“Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?” - Mark 10:1-16
Reflection by John Huntington+
“…as was his custom, he again taught them.” To teach is to change a life forever. Jesus wanted to change their lives forever. But to test him the Pharisees chose the subject: divorce. They asked “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Referring to Deuteronomy 24:1-4 and Jeremiah 3:8, Jesus grounded in creation (Gen 1.27; 2.24) a restrictive interpretation permitting divorce but prohibiting remarriage. And he did this in a way that equalizes the rights of husband and wife. But remarriage was to be considered as adultery against the first spouse. The punishment for adultery could be death. So, to equate remarriage with adultery seems shocking to us.
Some who read this will have been divorced and remarried. Indeed, this is true of some clergy. So, how is it possible to be a faithful Christian—to wholeheartedly accept the life-changing teaching of Jesus—and yet to divorce and remarry?
In the Episcopal Church a priest must obtain his bishop’s permission in order to remarry a person who has been divorced. But remarriage is not prohibited. How would you personally justify this policy in view of this passage from Mark’s gospel? It is easy to see how a person could be accused of adultery if she or he divorced a spouse simply because another person seemed more attractive. But, isn’t it more commonly true that divorce occurs only after a marriage is long dead? After the obligations of intimacy and mutual support have long been abandoned?
