We land smack dab in the middle of it this week: marriage and children. Jesus weighs in – not on marriage equality, which was beyond possibility in that time – but on divorce, a topic on which many vocal opponents of same-gender marriage are silent, perhaps because divorce is so prevalent in our times, even among Christian evangelicals.
How and why did Jesus come to comment on this at all? Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you."
Jesus does not bring this subject up himself. His teachings focus on how we can better understand God’s love and activity in our world, and how we are to treat the poor, the infirm, the elderly, the young, the alien, and those with whom we have conflict. Jesus seems little interested in laying down the law on marriage or any of the topics that claim so much time and energy in American Christianity.
But here come the Pharisees, trying to bait him again, this time on whether or not divorce is permissible. Jesus is, as always, cagey in his response. He does not answer the question, but points them back to the Law of Moses, “What did Moses command you?” They answer that the Law allows a man to divorce his wife. Jesus replies that this “out” is provided to allow for “hardness of heart,” not because it is godly. (More tomorrow on what else he says …)
My question is: what does this have to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? What does this have to do with “the kingdom of God has come among you,” “The Word became flesh and dwelt among you full of grace and truth?” It was then, and is now, a distraction from the fullness of Jesus’ message. Yes, how we live, and the honor with which we do and do not regard the people in our lives, is definitely connected to that Good News of wholeness restored. I just don’t believe that’s where we are to dwell. When we focus on human behavior, we stop looking at Jesus and proclaiming him as Lord.
I try hard not to get too drawn into “culture war” debates. They so massively distort what the Christian enterprise is and is meant to be. They obscure the power of love and healing with which the Church has been entrusted, and trumpet legalism instead of love, law to the detriment of grace. All God's revelation is important, but when the debate about these matters drowns out the Great Commandment to love God with heart, soul and mind – and your neighbor as yourself – we have a problem.
One of the religious organizations I follow has as its tagline: “Love your neighbor. No exceptions.” When somebody asks what you think about marriage, sexuality, or any other social issue of the day, you might just “pull a Jesus” and ask in return: How can we best love our neighbor on this question?
That will change the quality of the conversation and invite Jesus to be smack dab in the middle of it.
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