Reading
Mark 10:1-12
10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 “What did Moses command you?” he replied.
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Meditation
In all three synoptic Gospels, this is Jesus' first contact with the "crowd" of Judea. The crowd goes to meet him spontaneously as in Galilee (Mk 4:1; 5:24).
The debate between Jesus and the Pharisees on the abolition of divorce indicates the will of the latter to publicly discredit it and was a cause of controversy between Jews and Christians in the first century. The Mosaic law allowed the repudiation of the wife in the event that "something indecent" had intervened (Dt 24:1), but it had to take place through the issuance of a written certificate, to safeguard the woman from the accusation of adultery.
Jesus declares that the Mosaic law permits divorce only "because your hearts were hard" (v. 5), indicated by the Greek term sklerokardia, which means in the New Testament the inability of the human being to understand and implement the plan of God (cf. Mt 19:8; Mk 16:14).
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes an exception to the absolute prohibition of divorce, indicated with the Greek term pornéia; this has been interpreted by some as "concubinage", which means illegitimate relations between blood relatives; others interpret the term with the meaning of "adultery".
Quoting the book of Genesis (1:27; 2:24) Jesus proclaims that from the beginning marriage is established as an eternal covenant (vv. 6-8) and continues in this sense with the admonition "God has joined together, let no one separate" (v. 9) Man and woman become "one flesh" in the eyes of God. Marriage is presented not as a human invention, but as a divine institution.
The Lord is patient and merciful towards our frailties and in keeping the pact with his people. His clemency must be taken as a model for the covenant between man and woman, blessed by God. We are called to overcome a consumerist vision of relationships, cultivating freedom in responsibility. Faith and full adherence to Christ will obtain fidelity, a gift from God.
Prayer
Sanctify and vivify with your Spirit, Lord, our relationships; so that we can learn from you, who are meek and humble of heart, to be faithful to the plan you have established from ancient times. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
