Today's Gospel (see here) is considered one of Jesus' "Hard Sayings." Typically they are the ones where Jesus makes a proclamation that sits really poorly. "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off," (Mt. 5.30) or, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me," (Mt. 10.37) are examples. Many churches today will be observing the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi and will sidestep this passage, but that does not make it go away. Here is the Hard Saying:
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." (Mk. 10.11-12)
If you ever wondered why the Roman Catholic Church's rule on divorce and remarriage was so rough, there you have it. The Anglican Church used to be as strict (for some the British Abdication Crisis is still living memory and this was at the very heart of it), but like many others its stance has softened over the decades. The Orthodox Church permits two remarriages per person after divorce, each time the rite becoming more penitential (but after one's third divorce they figure one just cannot get it right and is better off staying unmarried).
The softened stance still does not change the original statement. Our Lord was quite clear that the provision for divorce in Mosaic Law was because of "hardness of heart," or more clearly an outlook clouded by sin.
This is quite distressing for many, and for some even triggering. How many have fled abusive and dangerous marriages? How many have been abandoned? How many have had their marriages destroyed by infidelity? How many marriages have starved to death for lack of love and affection? One cannot always predict that a spouse will turn on them, or one can miss subtle signs. Are they then to endure a soul-crushing or even physically dangerous situation because of a sacramental bond that may well have broken?
Well might the disciples have said, as they did when Jesus told them a rich man had less chance of getting into the Kingdom of God than a camel (rope is the proper translation but not quite as hysterically funny) getting through the eye of a needle. "Then who can be saved?" (Mk. 10.26) In fact, this segment is in the same chapter as the Hard Saying on adultery in all three Synoptic Gospels, and the question is applicable to all the Hard Sayings of Jesus. Who indeed can be saved?
Key I believe is the answer Jesus gives, "For mortals, it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." (Mk. 10.27) We are all afflicted by the hardness of heart that made Moses' exception necessary, the hardness of heart that made many churches soften their stance and even provide a vehicle for divorce and remarriage. St. Paul writes that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom. 3.23) only to find justification by the grace of God and Jesus' redemption of our fallen nature (Rom. 3.24). Our old natures and the horrors of this corrupt age have strewn landmines in our path and many of us have taken spiritual injury from them, and will continue to do so as the path is littered with them. We know that no matter how hard we try, somewhere, sometime, we will fail, and often fail spectacularly. Who then may be saved? It is only by God's grace that we be saved. "Good" people will remarry and fall afoul. "Good" people will be provoked and be enraged at others and fall afoul. If we say we have no sin, the Apostle John wrote in one of his letters, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We all have the stain, we all are guilty in some way of major sin simply because the cards are stacked against us. That is why grace is necessary. That is why God's mercy is necessary. God understands that. He tells us these things to underline the fact that the system is broken and that He will fix it. We simply must have faith.
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