that just as men may not divorce their wives, wives may not divorce their husbands.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

13 And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, \u201cLet the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.\u201d 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them<\/em>\u201d \u2014 that he might give them a blessing by laying his hands on them (Mk. 10: 16).<\/p>\n

\u201cand the disciples rebuked them<\/em>\u201d \u2014 No reason is given for the disciples \u201crebuking<\/em>\u201d the parents. Most likely they regarded children as bothersome so they decided not to allow them disturb Jesus.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when Jesus saw it he was indignant<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Other occasions when Jesus was indignant: Mk. 1: 43; 3: 5; 8: 12; 8: 17\u201321; 9: 19).<\/p>\n

\u201cLet the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus says \u201cto such belongs the kingdom of God<\/em>\u201d. \u201cTo such<\/em>\u201d cannot mean simply children but certain childlike qualities. What are these qualities? Innocence cannot be one because Jesus came to call sinners. Children had no legal powers or rights. They could not make demands that they were entitled to enter the kingdom. The outstanding quality of children is that they are powerless to do anything important for themselves. They depend on others for everything. Next, they receive everything as a gift, not as a right. That is the manner in which anyone and everyone receives God\u2019s gift of the kingdom. No one can have a right or claim to it nor can anyone deserve it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTruly, I say to you<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This is always the introduction to a very solemn and important teaching (Mk. 3: 28; 8: 12; 9: 1, 41; 10: 29; 11: 23; 12: 43; 13: 30; 14: 9, 18, 25, 30).<\/p>\n

\u201cwhoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it<\/em>\u201d \u2014 If one does not depend on God to receive the kingdom as a gift, like a powerless child, that person cannot enter the kingdom; the person does not have the correct approach to the kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he took them in his arms<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus embraced the children to show how he accepted them into his kingdom. The word used in Greek for children in this context refers to those less than twelve years of age.<\/p>\n

\u201che blessed them<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jesus invoked God\u2019s power on the children.<\/p>\n

\u201claying his hands upon them<\/em>\u201d \u2014 He transferred this divine power to them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

APPLICATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

In today\u2019s Gospel Jesus shows himself as the promised Messiah (the Christ<\/em> in Greek, the Anointed<\/em> in English). He has authority over the Law of God. He revokes what Moses had conceded because of the hardness of heart of the Jewish people, more correctly of Jewish males.<\/p>\n

God created the first man and woman and placed them in paradise, the Garden of Eden, where they enjoyed living happily and peacefully in the presence of God, their friend. Between the man and the woman, two persons equal in everything, there was perfect union. They were one like flesh, which has no parts and is unbreakable. This was the will of God for them. The Garden of Eden was paradise because it was the abode of perfect love and union \u2014 God\u2019s love for his creatures, their love for God and their love for each other.<\/p>\n

This paradise was shattered by the first sin which hardened the hearts of human beings. Jesus came to restore love. He was the face of God, allowing sinful humanity see God\u2019s perfect love. He confirmed this perfect love by his life of service of humanity. His great desire was that humanity would learn from this example and replicate God\u2019s enduring love and service in the institution of love and service that God had established: permanent and stable marriage.<\/p>\n

Is this an impossible dream? Jesus says \u2018no\u2019. If we regard marriage as a purely human institution, leaving God, who established it from the very beginning of creation, out of the picture, then it is not guaranteed to succeed. God preserved it from the flood and offered it as a free gift to those who would accept. Marriage has to be lived according to God\u2019s design and will.<\/p>\n

What does one require to make marriage succeed? Jesus gives an example. To many it may seem ridiculous but Jesus gave it and so it must be valuable. He said that one must be like a little child! He singled out the qualities that a child has that apply in this situation of marriage. Children know that they are powerless<\/strong>, that they can do nothing on their own. That makes them dependent<\/strong> on others. Thirdly, children receive everything not as a right but as a gift<\/strong>. Fifty years ago, Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote a book that was required reading for those getting married. It was entitled \u201cThree to Get Married\u201d \u2014 husband, wife and Jesus. An excellent book.<\/p>\n

The words \u201creligion\u201d and \u201crelationship\u201d are based on the same root. Religion is our relationship with God and that is the relationship of childhood; we are God\u2019s children. We are powerless without God. We depend on him. Everything we have comes from him as pure gift. We must trust him. That is the recipe of a perfectly loving marriage.<\/p>\n

The second insight into Jesus that the Gospel passage provides is that it gives us his attitude towards women and children. In the Jewish culture at the time neither group was held in any esteem. Women were considered to be their husband\u2019s property. Children were regarded as having no legal rights or social status. Jesus calls all back to God\u2019s design from the very beginning of creation.<\/p>\n

The third point in this passage concerns the kingdom of God. That is what it is, Jesus tells us. It is the kingdom of God, not some human institution or one which humans can enter by right or merit. They must realise that they have to depend on God for entrance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TEXT \u2014 Mark 10: 1\u201316 \u2014 \u201cIs it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?\u201d Setting 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them. Question of Divorce 2 And Pharisees came<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2914,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2913"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2915,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2913\/revisions\/2915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}