Today's lessons remind me off my favorite priest joke. I hope you won't mind my sharing it today.
Three priests and their wives were coming back from Diocesan Convention when they got in a wreck and were all killed. All 3 couples stood in line waiting to get into heaven. St Peter opened the books and said to the first priest: I can see that you were a good man but had one problem. You lusted after alcohol your whole life you never drank but your lust was so strong you would never marry until you met a girl named Sherry. Sorry, you can't come in. The second priest approached St Peter and he said: you were a good man, but it says here you lusted after money and your lust was so strong that you would not marry until you met a girl named Penny. Sorry, you cannot come in. The third priest turned to his wife and said: “come on Fanny, let’s get out of here!”
Our first
reading today is one of the two creation stories. Emphasizing the bios that men have a central
primacy. It’s important when we
read and think about this story, that we include the older story. In which man and woman are made together, in
the image and likeness of God. Gen.
1:27. The two stories are meant to be taken together so that one has a fuller
picture of the "whole story!"
In our
Hebrew’s reading, the author contrast the old, pre-Jesus days with the lives of
Christians. God spoke in the past
through the prophets; now he speaks through the one who is Son of God. The author makes the point that Jesus
purified us of our sins through his own death; he was then exalted in returning
to the Father. Returning to his original place at God’s right hand in the
heavenly thrown room.
In our
gospel reading Jesus teaches about divorce to which, according to Mark, he is
totally opposed. Mosaic Law permitted a
man to divorce his wife for due cause, but the grounds were unclear. A Woman however may not divorce her husband. The Pharisees were divided about the
legality of divorce as well as the grounds for it, so their question is an
attempt to trick Jesus into a no win situation.
He doesn’t fall for it. He shifts
the discussion from Mosaic Law to God’s original plan, or the ideal of
marriage. Matthew, in his gospel gives a different version of this. In includes an exception to the prohibition on divorce.
It’s out of this “exceptive clause” that our church had built its
pastoral approach to divorce and remarriage.
Ultimately,
I believe it’s much more valuable for us to look at our spiritual ancestors’
images of woman, man and marriage than technical issues. Wither we are in our first marriages, second
or whatever, it’s how we go forward that matters.
Clearly the
Genesis authors view us as created for
each other, in God’s own image. Many
Christian thinkers have pondered what this means. Part of it is that we are created of the same
stuff, and meant to be together as best as our human foibles allows us to
be. Neither, separated from the other,
is a full image of God, only in our relationships are we
resembling the fullness of God's image.
Of-course,
being in God’s image does not mean that God has to arms, two legs, etc.
That is much
too simplistic for these biblical authors.
This imagery is probably driving at a deeper since of things like, we
share in God’s intelligence, and freedom of choice. Yes all our choices have their natural
consequences. But our courses of action
are not simply dictated by animal instinct.
We can chose and act in many different ways that go far beyond basic
instinct.
So Christian
marriage is expressive of a sacred reality.
A solemn and pubic covenant between those who dedicate their lives to
one another in the presence of God and the community of faith. A covenant that reflects the image of
God. Ideally marriage is a community of
love and devotion, made between two and maybe including another
generation!
Let us never
forget, that wither we are married or single; all our relationships (with our
spouse, friends, co-workers) have a sacred character. We should be striving to treat each other
accordingly.
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