From the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10:
Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
“What did Moses command you?” he replied.
They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
“It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
The scriptures teach us of both the sanctity of marriage and the sanctity of life. The Old Testament lesson starts us out by reminding us of God’s order of creation. Let’s go back to the basics: The Lord is creator, and we are part of his good creation. Also, God always loves to bring order out of chaos. This is reflected in our liturgy, that is, our order of service during worship. The absolution, the forgiveness of sins, always follows the confession of sin. In the same way, the Lord’s gift to us is always a culmination of our praise and worship, and follows the reading and preaching of God’s Word, which itself alone makes the bread and wine a Holy Sacrament.
In his holy order of creation, God created us as male and female. No amount of whiny complaints to the contrary will change that reality. Woman was made for man and from him so that he would not be cursed to be alone. The woman is a gift, a helper and companion.
According to Genesis, in this order or hierarchy of creation, the Lord also created mankind a little lower than the angels. Unfortunately, the order of creation, like everything else, has been corrupted and torn asunder by the reality of sin. These are the basics we learned in Sunday school. Unfortunately, many either do not know, or have forgotten these basic truths. They cannot even acknowledge there is the problem of sin. But we know.
God, through the death and resurrection of Christ, has dealt with this problem.
Pharisees often attempted to use the Law of God (the 10 Commandments) to trap Jesus. Pastors today are hesitant to focus on the Gospel text for fear of giving offense or appearing insensitive. Too many live with the memory of broken marriages, or growing up in broken homes. But the truth is that, like the Pharisees, our sin encrusted lives and experiences have hardened our hearts. Like the Proverb says, we cannot see the forest for the trees. Like the Pharisees, we hear these texts and focus on the question of divorce, rather than God’s beautiful intentions for marriage.
In an age where “living together” is commonplace, no one wants to hear judgment. And, because of sin, there are many reasons why divorce may be the only safe or healthy option in some marriages, torn by violence, abuse or neglect. But Christ does not seem to relieve our anxiety. Indeed, he seems in this text and others to expand the reach of the demands of the Commandment to the slightest act or thought.
Marriage, says the Lord, is a reflection of God’s beautiful intentions for his people. The man and the woman are made one flesh. That is why we thank God for those who have faithfully demonstrated God’s intentions in their marriages until death. And that is why the church always holds widows and widowers in high esteem and honor. They reflect God’s intention for his people from the beginning. They have lived God’s will throughout their life together.
The concept of two becoming one flesh, as a sign of great love, reflects God’s original intention at the creation. Yet it also reveals how God has overcome sin, death and the devil. For the Lord, who was present at the creation, has come down from heaven. He has taken on the form of flesh, human flesh, our flesh. He has been united with us in all things but sin. He even experienced our death. But Jesus did not rise a spirit, but remained in the flesh, and he shall one day also return in the same form. In doing so, Jesus has revealed the wonder and beauty of our creation. Christ and his church are united in one flesh.
In Genesis, God created Eve to be a helper to man. But we should not interpret this as ordaining woman to be subservient or lesser to man. The Lord often referred to himself as our helper (Psalm 54:4) who we should call upon in times of trouble. So too, the woman, in being the man’s helper, is elevated. The one who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one who is the servant of all.
For just as Jesus elevates children to be the greatest in his kingdom, just as he elevates the weakest and poorest above the mighty and powerful, so the risen Christ Jesus shall proudly call us poor sinners his brothers and his sisters.
I know these basics can only be discerned in faith. Because sin, though on wobbly legs, still exists, we cannot yet see and experience all of this new creation that God is making.
In one of those mysterious ways that mark the coming of the kingdom of God, his new creation is always present yet unfolding, now but not yet. But nevertheless, it is true. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Daugherty is the pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lewiston.
